Methotrexate

[cba84]

How long before anyone noticed a improvement in their esr/CRP levels after starting methotrexate? Wanting to see improvement but it’s not happening yet.

[helixhelix]

About 4 months..

[Neonkittie17]

Three months. x

[Dobcross1]

14 weeks for me.

[JEM95]

It was just over three months for me x

[Sheila_G]

Certainly 3 or 4 months. I hope you see some improvement soon.

[ATSF]

My wife and a sister in law have been on it for some years. When they first started to take it was very effective within two weeks. I’m about to go on it for the third time. The first time it had no effect after the 12 weeks. Second time, I stopped it after 5 weeks as I was getting a number of nasty side effects and still no benefit. I will try it again as they have run out of alternatives which all either made me ill or had no effect.

[nomoreheels]

My inflammation levels rarely fluctuate, not a reliable representation of physical inflammation when examined. That is excepting prior to diagnosis when RD was it's most active, & also when I was off all meds for 3 months, thankfully those dizzy heights haven't been seen since. I did however know once MTX was working without bloods so if your levels aren't spectacularly high maybe you'll notice it's positive effects too. Hope it's not long for you, I know it can seem an age when in pain.

I would have thought after 5 months though you'd have had some improvement. Maybe the dose needs adjustment, it may only take a small increase… something to question at your next Rheumy or nurse appointment. Thinking about it, I'd have hoped they'd have suggested this before now as your ESR/CRP levels must have been noted when checking your (monthly?) blood tests, seeing as they've remained higher than an acceptable level. Either way there are options, maybe adding another DMARD, but that or alternatives will hopefully be discussed at your next review. As long as your disease activity is dampened down, that's the main thing.

[skinclinic]

It was 10 weeks for me and the difference was amazing . I have never been ‘tablet taker’ but believe me the relief was amazing . I was initially in denial of R.D. - and I thought that I could get a ‘cure’ with supplements, cutting out certain foodstuffs etc etc . Needless to say that early route I took didn’t have any effect . So patience is necessary and for me Methotrexate was life changing both pain wise and with my normal daily functions . Reading all the posts I understand that Methotrexate may not be a life long ‘silver bullet’ but from the experiences of others at least there will be another solution if the time comes when the Methotrexate is no longer as effective.

Yes : we are advised of the side effects of what all these different medications can cause - but without them I would not be able to maintain any normal kind of daily activities

Good luck and look forward to the time when your meds kick in

[ketiv74]

I can't really pin point the timing as I was also on Low dose Pred at the time, but I was able to get off Pred in about 3 months of starting Mtx. Like many have said already, it could take some time to work. My Rheumy told me about 12 weeks is good time to know if it is working or at least having some good effect or not. When it did work though it was amazing. At year mark I was feeling so normal I thought I don't need any meds...LOL! how wrong I was. I tried to distance my Mtx jabs more than a week (with approval from Dr) but about 3-4 months later started having flares. Now I am back to weekly Inj + Hydroxychloroquine, and things are getting back to normal. Hang in there & Good Luck!