Is 20mg of mtx a lot for your first dose ? I’m very apprehensive 😕

[Nancy2010]

I’ve got poly arthritis

[KittyJ]

I don’t have polyarthritis but I started on 20 mg mtx. I think it depends on your consultant, some like to start low and build it up others go straight in at a higher dose. Not much help I know but I hope it helps you.

[Windonmyface]

I also started on 20 mg.

[Moomin8]

I started on 20mg too.

[helixhelix]

20mg is a pretty normal dose. However if you are worried then ask your consultant if you can start lower, say 12.5mg and build up a dose every 2 weeks. Your body, your choice! Even if sometimes difficult to get a French doctor to accept that you are in charge!

(For everyone else, Polyarthritis is what RA is called in France, often nicknamed Polly…..and we are polypots)

[virtualreality]

Hi, I started on 20mg methotrexate along with hydroxychloroquine. It was ok for me, but we're all different and it's important you feel ok with your treatment plan. Hopefully your consultant would be open to discussing your concerns and provide more information about their reasoning for starting at this dose if that might help. Have you been prescribed folic acid alongside the methotrexate? I ask because (unless for some reason that wouldn't be right for you) folic acid can help to minimise side effects and so make the medication easier to tolerate.

[marti]

I also started on 20mg then went up to 25mg then dropped back down to the 20mg which I've been on for 10+ years now - good luck

[nomoreheels]

Hiya Nancy 2010, welcome. I started on 15mg but pretty quickly went up to 20mg. This was is Spain not France. It really helped but when I started injecting around 9 months later it had to be reduced from 20mg to 15mg due to side effects. Not sure if this is overly helpful. Nowadays I’m still injecting but on 17.5mg as I still have side effects if I try 20mg.

I think it's ok to be apprehensive if it's your first DMARD, or you're new to MTX, but it's often the first chosen due to it's good results & many do well on it. I've been on it a long time, other DMARDs have come & gone but MTX remains!

I hope you enjoy being here. 😊

[Canadiangeese]

I started off with 25 mg 5 years ago and it has been gradually reduced down to 5 mg for almost a year now. Main thing is to ensure your RA gets controlled as damaged joints cannot be fixed. Good luck.

[Angels54]

I think it depends on how you cope with medication , for me it was too much, I reduced to 4 consultant said that was fine I could increase once my body gets used to it , I’m not great takin medication, know your own body 👍