Merry Christmas - hope you had a lovely time :D Can y... - NRAS

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Merry Christmas - hope you had a lovely time :D Can you help? I have to learn how to self- Inject MTX in January dose 17.5 mg..

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Rockpool60
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Hi Rockpool. Don't worry its really easy. Your nurse will show you what to do presumably but a tip I got on here from someone (Virge maybe?) is to pinch the part of your belly where you plan to inject quite a bit before injecting. This insures its pain free. By bypassing the gut it not only eliminates some side effects hopefully but also works more effectively so should make a big difference to you as it has for me. Tilda - happy Christmas and New Year. Tilda x

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Ps it was me that deleted my repeat!

Rockpool60 profile image
Rockpool60

Hi Tilda. Thank you so much. It has been worrying me greatly. Have been really unwell and so so sick with the oral form of MTX they have decided to do it by injection. So only on Hydroxy at the moment. Happy New Year to you too :D and thank you again. xxxx

You are very welcome - one more thing though. I was on 17.5 orally but it made me very sick too. So when I switched to injectable my rheumy planned for me to increase to 17.5 or higher but I started back down at 15mg and have found I don't need the higher dose by injection. My ESR has been cobstistantly down at the 30 range since injecting and I've only had minimal amounts of pain if any. TTx

claireyj profile image
claireyj

Hiya hope u r both having a lovley Xmas .. I may have to do the same from January my methx is being increased ( not looking forward to that) and actually not sure why as almost in remisssion just the odd bad day or two as a reminder that still have RA ...my consultant suggested injectable as I have a hiatus hernia and although is no trouble at mo long term oral methx isnt ideal..so I will look out for your blog Rockpool goodluck and try not to worry especially today, thanx Tilda for the advice ...Claire x

Rockpool60 profile image
Rockpool60 in reply toclaireyj

Hi Claire...thank you for your Christmas wishes and hope you are having a good time too. My tummy is very sensitive and already had a severe reaction to the Sulphsalazine so had to stop that..ended up emergency in A+E twice in one week. Look forward to your comments too and hear how you get on :D take care both of you x

helixhelix profile image
helixhelix

Hi there, If you look for the blogs I wrote in October you'll see that I've just been through the same thing and changed over to injectable. And I was terrified! So much so that the first time I tried I completely lost it, and was of course then even more terrified that I'd never manage. But second time was fine, and has been getting easier and easier ever since. Not something I'm ever going to look forward to doing, but it's ok and doesn't hurt. Try to take it slowly and calmly, and find a place in your house where you feel comfortable and are undisturbed so you can take your time. And breathe.....

Best thing is that it's sorted the side effects, as I had dreadful mouth ulcers and had stopped being able to eat anything except sickly ice cream. 10 days after I stopped taking the pills everything was back to normal! Good luck, but you'll be fine. Pollyx

zannie profile image
zannie in reply tohelixhelix

Hi there dear friends. I'm about to take my first mtx. tomorrow, and I'm dead scared as all I've read is about the terrible possible effects of the medication, the mouth ulcers specially sound nasty. Thanks for all the positive feed back. Zannie. X

in reply tozannie

Don't worry Zannie - those who come in here with side effects are in a minority and for many MTX is a well tolerated drug. We are talking about the less common option of taking it by injection and if by any chance you do have side effects it's one option for you to think about. But most side effects go away after a while and if you don't expect to have them you probably won't! Tilda x

watson3 profile image
watson3

Hi there. I'm sure you will manage well. Pinch an inch of your tummy firmly then inject. It gets easier every time you do it.

Good luck

Ah it was you who gave me that tip then Watson - many thanks it works a treat! xx

jilly1 profile image
jilly1

Hi , I am new to the site but it seems to be a great place for advise . i am also starting on the injection MTX on new years eve (monday) i am hoping it stops me feels sick and feeling horrible every time i take the tablets. I have read your advise and will have a go at pinching an inch (in my case it could be a foot lol) I will let you know how I go on . Happy New Year to you all and I hope to see you all again around the site . xx

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