My Last steroid injection, plus blood results......

[shirlthegirl]

Hello, hope you are all having a pain free day, I had to go to my doctors today to have my last steroid injection and get my results, well my CRP had gone down to 9.7, Which is excellent news, and my ALT was 45 a little higher than last time but still fine,

But i have a question on these, and also on the drugs i am taking (Methorexate),

I take my meds on Sunday, But last Sunday after a hour of taking them i came over feeling really chilly, For the first hours i went to bed and wrapped myself up under the duvet....A hour later i was still feeling ruff and dizziness also happened when i stood up,

I decided to go to my front room with a hot water bottle,and put the fire on full, covering my self with as many blankets as possible, This then lasted for at least another hour before i was feeling a lot better, I spoke to my nurse today, who told me i should of called the Clinical Nurse specialist for advice, But if you are anything like me, I kept thinking give it another 30 minutes and i will see how i fill, Well i was told of so i will not be making that mistake again,

When i told her she also said that it could be to do with the Methorexate So see how you are this week...Just wondering have any of you had this reaction on this drug, or any other? Also as i have told you i take my Methorexate on a Sunday, I have been having my blood taken on a Monday over the past 4 weeks, Would my results make any different's? As even thou my results are really good i don't fill it, It seem's by about Friday my joints seems to get really sore and tied again, do you think i should change my day that i have my blood taken? so that i and the Gp get the correct results?

Thanks for taking time to read my questions............

Take care Xxx

[earthwitch]

I didn't get that reaction with MTX, but I did get something very similar with SSZ, so yes, it definitely could be a medication reaction. If you get it again, do make sure you call the nurse soon enough.

[Hidden]

I would have bloods done on mtx day before this is what I did wih mtx and with my current medication.. then when you go to gp you have previous results to go on before next drug dose,

mtx gave me those side effects and worse ones too, most people do very well on mtx and have much improved lives with minimal side effects. the effects of mtx ie benefits and same applies to other weekly/ fortnightly meds seem to wear of at end of week

[shirlthegirl in reply to Hidden]

Sorry Summer properly having a blonde moment, ha ha, But are you saying then i should change the day i have my bloods done, or it wouldn't make ant different's

XX

[Hidden]

I think Summer is saying that you should have your bloods done as close as possible to the time you take your MTX Shirl. Basically there's no point having them taken the day after because it will be confusing having the drug freshly in your system. So I take mine on Tuesday nights and have my blood done on a Monday morning so I get the results back just in time to know whether I'm okay to take the next dose. So with you the best time to do bloods would be Friday morning I suppose because you can't have them done on Saturday or Sunday.

Re the chill following MTX - yes I get this everytime now. At first it seemed to herald a flare up and it took me ages to make the connection between MTX and feeling so chilled and ill. I thought it was Raynauds because my hands would turn white. Now I'm sure its the drug and I just wear extra clothes and have gloves in me at all times of the day and night. Its not such a big deal compared to the brilliant reduction in pain and inflammation though and certainly better than other side effects such as sickness or hairloss. I also find I get quite low the day after taking it - worse when I was on the pills though. My liver alt was sitting at 51 last week and I was rejoicing that it was under 55 (the top of the normal range) - but then I had just had lots of bubbly over the holidays! I think you just need to stop worrying quite do much Shirl. You are being closely monitored and that's the important thing with MTX. Tilda x

[Shell1967]

Great advice shirl,sorry just come on and read up past blogs,maybe try delaying ur bloods til Friday,but I got told mtx builds up on your system week by week,so ask your nurse.i take my mtx Monday mornings and blood test an hr later,so wouldn't have thought mine would make much difference.try changing it til a Friday as tilda says and see if bloods show any different.? Worth a go?my nurse however did say mtx builds up week after week and is consistent.claire who's crp is normal every time is having some aches and pains back,like me,but her bloods last week were normal crp again,so try not too worry too much.lots of love shell xxx

[shirlthegirl]

Thank you both for your advice, I will ring to see if i can change my appointment, But you are both right as we know i it takes time with these drugs to take affect, I have such a great nurse and GP and wish a lot of people on here had the same experience......

Love Shirley Xx

[Terrpist]

Good information friens