Arthritis

[ashton12]

Have been diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis. Have about 4 hours sleep and it wakes me up. It is in my hands painful when awake first thing mornings. Stiffness and painful. Can't make a fist without pain. As day goes on it easies. Hands and fingers swollen. Also wrist is painful.Have been advised by consultant the drug methotrexate. Am worried after reading side effects of this drug, they seem horrific. and take 2 to 3 months to kick in. Is there an alternative and does Methotrexate help, and has anyone on them had side effects.

[cyberbarn]

Hi Ashton,

You might find you get more response from one of the arthritis groups. I find the NRAS group here on HealthUnlocked very helpful.

I have psoriatic arthritis too, and I know that morning feeling with the hands. I was on methotrexate for six months and it really helped. You are right, it takes about 3 months to kick in, and after three months I suddenly realised that I was no longer walking through molasses! Sadly after 6 months I had to stop as it was affecting my digestive system and I was starting to have an adverse reaction. But it was great while it worked.

Be careful what you read about it, because the doses are very low for arthritis, unlike the higher doses for cancer treatment. So the side effects aren't nearly as scary for the low dose as they are for the higher dose.

So yes, methotrexate can help, but everyone is different. Some people with arthritis have been on it for years and it is a life saver, but for others it didn't work. The only way you can tell which group you fall into is to try it.

There are other drugs but under the NHS there is a pathway where you have to try them in order. Methotrexate is one that is the safest and has the best effect on the most people so they try that first. There are some others that people with rheumatoid arthritis can be given, but apparently they can made psoriasis worse. If methotrexate doesn't work for you, your rheumatologist will try the next drug in the list. We don't get to choose, and neither do they really, it is all down to NICE.

I hope that helps.

[OSTEOARTHRITISRA]

Hi Ashton It is correct

Methotrexate does take a while to work

It did not work for me

Everyone different though and it does help lots ,

Personally I'd give it a try and go to see if it works as it does help lots ,it is usually the first treatment to try ,

My side effects was

Only fatuige

Again Everyone different though

Myself I took pain meds alongside

You can get painkillers from doc to go alongside the Methotrexate specially at the start

Do ask doc for pain relief if your in pain

I'd give it a go if you can to see if it helps ,the specialists will change med if it does not help

The specialists will also hope it does work for you

[Tbrz]

Hi, I also recently been diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis in my hands and like you the pain is horrendous. I also cannot make a fist with my left hand and if I do anything with my hands, the pain and the locking can be really unbearable. I’m interested to hear that you have been recommended methotrexate, I’m going to see the rheumatologist in the new year to see what can be done to help as the psi is getting worse. I did have methotrexate for Vasculitis, which I also have but I relapsed on it so had to go on something else. From what I remember it was not pleasant, I lost my hair quite a bit and felt really grey in myself. Anyway good luck with the treatment, best wishes for the new year.