Guest guest Posted February 14, 2002 Report Share Posted February 14, 2002 Hi everyone, My name is Barbara and I am new to the list and am glad it is here. I was diagnosed with RA about 2 years ago after having Palandromic Arthritis for about 1 year. I had RA symptoms for a few months and was put on Planquinal and Mynocyline and it made a big difference and basically had no Symptoms until a few months ago when it all returned. I have taken Celebrix on and off and am on again. Now Dr. wants to start me on Methotrexate. I know a lot of you have real troubles daily with your RA and I feel so lucky that mine hasn't been too bad. It is mostly in my feet, knees and hands and mostly stiffness and some weakness. I never thought twice about going on a hike or saying yes to bowling etc. but now I do think twice and I worry about the future. I wonddered if any of you have had luck with methotrexate? Did you stay on planquinal or other drugs while you took it? How long did you take it for? Did you do oral or injections? How long did you have to see your DR. 1x a month while on it? Any side effects? How long did it take to work? Well that's way more then enough questions. except for one underlying question.....When do you know if it is the right time to take a new med, or change doeses of a med or just put up with the symptoms? Thanks, Barbara --------------------------------- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 14, 2002 Report Share Posted February 14, 2002 Hi Barbara! > My name is Barbara and I am new to the list and am glad it is here. I was diagnosed with RA about 2 years ago after having Palandromic Arthritis for about 1 year. I had RA symptoms for a few months and was put on Planquinal and Mynocyline and it made a big difference and basically had no Symptoms until a few months ago when it all returned. I have taken Celebrix on and off and am on again. Now Dr. wants to start me on Methotrexate. > > I know a lot of you have real troubles daily with your RA and I feel so lucky that mine hasn't been too bad. It is mostly in my feet, knees and hands and mostly stiffness and some weakness. I never thought twice about going on a hike or saying yes to bowling etc. but now I do think twice and I worry about the future. > > I wonddered if any of you have had luck with methotrexate? I'm pretty new here myself, having just been diagnosed mid Janary. I've been taking prednisone, methotrexate and folic acid. The prednisone made an immediate and dramatic difference. I've only taken the methotrexate 3 times, my forth dose will be this Friday. I really can't say, yet, whether it is having an affect. The plan was to start me with 15 mg of prednisone and slowly decrease it while taking the methotrexate and folic acid. When I dropped below 10 mg. the symptoms started coming back. The doctor's nurse advised me to go back to the dosage that " worked " for me, so I'm still at 10 mg. I tried a second time this week to cut back 1/2 a pill, same result. For the most part, I feel really good. Still have some symptoms, hands usually pain me, sometimes me legs/hip area ache, but for the most part, I feel really normal. Stress can set me off in a hurry. > > Did you stay on planquinal or other drugs while you took it? > > How long did you take it for? > > Did you do oral or injections? In my case, methrotrexate is taken once a week, orally. > > How long did you have to see your DR. 1x a month while on it? My first follow up, after diagnosis and treatment is March 4, about 6 weeks since my last appointment. > Any side effects? How long did it take to work? So far I haven't noticed any side effects. Blood tests may indicate differently, of course. As far as appetite and prednisone, so far what I'm noticing is that when I eat a meal, the mechanism that tells you you are full doesn't kick in as fast. Gonna have to watch that. Otherwise, I haven't noticed an increase in appetite. > Well that's way more then enough questions. except for one underlying question.....When do you know if it is the right time to take a new med, or change doeses of a med or just put up with the symptoms? I think this must come under the realm of you and your doctor making these decisions based on your progress, or lack thereof. Good luck, Suzanne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 23, 2002 Report Share Posted February 23, 2002 Hi Barbara. Welcome to our group. I was on oral mtx many years ago, but it caused a lot of stomach distress, and after 3 months of trying to cope with it, I was taken off of it. 6 months ago I tried the injections, which did not bother me. My liver enzymes were elevated, but adding folic acid corrected the enzymes. I had to see my doctor every month in the beginning and blood was taken each month, but that changed to every other month after my liver enzymes went back to normal. I don't know what to say about the right time. For me, it's when I can't handle the symptoms any more, or I feared bone erosion was going on. I am at that point now but I am not sure what to do. I've been on Enbrel for over 3 years, and although it controls inflammation, new joints have been involved since being on the Enbrel. a Barbara Jordan wrote: > > Hi everyone, > > My name is Barbara and I am new to the list and am glad it is here. I > was diagnosed with RA about 2 years ago after having Palandromic > Arthritis for about 1 year. I had RA symptoms for a few months and > was put on Planquinal and Mynocyline and it made a big difference and > basically had no Symptoms until a few months ago when it all > returned. I have taken Celebrix on and off and am on again. Now Dr. > wants to start me on Methotrexate. > > I know a lot of you have real troubles daily with your RA and I feel > so lucky that mine hasn't been too bad. It is mostly in my feet, > knees and hands and mostly stiffness and some weakness. I never > thought twice about going on a hike or saying yes to bowling etc. but > now I do think twice and I worry about the future. > > I wonddered if any of you have had luck with methotrexate? > > Did you stay on planquinal or other drugs while you took it? > > How long did you take it for? > > Did you do oral or injections? > > How long did you have to see your DR. 1x a month while on it? > > Any side effects? How long did it take to work? > > Well that's way more then enough questions. except for one > underlying question.....When do you know if it is the right time to > take a new med, or change doeses of a med or just put up with the > symptoms? > > Thanks, Barbara > > > > --------------------------------- > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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