methotrexate and symptoms

[Guest guest]

i am a 36yo male that was diagnosed with ra about 2 years ago. i had

been having symptoms for approx. 1 year before that. the drs. would

give me a shot of demerol and toradol for the pain and put me on anti-

inflammatory meds. they always said i had just " overworked " the

muscle or joint. my first rheumatologist put me on 15mg prednisone

and 500mg sulfasalazine once per day. i eventually switched drs. and

my new dr. told me this was the wrong combo and took me off the pred.

and increased my sulf. to 1500mg twice a day and feldene once a day.

this is no longer working for me. my flare ups have incresaed to

weekly though they are not severe they still hinder me from normal

activities. i run a low grade fever for two days about once a week,

which my dr. says doesn't have anything to do with ra and did a bunch

of bloodwork to check for infection. i also suffer from frequent jaw

pain also not related to my ra according to my dr. she told me the

next step in my treatment would be methotrexate and i am a little

concerned about some of the reported side effects since i have some

other problems also. is there anything that will counteract the side

effects and what kind of effectiveness can i expect. i feel like my

ra is very aggressive. the frequency of my flare ups and severity are

increasing constantly. any advise would be greatly appreciated.

[Guest guest]

Hello & welcome to our group, I was diagnosed with arthritis 3 years ago when I was 22. My meds include 4 mg/day of Prednisone & 4 grams/ day of Azulfidine EN (8 pills). I also take Folic Acid, Ibuprofen, Methotrexate and Remicade. Running a low grade fever is very common with arthritis. It shows there is inflammation in your body. When I was first diagnosed the rheumy suggested I take my temp several times a day for a few weeks to see what my average temp was.

Jaw pain is common too. I have rheumatoid nodules on my jaw. It could also be TMJ. I have been on metho for 3 years and have not had any of the life threatening side effects. I was nauseous when I first starting taking it. Also, my hair falls out a little for 2 days after I take my weekly dose. It's important to get your blood checked regularly while on metho. Also, it can cause pneumonia patches on your lungs so you should get a chest X-ray every 2 months in the beginning.

Personally, I'd rather risk the potential side effects than be in more pain. But it's a choice every one needs to make for themself.

Take care & happy holidays!

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“The strongest oak of the forest is not the one that is protected from the storm and hidden from the sun. It's the one that stands in the open where it is compelled to struggle for existence against the winds and rains and the scorching sun.” (Napoleon Hill)

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3 months FREE*.

[Guest guest]

Hi,

I'm , and I'm new to this list. I was diagnosed about ten years ago, but had symptoms for years before that(I don't know *what* I was thinking, but I toughed it out for a long time). Anyway, I went on Plaquenil right away, and have taken it ever since. It appears to be working, and I only have one badly damaged joint(finger), although some others are chronically swollen. I'm stiff and sore all over a lot of the time, and while nothing really interferes with my life activity, I can't do the little things I used to do, such as sit cross-legged(Indian fashion), carry heavy things, etc.

My question is this: should I just be grateful for what I have, and that it isn't any worse, or should I be aggressively pursuing something that will give me more mobility and less stiffness/soreness? My Rheumatologist seems to think that I'm very lucky, and that some changes are a result of aging rather than RA(I'm 56).

----- Original Message ----- From: DeNicola

Rheumatoid Arthritis

Sent: Monday, December 23, 2002 11:36 PM

Subject: Re: methotrexate and symptoms

Hello & welcome to our group, I was diagnosed with arthritis 3 years ago when I was 22. My meds include 4 mg/day of Prednisone & 4 grams/ day of Azulfidine EN (8 pills). I also take Folic Acid, Ibuprofen, Methotrexate and Remicade. Running a low grade fever is very common with arthritis. It shows there is inflammation in your body. When I was first diagnosed the rheumy suggested I take my temp several times a day for a few weeks to see what my average temp was.

Jaw pain is common too. I have rheumatoid nodules on my jaw. It could also be TMJ. I have been on metho for 3 years and have not had any of the life threatening side effects. I was nauseous when I first starting taking it. Also, my hair falls out a little for 2 days after I take my weekly dose. It's important to get your blood checked regularly while on metho. Also, it can cause pneumonia patches on your lungs so you should get a chest X-ray every 2 months in the beginning.

Personally, I'd rather risk the potential side effects than be in more pain. But it's a choice every one needs to make for themself.

Take care & happy holidays!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“The strongest oak of the forest is not the one that is protected from the storm and hidden from the sun. It's the one that stands in the open where it is compelled to struggle for existence against the winds and rains and the scorching sun.” (Napoleon Hill)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

3 months FREE*.