Re: Effects of 1st Methotrexate

[Guest guest]

Jay,

I started to take Arava and that does make me sleep alot but I can tell you for the last 3 days I been pain free, I do take Methotrexate on Sunday. I will be praying for u.

Take care.

Lucy

I took my first dose of Methotrexate last nite, 10mg. I slept about 5

hrs and woke up hurting, a Vicadin helped finish the nite, but woke

up hurting ans very stiff. A big change from the previous morning.

Today I have felt aching all day and a little more tired than normal

and a loss of appetite. When I do eat the taste seems different.

I'll see what tomorrow brings.

Jay

[Guest guest]

Thank you Lucy, I'll pray for you and for

God Bless

Jay

> Jay,

> I started to take Arava and that does make me sleep alot but I

can tell you

> for the last 3 days I been pain free, I do take Methotrexate on

Sunday. I

> will be praying for u.

> Take care.

> Lucy

>

> > I took my first dose of Methotrexate last nite, 10mg. I slept

about 5

> > hrs and woke up hurting, a Vicadin helped finish the nite, but

woke

> > up hurting ans very stiff. A big change from the previous morning.

> >

> > Today I have felt aching all day and a little more tired than

normal

> > and a loss of appetite. When I do eat the taste seems different.

> >

> > I'll see what tomorrow brings.

> >

> > Jay

> >

[Guest guest]

Good luck Jay.

After getting a rash from the Plaquenil, I've just been put on

Methotrexate. I took my first dose this last Saturday 7.5mg.

Reading about Methotrexate on the Web, it looks to help many people,

but I am very nervous about the potential serious side effects.

When will some of the more common side effects like nausea, fatigue,

etc. really start happening if it does happen?

After taking the first dose, I haven't noticed any side effects at

all. My aches and pains haven't gotten better either though I

understand that will take a minumum of a couple of weeks.

Mike

> I took my first dose of Methotrexate last nite, 10mg. I slept about

5

> hrs and woke up hurting, a Vicadin helped finish the nite, but woke

> up hurting ans very stiff. A big change from the previous morning.

>

> Today I have felt aching all day and a little more tired than

normal

> and a loss of appetite. When I do eat the taste seems different.

>

> I'll see what tomorrow brings.

>

> Jay

[Guest guest]

I can truly say that methotrexate gave me my life back. I've been on

it for a year & a half. I noticed a difference (a good difference,

that is) after the first week I was on it. I wasn't nearly as stiff

as I had been & I could bend my knees...something I wasn't able to do

for 6 months.

I still have days that I hurt very badly but overall, I'm much

improved. I'm tired most of the time anyway so I never really

noticed that I'm more tired after taking methotrexate (I'm also on

Plaquenil, Medrol (I take 1 pills every other day), Naproxen &

Darvocet). So far, that combination seems to be working.

Has your doctor told you to take folic acid with the methotrexate?

This is a must.

Good luck to you.

[Guest guest]

Mike,

I took my third dose of Methotrexate last Fri nite 10 mg. This

weekend was better than the second weekend. I actually did some yard

work on Sat and shampooed carpet on Sun afternoon!!

I have not had any stomach problems but food seems to taste a little

different.

Best of luck with it,

Jay

> > I took my first dose of Methotrexate last nite, 10mg. I slept

about

> 5

> > hrs and woke up hurting, a Vicadin helped finish the nite, but

woke

> > up hurting ans very stiff. A big change from the previous morning.

> >

> > Today I have felt aching all day and a little more tired than

> normal

> > and a loss of appetite. When I do eat the taste seems different.

> >

> > I'll see what tomorrow brings.

> >

> > Jay

[Guest guest]

Not metallicy, maybe bland would fit. It just tastes a little off,

might just be lack of appetite but it happens each time I take the

Methotrxate. Nothing serious, just odd.

I had a bad night last nite, took extra meds to get to sleep, but

today I haven't had a pain med in over 6 hours!!!!!

Some days are just better than others and this is one of em!!

Best to you all,

Jay

> > > I took my first dose of Methotrexate last nite, 10mg. I slept

> about

> > 5

> > > hrs and woke up hurting, a Vicadin helped finish the nite, but

> woke

> > > up hurting ans very stiff. A big change from the previous

morning.

> > >

> > > Today I have felt aching all day and a little more tired than

> > normal

> > > and a loss of appetite. When I do eat the taste seems different.

> > >

> > > I'll see what tomorrow brings.

> > >

> > > Jay

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

To all those of you who just started Methotrexate,

First of all, good luck. I know when I go on a medication I read 100

things before I make the decision. I'm sure you do the same and

decided Methotrexate is the best choice for you.

I too made the decision to try Methotrexate about 8.5 years ago when

I was only 20 years old. Plaquenil, Gold, Sulfasalizine, and NSAID's

didn't work. So I read and read while I was getting more and more

crippled from the disease. Finally, my doctor and I made the

decision. Being so young and a female of child bearing age, I was

very nervous. But I made a chart of the pluses and minuses. The

pluses won.

My first few times on Methotrexate found me with severe nausea,

diarrhea, vomitting and extremely fatiqued. It's hard to say if the

fatique was from the Meth. or the disease. But I learned to take

half the dose at night and half the next morning and I was much

better. I also soon started taking Leucovorin instead of just folic

acid because I had mouth sores (they hurt more than the arthritis!).

After about 4 weeks, I was feeling notically better. My side effects

were diminishing and the disease started to slow down. After 6 weeks

I was able to run, yes run when I could baerly walk before that.

Granted, I ran about 20 feet and then had to stop but I ran. I

haven't been able to run since but that's ok - that day I felt like

I made the right choice and became happy with my decision.

Methotrexate has worked for me and even though we all worry about

the side effects, I am happy with my decision. As this medication

has been used for over 50 years, the side effects are well known. I

would rather know the side effects of a drug rather than worry about

some of the newer medicaitons out there where the long term effects

are not well known.

I wish you the best and take care of yourself. Don't forget to get

your blood work done.

Well wishes,

[Guest guest]

I took my second dose of methotrexate yesterday spread throughout the

day. I didn't feel any effects yesterday, but today I definitely

feel the fatigue for the first time. I have to assume it's tied to

the metho. I have a couple of sore spots at the top of my mouth.

Don't know if it's metho or just from the stress at work or something

else.

I'm not taking folic acid or other supplements. I have to talk to

the rheumy about that on my next visit.

I'm excited that a lot of progress seems to have been made in recent

years with this disease. I do like the fact that Methotrexate is an

older medication and there's a lot of data out there on it. I'm

hopeful in that if it doesn't work, there are at least other viable

alternatives.

I'm new to this disease. I'm sure you guys have all done a lot more

reading than I have. But, I found this article dated Jan 16, 2003

about preliminary research to possibly turn off an auto-immune

disease interesting.

http://www.uq.edu.au/news/index.phtml?article=4092

Mike

--- In Rheumatoid Arthritis , " " <dhuntress@h...>

wrote:

> To all those of you who just started Methotrexate,

> First of all, good luck. I know when I go on a medication I read

100

> things before I make the decision. I'm sure you do the same and

> decided Methotrexate is the best choice for you.

>

> I too made the decision to try Methotrexate about 8.5 years ago

when

> I was only 20 years old. Plaquenil, Gold, Sulfasalizine, and

NSAID's

> didn't work. So I read and read while I was getting more and more

> crippled from the disease. Finally, my doctor and I made the

> decision. Being so young and a female of child bearing age, I was

> very nervous. But I made a chart of the pluses and minuses. The

> pluses won.

>

> My first few times on Methotrexate found me with severe nausea,

> diarrhea, vomitting and extremely fatiqued. It's hard to say if the

> fatique was from the Meth. or the disease. But I learned to take

> half the dose at night and half the next morning and I was much

> better. I also soon started taking Leucovorin instead of just folic

> acid because I had mouth sores (they hurt more than the

arthritis!).

> After about 4 weeks, I was feeling notically better. My side

effects

> were diminishing and the disease started to slow down. After 6

weeks

> I was able to run, yes run when I could baerly walk before that.

> Granted, I ran about 20 feet and then had to stop but I ran. I

> haven't been able to run since but that's ok - that day I felt like

> I made the right choice and became happy with my decision.

>

> Methotrexate has worked for me and even though we all worry about

> the side effects, I am happy with my decision. As this medication

> has been used for over 50 years, the side effects are well known. I

> would rather know the side effects of a drug rather than worry

about

> some of the newer medicaitons out there where the long term effects

> are not well known.

>

> I wish you the best and take care of yourself. Don't forget to get

> your blood work done.

>

> Well wishes,

>

[Guest guest]

,

I am going to take my fourth dose (10 mg) of Methotrexate tomorrow

night. I have found that the first couple doses really affected me

and the third dose was caused considerably less fatigue. It maybe

that I am getting used to it, or it may just really be affecting me

less. Either way it is getting better.

I am starting to cut back on my Prednisone from 7.5 mg a day to 5 mg

every other day and now, this week 2.5 mg every other day. Next week

I will only be taking none! Prednicsone is a glorious steroid when

it is absolutely needed but is highly addictive and causes serious

problems long term.

If you are taking Methotrexate you MUST take folic acid. Don't wait

to see your rheumy first. Either call and ask his nurse or just go

buy some and take it. This is standard procedure with Metho.

Best of luck and God Bless,

Jay

> > To all those of you who just started Methotrexate,

> > First of all, good luck. I know when I go on a medication I read

> 100

> > things before I make the decision. I'm sure you do the same and

> > decided Methotrexate is the best choice for you.

> >

> > I too made the decision to try Methotrexate about 8.5 years ago

> when

> > I was only 20 years old. Plaquenil, Gold, Sulfasalizine, and

> NSAID's

> > didn't work. So I read and read while I was getting more and more

> > crippled from the disease. Finally, my doctor and I made the

> > decision. Being so young and a female of child bearing age, I was

> > very nervous. But I made a chart of the pluses and minuses. The

> > pluses won.

> >

> > My first few times on Methotrexate found me with severe nausea,

> > diarrhea, vomitting and extremely fatiqued. It's hard to say if

the

> > fatique was from the Meth. or the disease. But I learned to take

> > half the dose at night and half the next morning and I was much

> > better. I also soon started taking Leucovorin instead of just

folic

> > acid because I had mouth sores (they hurt more than the

> arthritis!).

> > After about 4 weeks, I was feeling notically better. My side

> effects

> > were diminishing and the disease started to slow down. After 6

> weeks

> > I was able to run, yes run when I could baerly walk before that.

> > Granted, I ran about 20 feet and then had to stop but I ran. I

> > haven't been able to run since but that's ok - that day I felt

like

> > I made the right choice and became happy with my decision.

> >

> > Methotrexate has worked for me and even though we all worry about

> > the side effects, I am happy with my decision. As this medication

> > has been used for over 50 years, the side effects are well known.

I

> > would rather know the side effects of a drug rather than worry

> about

> > some of the newer medicaitons out there where the long term

effects

> > are not well known.

> >

> > I wish you the best and take care of yourself. Don't forget to

get

> > your blood work done.

> >

> > Well wishes,

> >