MTX question

[Guest guest]

Hi Patty,

Val is right about the ped handeling the strep. was at one of his study visits at Cincinnatti and had some cellulitis in his knee the rheumy even made a comment about how awful s nose looked.He prescribed Keflex for his knee and said it would probably clear up his nose.It did help his knee but not the nose.Our ped said had some sort of impetigo infection and it was complicated.She doubled the dose of Keflex and restarted the 10 day round.

Hugs

Becki and 5 systemic

[Guest guest]

Hi Val:

Caitlin's (nor Alyssa's) strep culture did NOT grow overnight, thank God.

Just as long as it hasn't disappeared like last time:( I am waiting to hear

back from the pediatrician regarding the amount of prophylactic antibiotics. I

told them the rheumy says this and you are saying that and I want an

appropriate dose for her - a preventative dose.

Thanks. Take care.

Patty

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 3/3/04 3:55:58 PM Eastern Standard Time,

Arthurnator@... writes:

<<

Val is right about the ped handeling the strep. was at one of his study

visits at Cincinnatti and had some cellulitis in his knee the rheumy

even made a comment about how awful s nose looked.He prescribed Keflex

for

his knee and said it would probably clear up his nose.It did help his knee

but

not the nose.Our ped said had some sort of impetigo infection and it

was

complicated.She doubled the dose of Keflex and restarted the 10 day round.

Hugs

Becki and 5 systemic >>

I agree too. I placed a call to the pediatrician today for a correct amount

of prophylactic antibiotics. If she's taking them, she might as well be

taking a preventative amount!

Take care.

Patty

[Guest guest]

Hi!

I would defer to the pediatrician regarding the amount of antibiotic in the

treatment of strep - the rheumy's don't treat strep everyday - they are looking

at rheumatoid issues and keeping up on that. For things like strep, and other

issues that aren't specifically watching Rob's rheumy's always defer to the

pediatrician - they send us to the pediatrician sometimes for a follow up, and

the ped says " Why are you here? " It took me awhile to understand that the

rheumy wants to be sure that the pediatrician is always aware of what's going on

- and as a double check to make sure they aren't looking at things only in the

" rheumy " box. I hope i made sense here. I hope she doesn't have strep.

Val

Rob's Mom (6,systemic)

In a message dated 3/2/2004 6:02:06 PM Eastern Standard Time, Emeraldsx3 writes:

>

>

> Tomorrow we will know if Caitlin has indeed come down with a case of strep.

> I hope and pray NOT!!!!! This could be a possible cause for the headaches,

> but if not, then I will really have to look into the MTX possibility. I

called

> the rheumy today and because the nurse didn't hear me (a lot of noise in the

> background) she didn't ask about the headaches until late, so no news on that

> front yet. She did hear my first question about strep though, and he felt

> that since she is on Cefzil she should be okay. However, her pediatrician

feels

> that because she is on such a low dose she could get strep again. What do you

> do when the two doctors have different viewpoints especially on something

> like this? I feel like calling the pediatrician and asking her to 'hash it

out'

> with the rheumy. By the way, the cardiologist, from his viewpoint, doesn't

> think she needs prophylactic antibiotics, but to defer to the rheumy and/or

> pediatrician, but they both have different approaches

> URGHHHH!

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Patty,

sees the ped today.He has been complaining of stomache aches sometimes 3-4 times a day for over 2 weeks now.I believe it's from the switch to MTX pills but want all avenues checked out.A long time ago I would have called the rheumy first. would lose it if he had to go back on MTX shots so I think we will skip a dose to just see if the tummy aches go away.If they do, back to shots or injectable in his juice,which he wasn't fond of either.

Hugs

Becki and 5 systemic

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 3/4/04 1:58:37 PM Eastern Standard Time, TerriBer@...

writes:

<<

It also may be a sinus infection....Does she have a runny nose>>>Terri

----- Original Message ----- >>

Hi Terri:

A very good question. I, myself, just finished meds for a sinus infection so

maybe she has one too. Yes, she has been blowing her nose quite a bit. She

is on Cefzil one tsp once a day so I don't know if they would do anymore for

her. That is our current debate, over antibiotics. Will have to call pedi

again and ask.

Thanks for your suggestion:)

Take care.

Patty

[Guest guest]

It took me about five months for the MTX to fully get out of my system.. I was still having side effects from the medication four or five months later..

[Guest guest]

Patty,

We quit the methotrexate pretty quickly a

few years ago and paid dearly for it. It took longer to get her disease

under control that I’d ever thought possible and also took higher doses

than ever before of her meds. That said, skipping one

dose of methotrexate should not be a problem at all. Generally it takes about 3

weeks for it to completely leave the system. If I were you I would skip the

dose today and follow up with the rheumatologist next week. It’ll be interesting

to see if the skipped dose helps the headaches.

Liz

MTX Question

Hello All:

I have been trying to figure out what is causing

Caitlin's headaches and one

thing I questioned was the MTX. So I placed

a call on Tuesday, but because

the person who answered the phone was in such a

rush she didn't hear me ask the

MTX part of the headache. Today is Caitlin's

MTX day so I called back. The

rheumy had already gone for the day, guess Friday

is a short day. They said

they would get in touch with him and see what he

thought. I went to pick Jen up

from school and then got busy (you know when they

all come home from school

the fun begins LOL). Well, I finally

remembered to check the answering machine

to see if they called and sure enough they

did. I tried to call back, but it

was 3:57 and they had closed darn it!

So......this is what I was told he

said: Per the woman who left the message, he

said that since she has been doing

so wonderful and continues to do so that we should

STOP the MTX COMPLETELY.

No tapering, just cold turkey. I have read,

from this list, of tapering MTX.

Has anyone quit MTX cold turkey? I

appreciate any information. Of course,

I would love to get her off of it, but am

concerned that going cold turkey

could cause a flare.

Take care.

Patty

[Guest guest]

Patty.

We have a very similar story to your about the mtx. Except, with my son, it

was severe nausea and throwing up from the mtx injections. I too put a call

in to his doctor, and over the phone, his nurse said that his doctor wanted

him to stop the mtx completely, no more injections at all. We saw the doctor

3 weeks later, and since Bronson was doing so well still, we are now just

watching him for the time being, and so far so good. So, yes, we did stop

the mtx cold turkey, and now we are just hoping that things continue to go

well. Good luck to you!

Jodi

>From: Emeraldsx3@...

>Reply-

>

>Subject: MTX Question

>Date: Fri, 5 Mar 2004 17:02:51 EST

>

>Hello All:

>

>I have been trying to figure out what is causing Caitlin's headaches and

>one

>thing I questioned was the MTX. So I placed a call on Tuesday, but because

>the person who answered the phone was in such a rush she didn't hear me ask

>the

>MTX part of the headache. Today is Caitlin's MTX day so I called back.

>The

>rheumy had already gone for the day, guess Friday is a short day. They

>said

>they would get in touch with him and see what he thought. I went to pick

>Jen up

>from school and then got busy (you know when they all come home from school

>the fun begins LOL). Well, I finally remembered to check the answering

>machine

>to see if they called and sure enough they did. I tried to call back, but

>it

>was 3:57 and they had closed darn it! So......this is what I was told he

>said: Per the woman who left the message, he said that since she has been

>doing

>so wonderful and continues to do so that we should STOP the MTX COMPLETELY.

>No tapering, just cold turkey. I have read, from this list, of tapering

>MTX.

>Has anyone quit MTX cold turkey? I appreciate any information. Of

>course,

>I would love to get her off of it, but am concerned that going cold turkey

>could cause a flare.

>

>Take care.

>Patty

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Liz:

That's exactly what I fear for Caitlin that she will pay for it:( Your idea

of skipping one dose and seeing if it makes a difference in the headaches

makes great sense and that's exactly what we did. She didn't get her MTX last

night so I will see how the week goes with her headaches.

Thank you. Take care.

Patty

[Guest guest]

, how long were you on the MTX for it to take that long to get out of

your system?

Thanks.

Patty

[Guest guest]

Hi Jodi:

How long has it now been since Bronson went cold turkey off the MTX? I would

love it if she could stay off it. I wonder if it did anything for her to

begin with as she started to improve before it and improved way to quickly on

it.

I hope Bronson gets to stay off it to with no major problems.

Take care.

Patty

[Guest guest]

Um lets see I think it was two or three months. But my body takes a long time to filter out apparently.. I've been on so many different medicines and just so many medicines for the longest time that my body has a hard time getting everything out of my system.. literally since I was probably 2 or 3 there has not been a time I was on medicine..

[Guest guest]

Um lets see I think it was two or three months. But my body takes a long time to filter out apparently.. I've been on so many different medicines and just so many medicines for the longest time that my body has a hard time getting everything out of my system.. literally since I was probably 2 or 3 there has not been a time I was on medicine..

[Guest guest]

I somewhere along the line missed the original question about mtx, but it seems to be along the lines of how long for it to be out of your system, well i do know for fact that you cant get a chicken pox vaccine or mmr vaccine until you have been off mtx for 10 months.

Luv and hugs,

Aj

[Guest guest]

Hi Patty,

Bronson will be starting his 4th week off the mtx. It is really scary to me

that he is not taking anything anymore, but it also is a good thing. He has

complained on and off that his ankle hurts just the last few days, but

nothing that has needed motrin or caused him to limp. We are watching him

very closely and will monitor his blood once a month still, and we will see

his Dr again April 19. All in all he is doing very well, so we keep our

fingers crossed and hope for the best. I will keep your daughter in my

thoughts and I hope she continues to do well, and thank you for the well

wishes!

Jodi

>From: Emeraldsx3@...

>Reply-

>

>Subject: Re: MTX Question

>Date: Sat, 6 Mar 2004 13:50:43 EST

>

>Hi Jodi:

>

>How long has it now been since Bronson went cold turkey off the MTX? I

>would

>love it if she could stay off it. I wonder if it did anything for her to

>begin with as she started to improve before it and improved way to quickly

>on it.

>

>I hope Bronson gets to stay off it to with no major problems.

>

>Take care.

>Patty

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Jodi:

Glad to hear the four weeks have gone by fairly well. What are you

monitoring his blood for on a monthly basis?

Thank you for keeping Caitlin in your thoughts.

Take care.

Patty

[Guest guest]

Hi again Patty

The blood work is the same labs that we have been doing when Bronson was

still taking the mtx, checking sed rate, white cell count, ferriton, and

some other counts, and the doctor recently added another test that can tell

if anything is " brewing " , so then hopefully, we can catch something before

it gets too bad, I am not exactly sure what the test is. The blood work, as

well as just watching closely for any changes, including appetite, energy,

mood, stuff like that are just how we will hopefully be able to see if

something is starting again. It really scares me!

Jodi

>From: Emeraldsx3@...

>Reply-

>

>Subject: Re: MTX Question

>Date: Sun, 7 Mar 2004 16:12:52 EST

>

>Hi Jodi:

>

>Glad to hear the four weeks have gone by fairly well. What are you

>monitoring his blood for on a monthly basis?

>

>Thank you for keeping Caitlin in your thoughts.

>

>Take care.

>Patty

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Quick question all,

Why are you throwing out the vails of meth after drawing out one shot?

gets one vial at a time and we get 4 weeks worth of shot out of it..

Is the difference whether or not there is preservative in it??

Emilie

mtx question

Hi,

I picked up the viles of inj. mtx today. The vile comes in 50mg

Aundrea would get .6ml The pharmacist said that I would draw up a

unit to 60 and then have to throw out the rest.

This seems horrible both financially and wasteful considering that

there is already a shortage.

Any ideas on how I can get around this?

Also how do I dispose of used needles and viles of mtx?

Thanks again....

(drea 9 systemic)

[Guest guest]

--

That was exactly what I am wondering. The pharmacist said that by his

regulations he has to tell me to dispose of the remaining mtx and due

to the slim possibility of bacteria being introduce to the vial with

additional syringes. He said many doctors were discouraging throwing

out the remaining mtx due to the fact that we have a mtx shortage.

So, in your experience you just draw out the amount you need each week

from the same vial until its gone?

And how are you disposing of the syringes?

(Aundrea 9 systemic)

- In , " HARRY SKIDMORE " <h.skidmore@w...>

wrote:

> Quick question all,

>

> Why are you throwing out the vails of meth after drawing out one

shot? gets one vial at a time and we get 4 weeks worth of shot

out of it..

> Is the difference whether or not there is preservative in it??

>

> Emilie

> mtx question

>

>

>

> Hi,

>

> I picked up the viles of inj. mtx today. The vile comes in 50mg

>

> Aundrea would get .6ml The pharmacist said that I would draw up a

> unit to 60 and then have to throw out the rest.

>

> This seems horrible both financially and wasteful considering that

> there is already a shortage.

>

> Any ideas on how I can get around this?

>

> Also how do I dispose of used needles and viles of mtx?

>

> Thanks again....

>

> (drea 9 systemic)

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

-..

The way I understand it in the beginning was.... the vials WITH

preservative can be used multiple times and the ones that were

preservative FREE could only be used once.

When this shortage came up Nicks doctor told me that we could use

the preservative free ones multiply times. She told me the

pharmacies will tell you you cannot, but not to listen to them ))

I remember Stacia did a lot of research on this topic and did send

though a post on how to handle this.

I use the preservative free vial multiple times. Once I have taken

the 1st dose out of the vial i then store it in the fridge along

with Nicks enbrel.

Hope this helps....

HUgs Helen and (7,systemic)

-- In , " sonia1md " <sonia1md@y...> wrote:

>

> Hi,

>

> I picked up the viles of inj. mtx today. The vile comes in 50mg

>

> Aundrea would get .6ml The pharmacist said that I would draw up a

> unit to 60 and then have to throw out the rest.

>

> This seems horrible both financially and wasteful considering that

> there is already a shortage.

>

> Any ideas on how I can get around this?

>

> Also how do I dispose of used needles and viles of mtx?

>

> Thanks again....

>

> (drea 9 systemic)

[Guest guest]

My daughter uses methotrexate in pill form. Is this a possibility

for you, too?

Thanks,

[Guest guest]

Thanks Helen,

That is very helpful and will certainly save us lots of money. I

will check and see if they are preserv. free.

(drea 9 systemic)-

-- In , " hburger64 " <hburger64@h...> wrote:

>

> -..

>

> The way I understand it in the beginning was.... the vials WITH

> preservative can be used multiple times and the ones that were

> preservative FREE could only be used once.

>

> When this shortage came up Nicks doctor told me that we could use

> the preservative free ones multiply times. She told me the

> pharmacies will tell you you cannot, but not to listen to them ))

>

> I remember Stacia did a lot of research on this topic and did send

> though a post on how to handle this.

>

> I use the preservative free vial multiple times. Once I have taken

> the 1st dose out of the vial i then store it in the fridge along

> with Nicks enbrel.

>

> Hope this helps....

>

> HUgs Helen and (7,systemic)

>

> -- In , " sonia1md " <sonia1md@y...> wrote:

> >

> > Hi,

> >

> > I picked up the viles of inj. mtx today. The vile comes in 50mg

> >

> > Aundrea would get .6ml The pharmacist said that I would draw up a

> > unit to 60 and then have to throw out the rest.

> >

> > This seems horrible both financially and wasteful considering that

> > there is already a shortage.

> >

> > Any ideas on how I can get around this?

> >

> > Also how do I dispose of used needles and viles of mtx?

> >

> > Thanks again....

> >

> > (drea 9 systemic)

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

aundrea has been taking mtx for about 2 1/2 months. She has now had 3

episodes of nausea and vomiting after she takes the pills each week.

The thought is by using the shots we will by-pass the stomach and

therefore significantly reduce any side effects.

We are hopeful that this will work, because other than the side

effects, the medication has done wonders for her joints.

(Aundrea 9 systemic) -

-- In , " emily1_1999 " <emily1_1999@y...>

wrote:

>

> My daughter uses methotrexate in pill form. Is this a possibility

> for you, too?

>

> Thanks,

>

[Guest guest]

..

I only get one vial in a shot.. but even when she was first on it, I used the

same vial over and over until it was gone.. As long as you use a freshly

uncapped needle each time and use a alochol swab on the rubber part of the vail

too, you should be fine reusing the vials. As for disposing of the used

syringes, I have a sharps container. Wal-Mart, Rite Aid and places that like

carry them. Once you fill one, check with your local hospital to see if you can

drop the container off there. I am lucky, when mine fill I just take it up to

the Rescue Squad building where I am a member and put it with the ones we take

out of the ambulances... How is Aundrea doing with the idea of the shots??

Take care,

Emilie

mtx question

>

>

>

> Hi,

>

> I picked up the viles of inj. mtx today. The vile comes in 50mg

>

> Aundrea would get .6ml The pharmacist said that I would draw up a

> unit to 60 and then have to throw out the rest.

>

> This seems horrible both financially and wasteful considering that

> there is already a shortage.

>

> Any ideas on how I can get around this?

>

> Also how do I dispose of used needles and viles of mtx?

>

> Thanks again....

>

> (drea 9 systemic)

>

>

>

>

>