Guest guest Posted June 26, 2000 Report Share Posted June 26, 2000 Hi,My daughter Ashton has Poly JRA and is on the metho injections now for 2 - 3months ...the pill form made her very ill... vomitting ect. With the injections it is hit or miss...one week she has it & she's fine the next she's sick. We give her the phenergan at the first sign of naseau. She goes back to Rheumy in Juoy gonna discuss it with them then. You are in my prayers ...Kris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 26, 2000 Report Share Posted June 26, 2000 Hi Everyone, I am new here. I have an 11 year old daughter that has JRA, diagnosed 2years ago. She has been on naposyn, and sulfasalasine for the 16 months, in November the doctor added methotrexate to her menu of meds. I was looking forward to this miracle drug. At first there seemed to be some improvement, but it seems the last 2 months there has been a decline. She is constantly in pain, unable to move without pain. As she suffers in her wrists, she has trouble doing almost anything without help. In July we are to talk about another medication, I am real concerned about her taking all of these meds. Why isn't the methotrexate working? Thanks for being here! My prayers are with you. Pam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 26, 2000 Report Share Posted June 26, 2000 Welcome Pam, You found a great place to come for information on jra and to ask questions. My daughter is eigth years old and has systemic JRA since she was 5. She is on Indocin, Prednisone and Methotraxate 15mgs by injections.How many mgs. does your daughter take? My doctor said we can even up the mgs as high as 25mgs if we wanted, but I dont think I want to. It makes her feel so sick now, I wonder what would happen if they added more.I feel it hasnt helped her yet and she has been on it for over 2 months.Maybe the doctor will switch your daughter to Embrel, thats what I think my doctor is going to do . I will write again my daughter is calling me she is in pain again B > Hi Everyone, > > I am new here. I have an 11 year old daughter that has JRA, diagnosed 2years > ago. > She has been on naposyn, and sulfasalasine for the 16 months, in November the > doctor added methotrexate to her menu of meds. I was looking forward to this > miracle drug. At first there seemed to be some improvement, but it seems > the last 2 months there has been a decline. She is constantly in pain, unable > to move without pain. As she suffers in her wrists, she has trouble doing > almost anything without help. In July we are to talk about another > medication, I am real concerned about her taking all of these meds. > > Why isn't the methotrexate working? > > Thanks for being here! > My prayers are with you. > Pam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 27, 2000 Report Share Posted June 27, 2000 Dear Pam , Welcome to the group. My daughter, age 11, was diagnosed in November with systemic JRA. She takes naprosyn, plaquenil, and 2mg prednisone. I have read that methotrexate is only about 70% effective in rheumatoid arthritis. So that means 3 out of 10 kids may not find relief from it. I wonder if the new medicine that you are going to find out about is enbrel? It seems that more and more children are being put on enbrel. Good luck and welcome again. >From: chkirasa@... >Reply- egroups > egroups >Subject: Re: Methotrexate injections >Date: Mon, 26 Jun 2000 22:19:37 EDT > >Hi Everyone, > >I am new here. I have an 11 year old daughter that has JRA, diagnosed >2years >ago. >She has been on naposyn, and sulfasalasine for the 16 months, in November >the >doctor added methotrexate to her menu of meds. I was looking forward to >this >miracle drug. At first there seemed to be some improvement, but it seems >the last 2 months there has been a decline. She is constantly in pain, >unable >to move without pain. As she suffers in her wrists, she has trouble doing >almost anything without help. In July we are to talk about another >medication, I am real concerned about her taking all of these meds. > >Why isn't the methotrexate working? > >Thanks for being here! >My prayers are with you. >Pam > > > > > > >------------------------------------------------------------------------ >Get a NextCard Visa, in 30 seconds! >1. Fill in the brief application >2. Receive approval decision within 30 seconds >3. Get rates as low as 2.9% Intro or 9.9% Fixed APR >1/5197/3/_/524922/_/962072413/ >------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >For links to websites with JRA info visit: >http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Village/8414/Links.html > ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 27, 2000 Report Share Posted June 27, 2000 chkirasa@... wrote: > > Hi Everyone, > > I am new here. I have an 11 year old daughter that has JRA, diagnosed 2years > ago. > She has been on naposyn, and sulfasalasine for the 16 months, in November the > doctor added methotrexate to her menu of meds. I was looking forward to this > miracle drug. At first there seemed to be some improvement, but it seems > the last 2 months there has been a decline. She is constantly in pain, unable > to move without pain. As she suffers in her wrists, she has trouble doing > almost anything without help. In July we are to talk about another > medication, I am real concerned about her taking all of these meds. > > Why isn't the methotrexate working? > > Thanks for being here! > My prayers are with you. > Pam Hi Pam, Welcome. What type of JRA does your daughter have? In another post, you mentioned that she's been taking naposyn, sulfasalasine, and more recently methotrexate. Is she currently having undesirable side effects from them or is it more that they just don't control her symptoms well enough? It took us quite a long time to finally get my son's symptoms under control. Then again, this is one disease that is known to have periods of lesser activity, interspersed with periods of greater activity. It's hard to know for sure what to credit for his relatively good health right now. It can be scary to consider the possibility that our children may have side effects from the meds they take. This is definitely a valid concern. With some meds, allergic reactions and side effects happen relatively early in their use. Others have higher risk when taken long-term, like NSAIDs and related gastrointestinal problems. Someone here recently mentioned the possible risk of eye damage from plaquinel use and how important it is for kids taking this med to have regular eye exams to monitor for this. It's an extremely low percentage that are affected and our doctor has never had a patient on it have this visual side effect. But like he explained once, in the past it was only adults who were taking this med. Now that it's being used to treat young children with arthritis we can't say with certainty that it won't be more or less likely to cause problems later on in life, for kids like my son who have been taking it since they were really young and will probably be taking it for many more years than those who started the treatment later on in life (my son Josh started plaquinel when he was 7). I worry about the cumulative, long-term effects of a lot of the meds he takes. NSAIDs, steroids, DMARDs ... I feel like we're being pro-active, trying to prevent unneccessary side effects that are already known. My son takes calcium supplements and miacalcin to help counterract the effects on bone density that are caused by long-term steroid use. He takes cytotec with his NSAID to try to counterract gastrointestinal problems. At least we're aware of these issues and can try to balance it out a little bit. With some of the newer meds that have just come on the market, long-term side effects aren't even known yet. They haven't been in use long enough to know for certain. We might find out that " ****** " (insert name of one of many of the newest arthritis drugs) causes people to turn green after they've used if for 10 years! To me, that's a little more worrisome. I've also bought into the concept that JRA under-treated or left untreated can can cause some pretty scary things and badly damage a young person's body. How many times has it been said here: the best treatment is early and aggressive treatment. We were forced to use aggressive drug therapy. My son's illness came on suddenly and violently and mild measures, like using NSAIDs, did nothing at all to control his symptoms. He was hospitalized for two weeks and there were no improvements until after he started taking steroids, which in most cases are reserved for more severe cases. Knowing the risks of steroids, we started MTX right away as well, with the knowledge that it might take months before it had any effects at all, hoping to make it easier later on to taper the steroids. There were some huge improvements in his health status but his arthritis and it's related symptoms remained active and hard to control for well over a year. That's when we added the second DMARD to his cocktail of daily drugs. Since then, it's been a balancing act of sorts trying to find the right doses and combinations of meds to keep things at bay. We switched from MTX pills to weekly sub q injections about 9 months ago. That seems to have made a huge difference in his overall well-being. He had been taking gradually increasing doses in pill forms, starting on 7.5mgs in the beginning and going up to 15mgs. Finally, he seems to be doing really well. And through it all, his joints have remained in really good condition. And he has been flare-free for a few months. Hopefully, things will remain stable while we work on trying to taper the steroid dose again. It's a worry, though. So I know what you mean. Aloha, Georgina Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 27, 2000 Report Share Posted June 27, 2000 Hi , My son is 11 years old. He weighs about 67 pounds and is 3 feet 11 1/2 inches tall. His doctors say that he is taking the maximun allowable dose of MTX, based on his height and weight and body mass calculations. He takes 15mgs sub q per week. I'm just curious. How tall is your daughter and how much does she weigh? Take care, Georgina LINDA BUDD wrote: > > Welcome Pam, You found a great place to come for information on jra > and to ask questions. My daughter is eigth years old and has > systemic JRA since she was 5. She is on Indocin, Prednisone and > Methotraxate 15mgs by injections.How many mgs. does your daughter > take? My doctor said we can even up the mgs as high as 25mgs if we > wanted, but I dont think I want to. It makes her feel so sick now, I > wonder what would happen if they added more.I feel it hasnt helped > her yet and she has been on it for over 2 months.Maybe the doctor > will switch your daughter to Embrel, thats what I think my doctor is > going to do . I will write again my daughter is calling me she is in > pain again B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 27, 2000 Report Share Posted June 27, 2000 Hi , You know that we recently had an issue about the MTX injections versus the pills. My son all of a sudden decided he wanted the pills again (which were not working as well as we had hoped, during the 4 1/2 years he was taking them) instead of getting the injections done (which have seemed to have made big improvements, overall, in the past 9 months). When the rheumatologist lsitened to his concerns and thoughts on the whole issue, one of the things she said was that if he's having some nausea, fatigue, weird feelings .... that means it's at least getting in there and (hopefully) working. It's getting absorbed. Before, not enough of it was actaully being absorbed when he was taking the pills. She mentioned Phenergen and asked if he wanted to try that out. He didn't. He looked at her like, what! Are you crazy!?! I don't want ANOTHER pill!!! It's not so much nausea that he gets, and he's never vomitted from it, just that it makes him feel weird sometimes, like a dizziness. And extremely tired. 10 weeks is a short time for trying out a DMARD ... a slow acting anti-rheumatic drug. Sometimes it does take at least 3 months before you'll see any effects at all. If the phenergen helps her not have the nausea, I'd be inclined to stick it out a while longer. I'd wait and see so you'll know if the benefit outweighs the side effects. Plus, what if it was unrelated to the MTX and was a virus or something? Sometimes it's really not fair, the choices that we have to make on behalf of another human being. Especially someone we're so close to. Let us know how it goes this coming Friday, Georgina LINDA BUDD wrote: > > Hi, I am responding to what Angel wrote about if metho is so > wonderful why we still have to have all the other stuff done to still. > I had an awful weekend with , because of the Metho > injection. has benn on Methotrexate now for 10 weeks. 8 > weeks were pill form, and 2 weeks with injections. The first shot > went well, no side effects. Friday night we gave her the injection at > 10pm, at 3am she woke up hurting everywhere and burning up with > fever. She wanted to go in the jaquzzi to make her feel better. It > didnt help much. When she came out crying from pain, she said her > stomach hurt. She started throwing up. After there was nothing left > in her stomach we settled her down on the couch and gave her more > tylenol.(First time it did not stay down.)I took her temp. it was > 104.5. For the rest of the day she was very nausea and didnt eat all > day. The doctor prescribed Phenergan for the nausea and it helped. > Anyway the doctor wants us to take the metho. again Friday and > see what happens. If it happens again she said we will try something > else. ( Probably Enbrel.) > Do any of you think that what happened was because of the shot? > She got sick one other time from it back on week 2. In the 10 weeks > she has been on it I havent notice a difference yet. The doctor want > to give it 3 months before we try something else. The month of June > has been worst month yet since this came back in January. > Her blood work looks awful and she is very anemic. If the metho. is > suppose to make things better, why is she getting worse? > Thanks for any advice in advance B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 28, 2000 Report Share Posted June 28, 2000 Dear , My 9 year old has been on methotrexate injections since October, 1999. At no time did he have or has he had any reaction like you describe. Could your daughter have had a virus that coincided with the methotrexate? The symptoms: rapid illness, n/v and high fever do not sound like methotrexate side effects. Although we have not had that many more months of methotrexate injections than you, we have discovered a few hints that may help you: 1. Use EMLA cream to numb the arm prior to the shot. This takes the fear out of getting the injection until your child gets accustomed to the routine. 2. You can try giving the shot while your child is asleep on Saturday nights. This worked great for us until one restless night when woke up. You have to tell them the truth if this occurs. 3. We found that a shot at bedtime almost always resulted in nausea on Sunday morning. We started giving the shot in the early evening, around 6:00 pm, and this has been almost completely eliminated. 4. Also, check to make sure that the dose of methotrexate is not too high. This occured to us once, and did get symptoms of nausea, lethargic, very tired and just wanted to sleep. He was also anorexic. His MD skipped a week, decreased the dose and (Thank God) he is now eating us out of house and home. As you know, we gladly go to the grocery store since we spent so many years wondering why he was not growing and not eating. I hope these ideas help you. Also, my wife wonders if you are using Folic Acid monday thru Friday? Methotrexate depletes the bodies stores of Folic Acid and I know that I have seen some posts on JRA where people are not administering Folic Acid. Feel free to contact us at JFEYKO@... if we can help you further. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 29, 2000 Report Share Posted June 29, 2000 Thanks so much, for this post. Lots of great tips and information here, to help make MTX injections a little bit easier for our children. I'm sure it will be very helpful for those who are just beginning, or who may be considering, this treatment. Aloha, Georgina jfeyko@... wrote: > > Dear , > > My 9 year old has been on methotrexate injections since October, 1999. At no > time did he have or has he had any reaction like you describe. Could your > daughter have had a virus that coincided with the methotrexate? The > symptoms: rapid illness, n/v and high fever do not sound like methotrexate > side effects. > > Although we have not had that many more months of methotrexate injections > than you, we have discovered a few hints that may help you: > > 1. Use EMLA cream to numb the arm prior to the shot. This takes the fear > out of getting the injection until your child gets accustomed to the routine. > > 2. You can try giving the shot while your child is asleep on Saturday > nights. This worked great for us until one restless night when woke > up. You have to tell them the truth if this occurs. > > 3. We found that a shot at bedtime almost always resulted in nausea on > Sunday morning. We started giving the shot in the early evening, around 6:00 > pm, and this has been almost completely eliminated. > > 4. Also, check to make sure that the dose of methotrexate is not too high. > This occured to us once, and did get symptoms of nausea, lethargic, > very tired and just wanted to sleep. He was also anorexic. His MD skipped a > week, decreased the dose and (Thank God) he is now eating us out of house and > home. As you know, we gladly go to the grocery store since we spent so many > years wondering why he was not growing and not eating. > > I hope these ideas help you. Also, my wife wonders if you are using Folic > Acid monday thru Friday? Methotrexate depletes the bodies stores of Folic > Acid and I know that I have seen some posts on JRA where people are not > administering Folic Acid. > > Feel free to contact us at JFEYKO@... if we can help you further. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 10, 2000 Report Share Posted July 10, 2000 Kris, can you email me privately with Ashton's address, Alana got a postcard from her and wants to write back and lost the address. Thanks, sorry for posting this to the list. Bonnie Regional Director, PHD Products http://phdproducts.com mailto:bonnie@... 800-863-3403 Re: Methotrexate injections >Hi,My daughter Ashton has Poly JRA and is on the metho injections now for 2 - >3months ...the pill form made her very ill... vomitting ect. With the >injections it is hit or miss...one week she has it & she's fine the next >she's sick. We give her the phenergan at the first sign of naseau. She goes >back to Rheumy in Juoy gonna discuss it with them then. You are in my prayers >..Kris > >------------------------------------------------------------------------ >Shop at gazoontite.com & breathe happier and healthier! Click here! >1/5491/3/_/524922/_/962069450/ >------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >For links to websites with JRA info visit: >http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Village/8414/Links.html > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 21, 2005 Report Share Posted April 21, 2005 I am so sorry it has taken me so long to get back to you with an answer to your question about methotrexate...you see, I have been " thru a storm " so to speak: I have been having the baddest flare up it seems I've ever had, recently, not a chance of even attempting to walk, been in my wheelchair when I CAN get out of bed, and been in terrible pain! The V.A., here in Asheville are the folks who give me my supply of methotrexate, and it is shipped from a company in Charlotte, N.C. If you call up the department of veterans affairs, and explain your problem of obtaining this drug, I am sure they will tell you the name of the company that they use...mine always comes in the mail, and it is from Charlotte, N.C. Again, please forgive me for taking so long to answer you...this is the first day I have even been able to sit at the keyboard! I wish you success, and love to you, and may your pain abate! Again, I apologize...I have just had it really rough for some time , now...all my love to you....squarehead ken blackberrycat2002 <blackberrycat2002@...> wrote: Ken, you mention giving yourself methotrexate injections? May I ask where you are getting the med for the injections? Our pharmacies say no distribution is happening, tablets only, which are a problem. Is it OK to ask if the VA is supplying yours? If so, would the staff tell you their supplier, so I could hook my mother's doctor up with them? I'd really appreciate the help on this and hope you're doing much better. blackberrycat2002 (Pat in TN) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 13, 2006 Report Share Posted June 13, 2006 I went to my Rheumy last week and he is starting me on the Methotrexate Injection tomorrow. I don't have the slightest idea what to expect from this drug and hope someone can give me a guideline to help me get used to this. Which place on the body is the best place to have the injection? What are common side-effects from this drug? Is it as good as what some people say it is? Hopefully someone can help me. Thanks [Editor's Note: Methotrexate, or MTX, works differently on each person so we don't know whether it will help you or not. It has been around for over 20 years and helps many people with arthritis. We hope you will be one of them. It can have side effects such as fatigue, hair loss, mouth sores, etc., but most people don't experience any of these although fatigue is somewhat more common than the others. You can take folic acid to help ward off the fatigue. Talk to your rheumy about this. The horrible side effects you often read about relate to doses that are given for cancer patients. YOU will probably take a dose of around 15-25 ml whereas a cancer patient would take about 800 ml - as you can see - there is a world of difference between those two doses. The rheumy will probably inject you in the arm but you could (and should) learn to inject yourself (many of us do) in the thighs or tummy area. MTX is not injected into a vein so you don't have to be too meticulous about where to inject - basically, it's grab a little wad of skin (after cleaning with alcohol) and in it goes. Very thin needles can be used (28-30 gauge) and you almost don't feel them going in. Good luck. Let us know how it works for you - but it may be 8-10 weeks before you notice a difference. Kathy F.] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 4, 2011 Report Share Posted March 4, 2011 Hi Jan and Heidi.  In the beginning I took the MTX pills and they made me so sick, plus 24 hour nausea. After several weeks, I could not take it anymore. My Rheumy suggested I inject my MTX and it would be easier on me. I was a wreck thinking about injecting myself, but she showed me how to do it, and it is almost 7 years of doing it myself each week. No more sickness or nausea. The injections have worked well for me.  I wish you success with the MTX injections. Much easier on our systems and stomach.  Hugs,  Barbara > ...... I have enough side effects from > the Methotrexate that I don't need any others. I was just switched to > injections vs. 20 mg Methotrexate per week. I hope the injectable is easier on > me. Has anyone switched to the injections? Did it lessen any of the side > effects? > > Heidi in Denver Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 6, 2011 Report Share Posted March 6, 2011 hi Do those on methotrexate injections find that they are not as tired as when taking tablets? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 6, 2011 Report Share Posted March 6, 2011 and Barbara, I appreciate your messages concerning hair and MTX. I found this information on the Web: What Actually Causes the Hair Loss? According to rheumatologist J. Zashin, MD, " Hair loss from arthritis medication is typically secondary to what is called telogen effluvium. This type of hair loss occurs when some stress, such as a medication, causes hair roots to be pushed prematurely into a resting state, called telogen. Abrupt diffuse hair loss will typically be noticed after two or more months from the time the stress occurred -- for example, the time the medication was started. " What Can Be Done to Stop Hair Loss Associated With Medication? Once the medication is discontinued, or with time, the shedding will gradually resolve over 6-9 months. There is no specific treatment for the hair loss that occurs secondary to medication except for discontinuing it. On the other hand, taking leucovorin(folinic acid) 8-12 hours after methotrexate may decrease this potential side effect without altering the effectiveness of the drug. http://arthritis.about.com/od/arthritismedications/f/hair_loss.htm Jan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 6, 2011 Report Share Posted March 6, 2011 Thanks Jan. Always good to read things about thinning hair and loss of it.  Hugs,  Barbara From: Jan <jmas@...> Subject: Re: [ ] Methotrexate injections Date: Sunday, March 6, 2011, 3:17 PM  and Barbara, I appreciate your messages concerning hair and MTX. I found this information on the Web: What Actually Causes the Hair Loss? According to rheumatologist J. Zashin, MD, " Hair loss from arthritis medication is typically secondary to what is called telogen effluvium. This type of hair loss occurs when some stress, such as a medication, causes hair roots to be pushed prematurely into a resting state, called telogen. Abrupt diffuse hair loss will typically be noticed after two or more months from the time the stress occurred -- for example, the time the medication was started. " What Can Be Done to Stop Hair Loss Associated With Medication? Once the medication is discontinued, or with time, the shedding will gradually resolve over 6-9 months. There is no specific treatment for the hair loss that occurs secondary to medication except for discontinuing it. On the other hand, taking leucovorin(folinic acid) 8-12 hours after methotrexate may decrease this potential side effect without altering the effectiveness of the drug. http://arthritis.about.com/od/arthritismedications/f/hair_loss.htm Jan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 7, 2011 Report Share Posted March 7, 2011 Hi Heidi, re: your post . . . . Ok, this is probably a dumb question, but I'm going to ask anyway. I picked up my Methotrexate along with 30 syringes. The instructions say to inject 0.8 MLS subcutaneously once week. I have a 250 mg bottle of Methotrexate and not sure how to administer this. I've only used pre-filled syringes in the past (Cimzia). The syringe itself goes up to 1.0ml , so I'm assuming I fill up to .8 ml of the syringe. How and where do you inject? My pharmacist wasn't much help. Thanks, Heidi in Denver .. . . . you can find a couple of demonstration videos on this on You Tube. The one with the man is the best one. He is nervous as it is his first time to inject himself, but he does complete it and it did not look too hard to do. Hi everyone, I am and I joined recently. I really appreciate hearing everyone's experiences. Thanks for all your input. I hope I can input too at times. in Texas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 7, 2011 Report Share Posted March 7, 2011 Little off topic but your mention your pharmacist is no help. In my mind it has been the greatest help to me to have a wonderful team of pharmacists. After trying the whole list Walmart, Walgreens, CVS, Target and Publix I am finally doing all my business at Kmart. Their prices are great. They have all the usual $5 deals and the regular discounts but their other prices are usually less than my co-pay. I have saved a great deal of money but the most important thing is they are knowledgable and take time to give me very personal service. I dont know what I would do without these wonderful people. Good docs are so important but I think a great pharmacy is also a must have. Just a side note you actually earn points every time you make a purchase at Kmart. The points turn to cash. Hey, everylittle bit helps. CArol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 7, 2011 Report Share Posted March 7, 2011 I was sick with a virus about 3 weeks before my symptoms started. I do think that virus was the trigger. However, I was afraid to delay a known effective treatment (MTX) because everything seems to say joint damage can happen so quickly. Down the road, I think a cure for some kinds of RA are going to go back to the infections that seem to trigger it in so many people. I took my 4th dose of MTX Friday night and it was my 2nd dose at 5 pills or 12.5 mg. Saturday AM I got up and took a 75 minute yoga class and then went home and walked the dog one brisk, hilly mile. That afternoon I took a nap...it was a gray, rainy day in Georgia...good napping weather. I didn't feel any great fatigue. No stomach upsets. Friday I go to 17.5 mg MTX. Still at 10 mg. prednisone until next week when I will drop to 7.5. Take folic acid daily and 50,000 IU Vitamin D one day a week, per prescription. I take the MTX at night before bed (eat something first). Pred, folic acid, Vit D in the morning after breakfast. Also, OTC fish oil and calcium tablets around dinnertime. Janice in Georgia > > I finally got in to see a rheumatologist yesterday and she wants me to start on methotrexate. I've had RA symptoms for the past several months (came on very suddenly one day, practically overnight). She advised that side effects from the injections would be less than from oral administration, and also more effective. Additionally, she recommended taking it with the B vitamin, folic acid, to help lessen side effects. > > Heidi, what side effects did you experience? I'm still trying to decide what to do. I tend to agree with Ros when she said that the cause or trigger of autoimmune disorders seems to be a " stealth bacteria. " (I had a tooth abscess back in 2009, at which time I started to have symptoms of Sjogren's, and now RA.) So I'm thinking that taking minocycline might be the better way to go. It's all so confusing. > > Jan > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 7, 2011 Report Share Posted March 7, 2011 I was told that I could alternate thighs and stomach. I wasn't that happy with the stomach so I alternate thighs - mid thigh, sort of to the side. Make sure the muscle is relaxed and it's easy. I hardly ever even get a bruise. I take a gravol (anti-nausea OTC)before I do it, in the evenings after supper. By the time I wake up in the morning I'm feeling pretty normal. I do try to avoid fatty foods right around the time of the shot. A whole lot of Cheetos make me feel worse Annette On Mon, Mar 7, 2011 at 2:49 PM, jjo193 <jjo193@...> wrote: > I was sick with a virus about 3 weeks before my symptoms started. I do > think that virus was the trigger. However, I was afraid to delay a known > effective treatment (MTX) because everything seems to say joint damage can > happen so quickly. Down the road, I think a cure for some kinds of RA are > going to go back to the infections that seem to trigger it in so many > people. > > I took my 4th dose of MTX Friday night and it was my 2nd dose at 5 pills or > 12.5 mg. Saturday AM I got up and took a 75 minute yoga class and then went > home and walked the dog one brisk, hilly mile. That afternoon I took a > nap...it was a gray, rainy day in Georgia...good napping weather. I didn't > feel any great fatigue. No stomach upsets. Friday I go to 17.5 mg MTX. > Still at 10 mg. prednisone until next week when I will drop to 7.5. Take > folic acid daily and 50,000 IU Vitamin D one day a week, per prescription. > I take the MTX at night before bed (eat something first). Pred, folic > acid, Vit D in the morning after breakfast. Also, OTC fish oil and calcium > tablets around dinnertime. > > Janice in Georgia > > -- > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 7, 2011 Report Share Posted March 7, 2011 When I did the injections at first I was really nervous but got used to it very quickly. I had always been a big chicken when it came to needles to the point I couldn't even give blood because my heart rate was to fast and I would bleed too fast for them and pass out. If I can learn to conquer the fear and lean to do it anyone can lol. I always chose my stomach as I have more fat there. I used to do alot of sports so I have more muscle mass than fat in my thighs. I found the more fat the less pain in my case. I also use an ice pack on the area I'm going to inject into so I don't feel the needle going in. Turn the bottle of mtx upside down and insert the needle into the center gray area and draw back till it fills just past the 8 line on the syringe. Remove the needle from the bottle and set aside. Next make sure that all the air bubbles are out of the syringe. Hold the syringe with the needle pointing up and tap the side to make sure all air goes towards the needle and gently apply pressure on the plunger till all air is out and only liquid comes out. Set the syringe down and prepare your injection site. Clean the area with alcohol to prevent infection ( I did this after numbing the site with an icepack). Next if you are doing it in the stomach make sure to be almost even with your belly button but 2 inches away from it in a horizontal line. Pinch the area with one hand and inject the needle into the pinched area. I found that counting to 3 and doing more of a stab action verses a slow insertion is much less painful. That's why nurses when giving shots always look like they want to stab ya lol. After the needle is in let go of the pinched area and slowly push the plunger till it will not go any further. Make sure to have a cotton ball or the alcohol swab near so when you take the needle out you can hold it there a second so the mtx doesn't come back out the injection site. Getting into the habit of injecting slowly comes in handy incase in the future you have to try Humara or Embrel as those burn going in and going slower seems to help with that. I tried the auto injectors but always jumped when it made the clicking sound and ended up pulling the needle out and the meds would flow down my leg instead of into it. lol Good luck with your new meds and I hope they work much better for you than they did for me. They are still trying to find my magic med. My next one will be Orencia IV if I can ever get my infected dog bite to clear up. Right now I'm not able to take any of my RA meds so I'm living on pain meds and Aleve. Gentle Hugs, Jeanette in Houston -- Re: [ ] Re: Methotrexate injections , Ok, this is probably a dumb question, but I'm going to ask anyway. I picked up my Methotrexate along with 30 syringes. The instructions say to inject 0.8 MLS subcutaneously once week. I have a 250 mg bottle of Methotrexate and not sure how to administer this. I've only used pre-filled syringes in the past (Cimzia). The syringe itself goes up to 1.0ml , so I'm assuming I fill up to .8 ml of the syringe. How and where do you inject? My pharmacist wasn't much help. Thanks, Heidi in Denver Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 8, 2011 Report Share Posted March 8, 2011 Jeanette, Thank you so much. I feel better now and have more information as to how to inject, although, I'm a big wuss when it comes to needles. Yesterday, I watched a video on how to inject Methotrexate and it helped, but I was still scared. I have to inject on Thursday night and I'm certain it will take me at least an hour to talk myself into it. Did you say you had a dog bite? What happened? Heidi in Denver ________________________________ From: Jeanette <nettbrand@...> Sent: Mon, March 7, 2011 7:51:20 PM Subject: Re: [ ] Re: Methotrexate injections When I did the injections at first I was really nervous but got used to it very quickly. I had always been a big chicken when it came to needles to the point I couldn't even give blood because my heart rate was to fast and I would bleed too fast for them and pass out. If I can learn to conquer the fear and lean to do it anyone can lol. I always chose my stomach as I have more fat there. I used to do alot of sports so I have more muscle mass than fat in my thighs. I found the more fat the less pain in my case. I also use an ice pack on the area I'm going to inject into so I don't feel the needle going in. Turn the bottle of mtx upside down and insert the needle into the center gray area and draw back till it fills just past the 8 line on the syringe. Remove the needle from the bottle and set aside. Next make sure that all the air bubbles are out of the syringe. Hold the syringe with the needle pointing up and tap the side to make sure all air goes towards the needle and gently apply pressure on the plunger till all air is out and only liquid comes out. Set the syringe down and prepare your injection site. Clean the area with alcohol to prevent infection ( I did this after numbing the site with an icepack). Next if you are doing it in the stomach make sure to be almost even with your belly button but 2 inches away from it in a horizontal line. Pinch the area with one hand and inject the needle into the pinched area. I found that counting to 3 and doing more of a stab action verses a slow insertion is much less painful. That's why nurses when giving shots always look like they want to stab ya lol. After the needle is in let go of the pinched area and slowly push the plunger till it will not go any further. Make sure to have a cotton ball or the alcohol swab near so when you take the needle out you can hold it there a second so the mtx doesn't come back out the injection site. Getting into the habit of injecting slowly comes in handy incase in the future you have to try Humara or Embrel as those burn going in and going slower seems to help with that. I tried the auto injectors but always jumped when it made the clicking sound and ended up pulling the needle out and the meds would flow down my leg instead of into it. lol Good luck with your new meds and I hope they work much better for you than they did for me. They are still trying to find my magic med. My next one will be Orencia IV if I can ever get my infected dog bite to clear up. Right now I'm not able to take any of my RA meds so I'm living on pain meds and Aleve. Gentle Hugs, Jeanette in Houston Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 8, 2011 Report Share Posted March 8, 2011 > I was told when I talked to my Rheumy last week to let her know the terrible experience that I was having with the Sulfasalazene, that when I come in Friday she is going to explain and put me on Methotrexate. I am curious Heidi if you do it Thurs. because that is a week out from your first injections (maybe first injection was at Dr.?) or if there is a reason that Thurs. is best for you. i have read a few things about when to take it. When do you all take it and why is that the day you do it? Theresa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 8, 2011 Report Share Posted March 8, 2011 Theresa, I started taking Methotrexate in pill form every Thursday because I was off on Friday and that gave me three days to recuperate from the side effects of the pill form before work on Monday. I've just switched to injections and will keep the same schedule as before. Hopefully, I will have less side effects from the injections. I prefer nights because I've experienced a lot of nausea and GI upset from the pill form and am able to sleep through most of it. I suggest having a full stomach when taking your dose, it seems to help. Good Luck! Heidi In Denver ________________________________ From: tcroteau32 <tcroteau@...> Sent: Tue, March 8, 2011 10:36:19 AM Subject: [ ] Re: Methotrexate injections > I was told when I talked to my Rheumy last week to let her know the terrible >experience that I was having with the Sulfasalazene, that when I come in Friday >she is going to explain and put me on Methotrexate. I am curious Heidi if you >do it Thurs. because that is a week out from your first injections (maybe first >injection was at Dr.?) or if there is a reason that Thurs. is best for you. i >have read a few things about when to take it. When do you all take it and why >is that the day you do it? Theresa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 10, 2011 Report Share Posted March 10, 2011 , that's interesting. So you can really notice a difference in the way you feel soon after taking the injection? I would have thought it would be just the opposite - that you would feel worse immediately afterwards due to possible side effects. How long were you taking MTX before you noticed this difference before and after the injections? I haven't started mine yet. Still trying to work up the courage - not in giving myself the shots, but in overcoming the fear of side effects of the drug. Jan On Mar 8, 2011, at 1:22 PM, Greenfield wrote: > I take mine Sunday evenings, because I need to feel my best during the week, > to get my kids to school. Weekends I can just stay home if I feel crappy, > which I usually do the couple of days before my injection... > > ~ in SLC~ > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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