Methotrexate - how long to work?

[Guest guest]

Hi everyone,

I was diagnosed with PA in the last week after 6 weeks of Prednisolone

and Mobic. While they gave mild relief, the rheumy says it is time for

Methotrexate (3 pills per week). He said it might take 3-4 weeks to

kick in. Just wondering what good experiences you guys have had. How

long did it take to kick in and how good did you feel afterward? At

present my feet and wrists/hands are very weak and sore.

Cheers all,

[Guest guest]

Hi Methotrexate actually put me on my feet literally. It took about four weeks

the doctor Told me that six weeks is usually when it kicks in. Like you I

started out at 3 pills. I am Now up to six and doing well. Hope this helps.

Jolene

[Guest guest]

It helped slowly for me. Probably kicked in some within the first

month but took 3 months for the full effect to be felt. If you are

still taking the pred it might not seem so slow for you. If you stop

the pred you are going to feel worse before you feel better. If you

don't feel a lot better within 10-12 weeks, ask the rheumy about one of

the newer meds. regards, sherry z

>

> Hi everyone,

> I was diagnosed with PA in the last week after 6 weeks of Prednisolone

> and Mobic.

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

I have been on MTX for years. It has helped me tremendously. I take ten pills

per week. In addition, I am on Humira, having been on Enbrel since 2000, I

switched about 2  mo ago, and I Love it. I am also on prednisone - 5 mg/day down

from 10 mg. I've been on prednisone for 20 years, and so happy to be getting

lower. Don't know if I will ever be able to ditch it entirely.

You should know that I was diagnosed in 1973, have been on nearly everything. My

choice to use steroids wasn't made lightly, but I couldn't move. It has given me

a long period of reasonable comfort. Not without side effects, which I made a

conscious choice to deal with. My case was a particularly rampant one.

I hope the MTX works for you. Give it a try - do your lab work - years ago, my

liver numbers were too high and so I got off the MTX. The pain was so horrible,

my doc allowed me back on it, and I have been ok since.

Give it a try, and we shall all stay optimistic for you.

Libby in New Mexico

[Guest guest]

Libby:  am curious as to why the switch from Enbrel to Humira and what do you

think are the advantages of Humira?  I'm asking only because I'd only been

on Enbrel for about 8 months (started taking it right after I was

diagnosed) and it was working beautifully for me but my doctor - out of the blue

and for no reason I could discern - asked me if I wanted to switch to Humira.  I

told her no since Enbrel was working fine and I've heard others say that

sometimes a PsA drug will no longer work for you and you have to switch. 

 Joanna Hoelscher

[Guest guest]

Hi Sherry,

Yes I am off the prednisone and you are right...I am feeling a bit worse having

only been on MTX for one week. Anyway my chin is up and I look forward to

feeling better with MTX. Cheers.

" ayrton192068 " <vk2vhf@...>

[Guest guest]

Looking back on my MTX treatment I would probably say that my previous rheumy

didn't increase the dose quickly enough. He kept me on 7.5 mg for a long time,

about 6 months, then increased it to 10 mg when I also had a shoulder

problem. When I saw the second rheumy he increased it to 15 mg, saying an extra

2.5 mg wouldn't make enough difference. Then I was increased to 20 mg. Then

after having NSAID esophagus problems, he's added 10 mg Arava. So I suppose I

cant really say how long it takes to work. Its meant to take about 6 weeks I

think to take effect, so maybe discuss with your rheumy after 2 months or so. I

did mention to my dermy that I would have thought that 20 mg MTX should have

helped my skin more, but she said some people don't respond that well.

Another thing, while I was taking the MTX I was on NSAIDs too, so that sort of

masks the pain and inflammation (rather than preventing joint damage). So in a

way, I think you cant really tell how well MTX is working until you stop the

NSAIDs like I had to.

regards

max