Hi Koala ~ I'm sorry but I don't know what SAPHO is. I probably should, but I don't. I can give you some info on Methatrexate tho, as my son was on that when he was beiing treated for leukemia as a child.

It CAN be a nasty drug, but it is monitored VERY carefully by the doctors, and rarely do you have much of a problem with it unless the doctor doesn't know what he's doing. And I doubt he would prescribe it if he wasn't familiar with it, so she shouldn't have to worry about it. The following are some of the side effects: Dizziness, drowziness, headache, swollen and tender gums, no appetite, red eyes, hair loss. These are the most common side effects but that doesn't mean she's going to get them all, or get them at ALL. They are just the ones that were most often reported.

There are more serious ones, but they are very rare and you don't need to worry about them. If anything DOES happen that isn't on this list, and you deem it to be serious, have her STOP the med and go to the hospital immediately.

I seem to remember that my son's blood counts would bottom out while he was on this too, but his were already seriously low anyway, so a normal person generally wouldn't have to worry about it.

Best of luck and I hope your niece does well. God bless. Hugs, Lee