Methotrexate
 

My daughters Rheumatologist is wanting to put her on methotrexate. She's 22yrs old. Metally disabled. So it's pretty much up to my husband and I if she goes on this med.

My daughter is all for it, if it will keep her hearing up. I'm concerned though.

There are no plans for my daughter to get pregnant any time soon. That is probably never going to happen anyway.

So basically there is nothing stopping us from putting her on this med.

I posted about this in the MS forum, but would like to hear from anyone that has taken methotrexate.

Please let me know if you took it. Any side effects you had. Any problems.
Did you do well on it.

That kind of thing.

Thanks so much
DAY

several years
 

I have taken methotrexate combined with Humira for almost 4 years for Rheumatoid Arthritis and Sjogren's Syndrome. I do well on it. I am presently taking 20 mg. of it once a week. Be sure that if your daughter does take this medication that she is given prescription strength folic acid.

Good luck,
Billye

I am sure you
 

have researched this treatment well.

I have only a couple of suggestions.

1) I would get a baseline bone density done, because there are unclear
relationships of methotrexate and bone loss. The data vacillate on this topic.
So watching is wise.

2) for an impaired person, using this treatment, the guardian should make
sure the patient can communicate gastrointestinal discomfort reliably.
Some people develop stomach intolerance for methotrexate. In that case
they are usually given injectable form.

Here is an article that discusses folic acid supplementation:
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/538184

Her doctor said she would take the methotrexate 1 time a week. She would take folic acid every day.

I think I was leaning toward going ahead and letting her try it. Then yesterday I looked it up. Now I'm scared. The warnings on the med say death from toxicity a million times.

Now I'm worried. And I'm not sure what to do now.

DAY

yes...
 

This is a major decision. Methotrexate is a major thing to consider.

But...it has been used this way, once a week dosing for about a decade now, with success.

To consider is good medical supervision. When blood work is done on time it
can reveal dangerous trends/changes before things get too toxic.

But the final decision is for quality of life benefit. If it does not perform well, it is best to move on. If the condition is not severe, disabling and agonizing the risk may not be worth the benefit either. So lots of things need to be considered.

You can read about it here:
http://www.rxlist.com/cgi/generic/mtx.htm

And here is the medwatch papers for one year of this drug...
Not a high number of damages considering other drugs that appear on this
site. But also to take into consideration is that this drug is not commonly used
either...so its numbers would be low.
http://patientsville.com/medication/...de_effects.htm

Wow, that's a tough one, Day1. Best of luck to you and your dear daughter. :hug:

Day

I took it for a year and I am still here. Yes there are side effects of MTX. I already answered your post in the MS forum.

A very close friend of mine is on MTX for Rheumatoid Arthritis and has been since she was 15. She is now 30. She is doing well. I believe for every success story there is a failure. It is a tough decision. No kidding about it. It's a very strong drug.

Good luck with your decision. It is a personal one. Every day. :hug:

I have been on Methotrexate & Folic Acid for several months for RA. I have experienced sore throats and mouth sores (mainly on gums around teeth). My Rheumy & myself found that it just wasn't working by itself so he added Remicade infusions. I have had three and have felt much improvement. It has even began to clear up my psoarisis of which I've had for the passed 2 years!
Something that you have to consider is that with any drug comes side effects and ask yourself, "Will the benefits of treatment out-weigh the possible pitfalls?"

Hope this helps and I hope your daughter feels better soon. God Bless!

Be very carefull with this med it can really mess up your immune system. My father is on it and rarely caught a cold until he started this med ,now he is very suseptable to pneumonia. Also anytime he gets a cut or anytype of area that could become infected he has to be very careful. In fact just a year and half ago he became septic after having a small mole removed. Just be careful with this med.

My Rheumy wants me to take it, and my MS MD says IV solumedrol would be fine. so, I am stuck in the middle.

I too struggle with whether to take this med or not. From what I hear, it can drastically improve some major sx i have, but then again, it can also really be harmful if it goes sideways.

Scary scary stuff. I still dont know what I will do.

How is your daughter?