Re: Questions on Methotrexate

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 07/12/2001 2:01:43 PM Eastern Daylight Time,

lesliesa@... writes:

<< I was wondering if it is better to take in the mtx in the

morning or at night (to lessen side effects)? Do you feel tired or

sick after taking it?

Hi - I take mine on Sat. night - that way if I don't feel good on

Sun., it's ok, I don't have to go anywhere. Last Sat. I couldn't find a new

needle (I inject) so I didn't take it till Sun. a.m. What a mistake! I

felt like crap all day. Now it could have been something else, but I'm

blaming the MTX

<>

Yes there is!!! You are buying the doctor's service. If you don't like it,

tell him/her why and what to do to improve. You can find other doctors.

1-800-doctors is a good resource to find ones in your area who take your

insurance.

Good luck,

[Guest guest]

Well, I saw my rheumy today and he increased my dose

of prednisone to

10mg a day, told me to quit taking the vioxx cause it

wasn't helping,

he gave me darvocet for the pain and put me on 10mg of

methotrexate

1x a week. I was wondering if it is better to take in

the mtx in the

morning or at night (to lessen side effects)?

:

I was on mtx injections for a bit(the pills made me

sick) I always took it in the middle of the day and by

bed time I was perfectly tired. I feel I was one of

the lucky ones when it comes to side effects. I did

take the folic acid and think almost anyone on it does

take it. I truly think mtx does affect everyone

differently. The only side effect I did feel was

being tired. I was only on it for 6 months but it

seemed to have slowed the PA down a lot. Good luck

and I am sure everyone on this list will help you.

Judy

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

-

I had some nausea and headaches when I first started

taking it (at 17.5mg/week), so I take it on Friday

evenings, so I have the whole weekend to recuperate if

necessary. After the first 3 weeks, though, I did not

have any side effect attributed to the MTX.

Speaking of MTX, I just got back from my PCP.. have

had a sore throat for a few days.. he determined that

I have *at least* actue pharyngitis, and possibly

pneumonia.. so, depending on the chest x-rays that I

had done this afternoon, I may be heading into the

hospital tomorrow morning.

--- lesliesa@... wrote:

> Greetings all,

>

> Well, I saw my rheumy today and he increased my dose

> of prednisone to

> 10mg a day, told me to quit taking the vioxx cause

> it wasn't helping,

> he gave me darvocet for the pain and put me on 10mg

> of methotrexate

> 1x a week. I was wondering if it is better to take

> in the mtx in the

> morning or at night (to lessen side effects)? Do

> you feel tired or

> sick after taking it? I have seen many postings

> where people take

> folic acid along with the mtx. I asked my dr. and

> he said that if I

> get side effects he will prescribe it for me but

> until then that

> would be just one more pill for me to take and he

> didn't think it was

> necessary. Should I be concerned? I don't want to

> get mouth sores

> or lose hair. Don't really like my doc too much but

> I guess there is

> not much I can do about it...........

>

>

>

>

>

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

He gave me the pills (mtx). He never mentioned the injections to

me. I asked him if I should be on folic acid and he said that if I

start noticing side effects then he will prescribe some but as of now

that will be just one more pill for me to take and he didn't think it

was necessary. Can you believe that?!?! What about PREVENTING side

effects. Anyways I went to the health food store and bought some.

It is 400mcg so the lady told me that I could take two or three a

day. Unfortunately there is not a rheumatologist in the town I live

in. I have to drive an hour to see my doc. I had found one other

doc that I liked better but he turned out to be " out of network. "

Don't you just love insurance? Well at least I HAVE insurance now.

Wishing everyone well.

[Guest guest]

-

I was re-reading this, and it raised some personal

concern about your rheumy.. I mean.. you two are going

to get to spend a LOT of time together, if my last 9

months are any indication..

He took you off Vioxx, and left you on just Prednisone

and MTX? Did he try the other COX-2 inhibitor,

Celebrex? Did he discuss another NSAID, like

piroxicam, sulindac, diclofenac, anything like that?

My rheumy went through everything until we found that

Celebrex was the only one that had any effect.

From what I have heard, folic acid is almost *always*

prescribed along with MTX.. when we take it, our

bodies have a much harder time fighting off viruses,

colds, etc, and the folic acid can help that

sometimes..

Also, Darvocet is a lousy " painkiller " .. it doesn't

really do much for pain, and the side effects are (in

my opinion) way too risky for such a small return.. I

take Vicodin and Lortab for my pain at night, and my

rheumatologist provides me with samples of Ultram for

during the day (amazing stuff.. very good pain relief

with NO fuzzy head or impaired motor skills..

unfortunately, it is not available as a generic, so

most HMOs won't pay for it, and PPOs tend to have it

as a 3rd tier drug, so it remains expensive).

Anyway.. I would go ahead and ask for the prescription

for folic acid, if I was in your shoes.. it's one

small pill a day, its very inexpensive, and it

definitely can't hurt. (Of course, in my case, I'm

taking about 12 pills a day on non-MTX days, so it's

not a major difference in my pill taking)

--- lesliesa@... wrote:

> Greetings all,

>

> Well, I saw my rheumy today and he increased my dose

> of prednisone to

> 10mg a day, told me to quit taking the vioxx cause

> it wasn't helping,

> he gave me darvocet for the pain and put me on 10mg

> of methotrexate

> 1x a week. I was wondering if it is better to take

> in the mtx in the

> morning or at night (to lessen side effects)? Do

> you feel tired or

> sick after taking it? I have seen many postings

> where people take

> folic acid along with the mtx. I asked my dr. and

> he said that if I

> get side effects he will prescribe it for me but

> until then that

> would be just one more pill for me to take and he

> didn't think it was

> necessary. Should I be concerned? I don't want to

> get mouth sores

> or lose hair. Don't really like my doc too much but

> I guess there is

> not much I can do about it...........

>

>

>

>

>

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

, I have been taking MTX (10 mg) for about 3 months. My

rheummy prescribed folic acid at the same time as the MTX to help

with the side effects i.e. hair loss, mouth sores, tiredness, etc.

So I have been taking 10 MG of folic acid the day before, the day of,

and the day after my injection. All other days I take 4 MG. He said

that I may be able to cut down on the folic acid as we go along. So

far the only side effects I have noticed have been a somewhat

lessoning of appetite, feeling tired, and one bout of depression. I

started on oral MTX the first month and then learned that injections

caused less side effects so for the past two months I have been doing

the injections. If your doctor will not give you the folic acid you

can probably get it at any drug store or vitamin store. God Bless.

Lee

In @y..., lesliesa@r... wrote:

> Greetings all,

>

> Well, I saw my rheumy today and he increased my dose of prednisone

to

> 10mg a day, told me to quit taking the vioxx cause it wasn't

helping,

> he gave me darvocet for the pain and put me on 10mg of methotrexate

> 1x a week. I was wondering if it is better to take in the mtx in

the

> morning or at night (to lessen side effects)? Do you feel tired or

> sick after taking it? I have seen many postings where people take

> folic acid along with the mtx. I asked my dr. and he said that if

I

> get side effects he will prescribe it for me but until then that

> would be just one more pill for me to take and he didn't think it

was

> necessary. Should I be concerned? I don't want to get mouth sores

> or lose hair. Don't really like my doc too much but I guess there

is

> not much I can do about it...........

>

>

[Guest guest]

We tried Celebrex before I started the prednisone and it had no

effect. I was on the vioxx for 1 month and the inflammation and

swelling was getting worse. My doc finally prescribed darvocet for

the pain and even now that is not helping. He told me to quit taking

the vioxx when he started me on the mtx cause it wasn't working. He

said that if it didn't work there was no point to take it. He upped

my prednisone to 10mg(I have been on it since last November and was

down to 5mg). I had told him before that I wanted off of the

prednisone because I was gaining weight and am afraid of the long

term side effects. I had also tried the diclofenac and it was too

hard on my stomach. I was really angry when I asked him about the

folic acid. I have always had a weak immune system. I don't

understand why he would think it was necessary only after I

experienced the side effects (from the mtx). How much folic acid is

usually prescribed? I bought some from a vitamin store it is

400mcg. The lady said I could take 2 or 3 a day. Is it the same as

the prescribed kind? I know I should find another dr. but

rheumatologist are hard to find - there just aren't enough of them.

thanks,

> > Greetings all,

> >

> > Well, I saw my rheumy today and he increased my dose

> > of prednisone to

> > 10mg a day, told me to quit taking the vioxx cause

> > it wasn't helping,

> > he gave me darvocet for the pain and put me on 10mg

> > of methotrexate

> > 1x a week. I was wondering if it is better to take

> > in the mtx in the

> > morning or at night (to lessen side effects)? Do

> > you feel tired or

> > sick after taking it? I have seen many postings

> > where people take

> > folic acid along with the mtx. I asked my dr. and

> > he said that if I

> > get side effects he will prescribe it for me but

> > until then that

> > would be just one more pill for me to take and he

> > didn't think it was

> > necessary. Should I be concerned? I don't want to

> > get mouth sores

> > or lose hair. Don't really like my doc too much but

> > I guess there is

> > not much I can do about it...........

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

>

>

> __________________________________________________

>

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 07/14/2001 5:04:09 AM Eastern Daylight Time,

lesliesa@... writes:

<< I asked him if I should be on folic acid and he said that if I

start noticing side effects then he will prescribe some but as of now

that will be just one more pill for me to take and he didn't think it

was necessary. Can you believe that?!?! What about PREVENTING side

effects. >>

- Don't be afraid to tell him this! He made a mistake - make sure you

let him know it. Remember that just because he has an M.D. after his name

doesn't mean he knows everything! If my doc. made an error like that, I'd be

on the phone immediately bawling him out. Doctors provide a SERVICE, we are

the PAYING customer. When they don't do their jobs right, tell them.

Just my opinion,

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 07/16/2001 1:12:13 AM Eastern Daylight Time,

lesliesa@... writes:

<< How much folic acid is

usually prescribed? I bought some from a vitamin store it is

400mcg. The lady said I could take 2 or 3 a day. Is it the same as

the prescribed kind? >>

- My rheumy prescribed 1 MG which is 1000mcgs. She also said that OTC

folic acid is exactly the same as Rx. You could take 3 a day and you would

be at 1200 mcgs. or 1.2 MG which should more than cover you.

Good luck,

[Guest guest]

,

Just thought I'd let you know what my rheumy said about folic acid-- he

didn't want me to take it right away because even though it reduces the

occurence of some side effects, it also sort of neutralizes some of mtx's

effectiveness--so he had me wait until we noticed any side effects to start

on it. He wanted to give the mtx a chance to really take effect and help me.

He did, however, give me a prescription right away and left it up to me when

I would start taking it.