I have been on methotrexate since April and am not getting relief. My rheumatologist is great but I seem to be getting worse. I started on six pills and now am on 8 and then will progress to 10 before I can start a biologic. The pain is unbearable as many of you know. I do take Hydrocodone acetemethaphin for pain, Lyrica for my fibro when I have a flare of that. Has metho worked for anyone?
I am having the same problem. I am being treated by my derm for psoriasis with mtx… Started @ 6 pills a week, helped for the first month with the p then it got worse again so they upped it to 7 a wk. Rheumy said she was curious if mtx would help all my joint, neck, back pains as she thinks its from my fibro not psa because i dont have any swelling. I have nail p and my thumb, 2 big toes are started to swell a bit and now the bones in my feet are hurting, especially when i get up in the morning. Lower ba k, hips painful & stiff always. Hands always hurt too. So no relief for me from mtx. Wish i had pain pills my rhuemy wont prescribe hydrocordone more than 30 day script per yr. All tests have ruled out any other arthrits. Not sure what to do next.
It seems that mtx is not as highly rated in efficacy for psa treatment as it is for RA. Unfortunately, it seems that the insurance companies are slow in getting this information so many of us still need to "try" the mtx for 12 weeks or more, fail, then be offered biologics. The rhuemies may also not be up on this information yet either. This is just what I've seen when researching about mtx. I was on it for 12 weeks and my symptoms became worse. I'm now on Enbrel and have taken my second dose this Friday. It is too early to tell how well it is working. I seem to feel better, but I'm also on a month long course of prednisone to bridge the gap between ceasing mtx and starting Enbrel. I think that there has been some success in combining mtx with biologic meds, but in my case we did not want to confuse things and wanted to see what the Enbrel alone would do. Hang in there. Sounds like a biologic will be in your future too.
I also started Methotrexate in April, progressed up to 8 pills/wk and felt very little relief. I had previously taken Humira, but had to stop due to the expense (had a high deductible on my insurance starting in January.)
When I spoke to my doctor about the methotrexate not really working, we determined that I really needed to go back on the Humira (I just had to bite the bullet with the expense and now I've met my deductible), and now I'm taking a combination... Humira shot once every two weeks and 4 methotrexate /week. I felt immediate relief upon taking the loading dose of Humira (2 shots on day one, 1 shot on day 8, then every two weeks.)
I have also tried Enbrel by itself and found that it worked very well, but my derm at the time at put me on cyclosporine to stabilize the psa before starting the injections.
My current derm says taking the meth with the Humira will increase it's effectiveness. I think he said it reduces the antibodies that are produced and interferes with the humira? not sure about that part.
I was on Metho for 6 months and all I did was vomit. I stopped taking it and told the doc that this stuff wasn't working for me. Several weeks ago I posted an article stating that studies show metho is not as effective for psa as once thought. Tell your doctor you want to explore other options. Keep positive and stay strong!!
Sue
Thank you to all for your input!
I need knee replacement too which is unrelated to thePsA but the pain pills do take the edge off of it so I can still work! Motrin 600 mg helps I am told. Maybe your doc will agree to that.
Dee said:
I am having the same problem. I am being treated by my derm for psoriasis with mtx... Started @ 6 pills a week, helped for the first month with the p then it got worse again so they upped it to 7 a wk. Rheumy said she was curious if mtx would help all my joint, neck, back pains as she thinks its from my fibro not psa because i dont have any swelling. I have nail p and my thumb, 2 big toes are started to swell a bit and now the bones in my feet are hurting, especially when i get up in the morning. Lower ba k, hips painful & stiff always. Hands always hurt too. So no relief for me from mtx. Wish i had pain pills my rhuemy wont prescribe hydrocordone more than 30 day script per yr. All tests have ruled out any other arthrits. Not sure what to do next.
Methotrexate never worked for me and it really is not meant for people with PSA. So far the only thing that has worked is Enbrel and Lyrica for the Fibro. I take hydrocodone and Fentanyl patches for the pain but I had to get a separate pain management doctor, something I always stress to people. Get a pain management doctor! They will help you with the pain when the Rh can't or won't. But make sure they are good and not just a pill mill.
I am really sorry you are having so much pain, I know how bad it can be. :(
Hi, Lucia
Yes, MTX works for some people. For others (like me) it doesn't: I am getting worse. I've been taking MTX (and various other DMARDs) since September and, at the moment, I am on 25 mg injectable. I continue to be on it, though, because my rheumatologist says that it helps other drugs do their work. Often they leave people on it when they move on to a biologic.
I see the rheumatologist in September, and I will be interested to hear what she has to say about the latest research that suggests that MTX may not be as disease modifying as originally thought. Here's the article.
Stay strong. It can take a while to find the drug that works for you.
Seenie
Thanls for your encouragement!
Diz254 said:
I was on Metho for 6 months and all I did was vomit. I stopped taking it and told the doc that this stuff wasn't working for me. Several weeks ago I posted an article stating that studies show metho is not as effective for psa as once thought. Tell your doctor you want to explore other options. Keep positive and stay strong!!
Sue
lucia said:
Thank you for your encouragement! Do you mind me asking what you are doing for your PsA now?
Diz254 said:I was on Metho for 6 months and all I did was vomit. I stopped taking it and told the doc that this stuff wasn't working for me. Several weeks ago I posted an article stating that studies show metho is not as effective for psa as once thought. Tell your doctor you want to explore other options. Keep positive and stay strong!!
Sue
I agree with everyone here. Methotrexate does not work on PsA. According to The University of Rochester medical school, "methotrexate is not effective for PsA, even though it can be very useful for treating RA." The best medicines for us are the anti- TNF compounds. So no MDX is not effective alone for this disease needs to combo with something.
I am on my countdown for my appointment with the Rhumey. I'll let you know what he says.
Thanks Seenie. This really helps! I swear I am getting worse too and don't know if I want to wait for the 10mg of methotrexate only to find out it is no different then the 6mg or 8mg.
Seenie said:
Hi, Lucia
Yes, MTX works for some people. For others (like me) it doesn't: I am getting worse. I've been taking MTX (and various other DMARDs) since September and, at the moment, I am on 25 mg injectable. I continue to be on it, though, because my rheumatologist says that it helps other drugs do their work. Often they leave people on it when they move on to a biologic.
I see the rheumatologist in September, and I will be interested to hear what she has to say about the latest research that suggests that MTX may not be as disease modifying as originally thought. Here's the article.
Stay strong. It can take a while to find the drug that works for you.
Seenie
It didn't work for me. I had the side effect of severe exhaustion and my liver numbers increased. So I didn't have to stay on it very long before getting on a biologic. You just have to wait it out to get on a biologic. I know it sucks - sorry for you pain. I understand.
Lucia, I had two knee replacements five years before my PsA diagnosis. At the time, they wrote it off as osteoarthritis. Now my rheumatologist thinks my knees were probably trashed by PsA. Why do you say your knee problems are unrelated?
lucia said:
I need knee replacement too which is unrelated to thePsA
Thanks for your input. It is so hard to fit another doctor in. Family doc, orthopedist, rheumatologist...Most specialists don't have evening hours so its rough because of work and family obligations. But I think I have to seriously consider it. My family doctor mentioned it awhile ago too.
Melinda said:
Methotrexate never worked for me and it really is not meant for people with PSA. So far the only thing that has worked is Enbrel and Lyrica for the Fibro. I take hydrocodone and Fentanyl patches for the pain but I had to get a separate pain management doctor, something I always stress to people. Get a pain management doctor! They will help you with the pain when the Rh can't or won't. But make sure they are good and not just a pill mill.
I am really sorry you are having so much pain, I know how bad it can be. :(
Thanks for your help. Wondering why my rheumy prescribed it. I also have osteoarthritis. So I am guessing it doesn't help with that either?
Rebel mom said:
I agree with everyone here. Methotrexate does not work on PsA. According to The University of Rochester medical school, "methotrexate is not effective for PsA, even though it can be very useful for treating RA." The best medicines for us are the anti- TNF compounds. So no MDX is not effective alone for this disease needs to combo with something.
I am on my countdown for my appointment with the Rhumey. I'll let you know what he says.
I am pretty new to all this myself, and while I appreciate hearing the experiences of others, please be careful when making (or accepting as fact) blanket statements like the one above. I.e. that MTX does not work for PsA. it’s simply not true. I have only been on it a few weeks myself, but have noticed some slight improvement, in particular the swelling has gone down on two of my fingers. but my point is, don’t take anecdotal experiences as fact and be cautious about when stating an opinion that use words such as all, never, none as the previous poster implied
I wish you well
I have been on MTX For almost 3 months…it is all I am on…not even any anti inflamatories…I have to say I just started to notice an improvement. I wouldn’t say I have no symptoms, but I actually was half way through my day last week when
For the first time in a very long time my hands didn’t hurt. I was so excited I texted my husband…he’s probably thrilled he doesn’t have to massage my hands… Which he does…he is an awesome support system. But anyways I think it can work…for how long I don’t know. That being said When I have the opportunity to go off of it and try a biologic I will…not thrilled with some of the side effects. They are tolerable but not desirable.
In Melinda's defense she was going with some research. I think we all are at different points of our disease. Some of us are in pain from our shoulders to our toes. Some of us have only a couple of joints affected. Some of us get relief from MTX but from what I am reading, most of us won't. It is safe to say that by coming to this site we do want personal experience and I appreciate everyone who is sharing. Having been on MTX and getting worse instead of better I wanted to know how much longer I have to put up with the pain and immobility of joints.
robd0gg said:
I am pretty new to all this myself, and while I appreciate hearing the experiences of others, please be careful when making (or accepting as fact) blanket statements like the one above. I.e. that MTX does not work for PsA. it's simply not true. I have only been on it a few weeks myself, but have noticed some slight improvement, in particular the swelling has gone down on two of my fingers. but my point is, don't take anecdotal experiences as fact and be cautious about when stating an opinion that use words such as all, never, none as the previous poster implied
I wish you well