And get a good nights sleep ;-)
Haha, maybe I donāt believe it myself, Seenie?! Mostly itās a Facebook habit though, I think! There, the pictures show, and it makes a nice change from just words all the time! It doesnāt really work here where you canāt see pics without clicking on themā¦!
Seenie said:
A picture of MTX ā¦ LOL, flow, we believe you! Now donāt be sitting around waiting for the excitement to start, because if you think about it too much youāre going work yourself into a state.
I hope, though, that youāve had something comforting to eat, and that youāre drinking lots of water.
Good luck! And let us know how it goes.
Iāll try, thanks Jules. 
I havenāt slept at all well this week - Iāve been dreading this, and I had a job interview yesterday (which I didnāt get)ā¦ Really hoping for a restful night tonightā¦
Jules G said:
And get a good nights sleep
Youāre sounding perky enough this morning ā¦ how are you feeling?
Or have you gone back to bed? 
Hi! I am a new member as of 03/02/16. I was reading some of the post and came across your post. I have been dealing with Psoriatic Arthritis about two years now. The first time my doctor put me on Methotrexate taking five pills at one time every week and folic acid together, in about two months the doctor did blood work and found that the Methotrexate slammed my white blood cell count to low. So please ask your doctor about your white blood cell count and ask will the medicine make your count low.
Hi flow. I have being injecting mtx for 8 weeks now, starting at 10mg for 5 weeks then building to 20mg. I am tolerating it much better than sulfasalazine (lasted 4 weeks before my liver revolted) or arava (4 months of slow poisoning for me). No hair loss so far, very mild gut problems for a few days after injecting. Things ae so different for everyone so this might not apply to you but I have noticed the following:
1. Injecting is definitely easier on my gut compared to other meds. I requested injections which doesnt seem to be as common in Aust.
2. I originally injected Friday morning after a swim, slept in the arvo, drank lots of water, had vegimite toast for dinner (comfort food for some aussies), and slept fine that night. I would get headache, hot flushes, tiredness and a bit of nausea till bed. Also extremely thirsty. Next day side effects continued but milder till about lunch and then I was fine. I now work Fridays so I started injecting Friday nights. This means Saturday is a total write off until about 5pm: I get tired quickly, cloudy thinking, sore liver, headache, hot flushes. I think some of this is going up to 20mg. I also experience fluctuating mood. While I resent the need to rest and my Saturday being consumed, the best news is that it has mostly gone by Sunday with just mild problems, especially if I don't drink lots of water
3. Side effects for me don't start for about 2 hours, just like sixcatlawyer wrote.
I take 5mg folic acid 6 days per week and lots of water. I haven't seen any benefit from the mtx yet but I have only been at 20mgs for three weeks.
Good luck
Sorry, didnāt see this yesterday Seenie. I felt a bit nauseous yesterday, but nothing too badā¦ Fatigue hit me later on in the day, and Iām still v tired (now midday Sat) despite a good nightās sleep, and feeling a bit lightheaded so Iām just taking it easyā¦
Seenie said:
Youāre sounding perky enough this morning ā¦ how are you feeling?
Or have you gone back to bed?
Thanks Faith. I have to have blood tests every 2 weeks, so hopefully that will pick up any problemsā¦ I hope youāre feeling better now.
Faith said:
Hi! I am a new member as of 03/02/16. I was reading some of the post and came across your post. I have been dealing with Psoriatic Arthritis about two years now. The first time my doctor put me on Methotrexate taking five pills at one time every week and folic acid together, in about two months the doctor did blood work and found that the Methotrexate slammed my white blood cell count to low. So please ask your doctor about your white blood cell count and ask will the medicine make your count low.
Thanks MacMac, itās good to hear other peopleās experiences. Iām taking 15mg by tablet. My side effects so far have been mild and manageable, though going on a bit longer than expected. I hope the increased dose works for you!
MacMac said:
Hi flow. I have being injecting mtx for 8 weeks now, starting at 10mg for 5 weeks then building to 20mg. I am tolerating it much better than sulfasalazine (lasted 4 weeks before my liver revolted) or arava (4 months of slow poisoning for me). No hair loss so far, very mild gut problems for a few days after injecting. Things ae so different for everyone so this might not apply to you but I have noticed the following:
1. Injecting is definitely easier on my gut compared to other meds. I requested injections which doesnt seem to be as common in Aust.
2. I originally injected Friday morning after a swim, slept in the arvo, drank lots of water, had vegimite toast for dinner (comfort food for some aussies), and slept fine that night. I would get headache, hot flushes, tiredness and a bit of nausea till bed. Also extremely thirsty. Next day side effects continued but milder till about lunch and then I was fine. I now work Fridays so I started injecting Friday nights. This means Saturday is a total write off until about 5pm: I get tired quickly, cloudy thinking, sore liver, headache, hot flushes. I think some of this is going up to 20mg. I also experience fluctuating mood. While I resent the need to rest and my Saturday being consumed, the best news is that it has mostly gone by Sunday with just mild problems, especially if I donāt drink lots of water
3. Side effects for me donāt start for about 2 hours, just like sixcatlawyer wrote.
I take 5mg folic acid 6 days per week and lots of water. I havenāt seen any benefit from the mtx yet but I have only been at 20mgs for three weeks.
Good luck
No worries, flow!
A lot of people here swear by injections. Although injecting might not eliminate all SEs, they are certainly fewer with the shots. (Of course if you are needle-phobic, you might not agree.)
Hereās an āamusingā interchange between me and my first rheumatologist:
First appointment:
Dr. R: Weāre going to start you on methotrexate.
Seenie: Iād prefer to have the injectable, if I may. (I had read about the SEs, and also that for some people it works better when injected)
Dr. R: No, we always start with the tablets.
I had no SEs, and ramped my intake up to 25mg. No improvement. Then the next appointment:
Dr. R: OK, now we are going to switch to injectable MTX.
Seenie: Iāve had no side effects from the tablets.
Dr. R: I know, but some people find that the injectable is much effective.
Seenie (to self): W.T.F?
That should have been my first clue. But no, feeling I needed to trust her, I stayed with her for another ten months or so. Bad, really bad, things happened. My hip crumbled suddenly and needed to be replaced. I bolted to a PsA research clinic where they did a figurative head slap and put me on a biologic asap.
flow said:
Sorry, didnāt see this yesterday Seenie.
Seenie said:Youāre sounding perky enough this morning ā¦ how are you feeling?
Or have you gone back to bed?
HA! I can imagine a similar conversation with my current rheumy!
My GP has done the referral to the ācentre of excellenceā, by the way, but it hasnāt yet been received so I donāt have an appointment, and Iām not yet on the waiting list - I phoned to checkā¦ The GP practice manager is calling me back on Mon to talk about following it upā¦
Seenie said:
No worries, flow!
A lot of people hear swear by injections. Although injecting might not eliminate all SEs, they are certainly fewer with the shots. (Of course if you are needle-phobic, you might not agree.)
Hereās an āamusingā interchange between me and my first rheumatologist:
First appointment:
Dr. R: Weāre going to start you on methotrexate.
Seenie: Iād prefer to have the injectable, if I may. (I had read about the SEs, and also that for some people it works better when injected)
Dr. R: No, we always start with the tablets.
I had no SEs, and ramped my intake up to 25mg. No improvement. Then the next appointment:
Dr. R: OK, now we are going to switch to injectable MTX.
Seenie: Iāve had no side effects from the tablets.
Dr. R: I know, but some people find that the injectable is much effective.
Seenie (to self): W.T.F?
That should have been my first clue. But no, feeling I needed to trust her, I stayed with her for another ten months or so. Bad, really bad, things happened. My hip crumbled suddenly and needed to be replaced. I bolted to a PsA research clinic where they did a figurative head slap and put me on a biologic asap.
flow said:Sorry, didnāt see this yesterday Seenie.
Seenie said:Youāre sounding perky enough this morning ā¦ how are you feeling?
Or have you gone back to bed?
flow, just wanted to say you shouldn't have any problems if you want to switch to injections. The only thing I found is that rather than being able to get them with my prescription at the pharmacy my GP surgery actually ordered them in and I collected from them. So don't be put off from asking if you want to go this route sooner rather than later.
Hope you feel brighter soon ... and don't forget to keep drinking (the water!).
Thanks Jules. Iām not keen on needles, so will see how I get on with the tablets first!
Jules G said:
flow, just wanted to say you shouldnāt have any problems if you want to switch to injections. The only thing I found is that rather than being able to get them with my prescription at the pharmacy my GP surgery actually ordered them in and I collected from them. So donāt be put off from asking if you want to go this route sooner rather than later.
Hope you feel brighter soon ā¦ and donāt forget to keep drinking (the water!).
Your discussions with your drs. Sound just like mine we are going to up my methotrexate in two weeks of my bloodwork is ok. Hope u r feeling less tired from it Flow. My rheumatologist talks in circles and each appt. Sounds like a broken record. I am finally getting an mri of one of my feet going on 8 weeks of unable to walk and got a referral to podiatrist too!
Make sure that you take folic acid with this. Helps with side effects.
I started taking Methotrexate the first year I saw my doctor and after a couple of months and a blood test results, it slammed my white cell count to low so the doctor took me off of it right away. I pray that it work better for you.