You know having a flare is not fun. I called the doctor two weeks ago. She increased the steroid and now the mtx. I just took my increased dose of .7 ml. I feel ok but nauseous. What are the doses others are taking? I know .7 is low.
Dosages are hard to compare. .7 isn't terribly low depending on how you inject it (im or subq) It takes a while for an increased dose to take effect though.
Lamb, it alarms me that there are different ways to inject. I don't know the difference. I typically, inject both the humira and the mtx in my belly. I hope I'm not doing it incorrectly. Does it matter if it is im or subq?
Injecting the MTX is by FAR better than pills. Thats a known thing.
Sub Q are those little bitty needles, frankly I shoot straight down to make sure it gets to where it can be absorbed. (all my skin is half leather tthese days) IM are big long needles like flu shots and pain meds all the way into the muscle under the skin.
Its arguable whether IM is better than subq for MTX. For me there is no question that IM is better I swear I can feel the stuff going to work (maybe its the 1 1/2" needle coming out :-))
My doc is a big IM person as is my pharmacist (the pharmacist is a user too) They believe the more rapid (and complete) absorbtion from the muscle provides more medicine doing its job faster.
The problem is (I think) that the docs don't want to deal with needle stuff. (Understand I take a number of meds IM (several of which I can put the needle I use for the MTX inside of 18 gauge and have room for the Enbrel needle too) so frankly I don't have much patience for needle phobia - I'm working on it though.) Getting large numbers of folk to shoot into their deep muscles may be tough....
And this may be in my head too but I could not tolerate MTX orally and barley subq and hardly notice im in terms of side effects.
Hello Never give up hope, I am sorry you are having a flare, honey. You live in the area I left two years ago because I could not cope with the winters anymore. As much as I love my current home, I still miss my CHOP terribly, it was my work place :( I did not know that MTX could be injected. I will ask my doc why she jumped to Humira instead of trying, perhaps because of my past side effects. I like to learn all these things and get involved with my treatment ( feeling a huge side eye-roll from my doctor :D ) .
I am a needle person. I have a busy life and I try to cut to the chase. If injected works faster, by all means. If you are very, very nauseous, ask your doc if Zofram could help, it did with my MTX severe side effects.
I definitely like the injection better than pills. I will talk to the doc about IM vs Subq. I'm not bothered by the side effects as I would rather have the side effects than be in that kind of pain again. Though, I did notice my hair thinning, weight loss (not complaining, still could shed a few more pounds), and today with the higher dose, the nausea. When I first started the MTX, i had nausea which subsided after a while. Thanks for your response.
I take mtx .7 cc also. I use to take 1cc but my liver enzymes came back elevated so she dropped it to .7 and my enzymes are fine. I also take Remicade. Mtx seems to help with my hands and feet but not with my spine or hip. The Remicade has been helping with that but I think I need a larger more frequent dose. I give my mtx SC. My doctor has not okayed IM yet. Lamb do you use the same site for IM? As a nurse I use to give IM in the upper arm or buttock. I can't reach either on myself. Can one give mtx IM in the tummy? I have much better luck with my tummy than my upper thigh but I could give the thigh a try again if need be.
I'm a thigh guy........
I'm currently injecting 25 mg. of MTX once weekly into my stomach. With each increase in the MTX I also had increased nausea, however over time it decreased.
I agree the injections are far better then the pills, however I'm finding over time I am starting to dread injection days. We have also included sulfasalazine daily, currently taking two a day and working up to four.