I feel like I have just been kicked in the stomach. Ive been on methotrexate going on three months. Just got my latest blood work back to realize it isn’t helping me at all. My crp and sed rate have not gone down at all. They haven’t even stayed the same, they went up! My crp was originally 72 now is up to 113 and my sed rate up to 50 from 42. This is so depressing. Here I am trying to remain positive but i can’t, because im getting worse. Talk about a terrible feeling. My body hates me. Im so not looking forward to what ill have to go on next. :’(
Ahhh. Kiki please try to make peace with your body. Your body doesn't hate you!! Maybe your MTX dose needs adjusting. Maybe you need something to go along with your MTX. All is not lost, however. I hope you have an appt to see your rheumatologist soon so you can talk all this through. The med adjustment process is a constant and ever-changing dance. Hang in there!
I'm curious as to why you needed blood work numbers to decide whether it was working or not............... Has there been a change in symptoms?
Ordinarily the failure of MTX is consiodered a good thing arount here as that takes one to the next steo which are the biologicals. Easier to take and generally more effective.
In all reality, I didn't need to get the numbers to realize the MTX wasn't doing much. I've had a couple of "better days" but did not see the type of improvement I was looking for. I think I was just hoping that the numbers were going down a little. I certainly was not expecting to hear that they had gone up.
tntlamb said:
I'm curious as to why you needed blood work numbers to decide whether it was working or not............... Has there been a change in symptoms?
Ordinarily the failure of MTX is consiodered a good thing arount here as that takes one to the next steo which are the biologicals. Easier to take and generally more effective.
I just left the rheumy a little while ago. He is very concerned that I can no longer straighten my legs out, especially my right leg, which is worse than the left, and has also had 3 operations on. He decided to put me on Prednisone to help with the swelling and is sending me to physical therapy to try to get my range of motion back. He expects that the left leg will return to normal, but mentioned a possibility on operation #4 on my right. He said that there is a possibility that it is basically permanently swollen. Surgery would be a clean out procedure and would remove some tissue that is not improving. I also start on Humira on Monday, which I am quite nervous about. I understand that this is an ongoing journey. I am just looking forward to the moment they put me on medications that make me feel better.
What will drive you crazy is trying to tie your blood work to whats going on in your body. One joint can throw the numbers off. In PsA there are many joints (at least 5 for diagnoses in most protocols)
With your leg you certainly have justification for your CRP. It would be above 200 were it systemic inflammation going nuts. just the knee would kick it to where it is now. If you don't feel better soon with the Predi, I'd be very surprised. It is a process, but I will warn you now, its art not science. Those inflammation markers mean little at this point. (they will later - maybe)
I'd pop over to the Newbies section and read an article called the Gap to start............. And the "book" PsA has NOTHING in common with most "arthritis"