Well I took my last dose of Mtx nearly 2 weeks ago & I'm now waiting for Leflunomide to kick in. I'm already feeling decidedly worse. Lots of bits are stiffer & also hurt, which is unusual for me. From my house there's a good view across Wales & the clouds cast huge moving shadows on the fields & hills - the pain reminds me of the shadows, the way it drifts over me. I'm not complaining, just wondering whether the lack of Mtx makes itself felt so very quickly ...... or is this just coincidence? Like I say, it's not a big deal but I'd appreciate any thoughts about this.
I thought MTX didn’t do a thing for me, until I had to stop it before my hip replacement surgery. Within 10 days, I realized it was doing more than I had thought.
Your image of the cloud shadows passing over the hills of Wales is lovely. Too bad your pain isn’t!
Or maybe we are both imagining the effect. LOL
When I switched from MTX to leflunomide, I didn't have this. But all along I had been saying that the MTX made no difference, which kind of proves my point. It took a few weeks to start improving on leflunomide, and by my 2 month visit after starting it I was able to clearly say that it was making a difference. Not so much anymore, but I'm pretty sure if I stopped the leflunomide it would be noticeable.
I took a break from taking mine because I had a very important test I needed to take and I was worried about having that foggy feeling during the test. I now feel better knowing I wasn't imagining that I started to feel much worse at about the same time... 9 or 10 days. It was getting so bad that I actually looked forward to taking it again after the test. Who would have ever thought??/ lol
I wondered if my meds were doing much until I ran out. The pain set in fast. Even breathing hurt. Have not been on MTX yet. He mentioned another med to me. It sounded like leflunomide. I can't remember.
When i took Mtx it did help...but that being said it was long before the real pain and swelling started. If I recall it helped fairly quickly....I just that I turn into a zombie while taking it ( brain dead ). I know that now on Leflunomide ( one of my meds ) that it makes a difference. I noticed the difference within a week or two. After being in pain most of 2013, now I'm 90-95 % better than I was. It's all relative.
My combo now is Plaquenil and Leflunomide + 600mg tablets of Ibuprofen ( up to 3 a day ).