So today 4/7/14, I will finally be starting my first PSA treatment! I had surgery 1/22/14 so I couldn’t start before because I was on 800 mg of Ibuprofen due to severe swelling. As many of you may know, it is recommended not to take along with Ib. I will be taking Folic 1 mg daily along with 2.5 mg of Methotrexate weekly dose. I will be spacing out the 4 pills in a 24 hr period. The reason I am posting my start up with MTX is to get feedback as I update my progress and side effects if any. I am a newbie here:)
Thank you all in advance for you help with this…
You are doing everything right with a great attitude, you will do fine. Don't be afraid to ask about tweaking your Folic acid. A lot of us have found taking it twice a day really helps......
Thanks! I was a bit worried because I took Folic dose today as well. I read later it is best to take on separate days! I decided not to worry about it as this is my story and will go from there lol…
So how long does it take for MTX to work? I’m on 5 weeks and still feel no relief:(
Report to you Rhuem. There I some leeway with the dosing, so it can be increased if needed. Let them Help you with that. Keep close watch of what you are able to do; your function is the best inductor of whether or not it’s working. If you don’t see any improvement in function and obvious symptoms (swelling and redness at joints)in another 8 weeks with an increased dose, it may be time to switch to a bio.
Thank you, Grumpycat
I was just hoping that after all the side effects I have endured I would see the light at the end of the tunnel sooner than later.
First, I hope your pain level is improving & the MTX is the right stuff for you.
Second, I am a newbie too. I’ve taken 3 doses of MTX, 2.5 mg, 4 pills once a week for a total weekly dose of 10 mg. but I’m still taking 800 mg of ibuprofen 3 times a day. The new doc has my complete list of meds & he did not say anything about MTX & ibuprofen being a bad combo. What should I know?? Now I am worried…
No sulfas for sure and no OTC NSAIDS without docs permission. There is no interaction beween the two but any NSAID will tend to icrease the plasma concentration of MTX. This is normally not a problem wih low dose MTX if we were taking a chemo dose that would be a different matter. Tylenol should be fine if you need some help but ask your doc. Here is the technical explanation:
http://www.pharmacologyweekly.com/custom/archived-content/pharmacotherapy/55Thanks, tntlamb! I read the link u sent - as much as I could understand of it! :). It seems like this is a fairly routine combo then. Which is good, as I rely heavily on the prescription Motrin to keep pain levels under control. There’s a lot to learn about PsA and all the meds!