Methotrexate?

I am RA negative (8) with nodules in my feet that I keep having removed(more on tuesday july 31st, 2007). Why the worst drug on the market? I'm negative except for my feet! My family and I have decided NO, for the Methotrexate. I would rather wait to be in pain than KILL MY LIVER! What do you think?

Nodules and no pain? I don't understand that. I am RA positive and just starting having pain in my feet so bad I can hardly walk. When my pain was in my elbow, I stayed on methotrexate for 6 months, but within weeks of stopping the pain started coming back. Someone suggested Mangsteen (I buy it from Sam's club) and I was pain free for almost 2 years. I don't know if it's because I started not taking it faithfully every day, or it just quit working but now I'm in pain again.

Theresalt wrote:

I am RA negative (8) with nodules in my feet that I keep having removed(more on tuesday july 31st, 2007). Why the worst drug on the market? I'm negative except for my feet! My family and I have decided NO, for the Methotrexate. I would rather wait to be in pain than KILL MY LIVER! What do you think?

I also say not to Methotrexate. This is not a cure and taking it will put me to risks that I not prepare to take. I found that the medicine is worse than the illness

I took methotrexate in the beginning part of my recovery process. I was up to 12 pills once a week, was vomiting all the time so even though it helped bring my sed rate down a little, it wasn't worth the grief.

I took methotraxate for 2.5 years. I felt like death.
I wish I had never taken it... had such bad organ pains and felt sick all the time.
I agree, the RA wont kill you but the poison of methotraxate will

I think methotrexate gets a bad reputation. It does help and taking it also makes other drugs (like enbrel) work better. Yes it does have some negative effects on your body but letting your body constantly be inflamed is not good for it either. Inflammation can damage your heart and your lungs and allowed your joints to remain constantly inflamed will also lead to their eventual damage. Saying no to medication is not helping your body it is simply hurting it in a different way.

When you're on methotrexate most doctors will also take blood tests once a month to see how it is affecting your body and take you off it if it starts to 'poison' you.

A lot of doctors also need to try methotrexate before insurance companies will approve you for newer more expensive drugs.

It's not ideal to be taking any of these drugs, but doing so can slow damage down until something better comes along. Perhaps newer drugs won't have as many damaging effects on your body - but if you've already allowed RA to damage it then they won't be able to help you as much.

I have been taking 0.7 ml of Methotrexate by needle for 6 months. I feel alot better than I did before I took methotrexate.

I was on methotrexate and it was horrible. My hair feel out and my stomach was upset 24 hours a day. I went off of it and my rheumatolgist almost had a stroke. I just live with the pain now and take aleve. I don't know how much longer I can go like this because my feet hurt so bad I can hardly walk.

Theresalt wrote:

I am RA negative (8) with nodules in my feet that I keep having removed(more on tuesday july 31st, 2007). Why the worst drug on the market? I'm negative except for my feet! My family and I have decided NO, for the Methotrexate. I would rather wait to be in pain than KILL MY LIVER! What do you think?

its a cancer drug beta of wi smthing else my mate got caplins of meth nodules on his lungs danger drug stay away

Why are the Hematologists and rheumatologists and FDA NOT listening. I was prescribed methotrexate for psoriasis and RA symptoms for the past 18 years. In 2004 had a bone marrow biopsy and another recently in 2008. I've been diagnosed with CMML - leukemia, and now face a BMT, bone marrow transplant, which itself may be fatal, or I risk transforming to AML, a deadlier leukemia than CMML. All caused by rheumatologist doctor prescribed drugs for minor RA symptoms. Now I may die and certainly my life is shortened. I am now 58 yrs old,- So, why aren't the doctors and FDA listening? Methotrexate is a killer disguised as a short-term relief agent for doctor's who care less about the long term effects on their patients. RA is not a stand alone dis-ease, but a symptom of an immune system bone marrow disorder
Hello, FDA ??(secure@logic.bm)

Libby wrote:

I think methotrexate gets a bad reputation. It does help and taking it also makes other drugs (like enbrel) work better. Yes it does have some negative effects on your body but letting your body constantly be inflamed is not good for it either. Inflammation can damage your heart and your lungs and allowed your joints to remain constantly inflamed will also lead to their eventual damage. Saying no to medication is not helping your body it is simply hurting it in a different way.
When you're on methotrexate most doctors will also take blood tests once a month to see how it is affecting your body and take you off it if it starts to 'poison' you.
A lot of doctors also need to try methotrexate before insurance companies will approve you for newer more expensive drugs.
It's not ideal to be taking any of these drugs, but doing so can slow damage down until something better comes along. Perhaps newer drugs won't have as many damaging effects on your body - but if you've already allowed RA to damage it then they won't be able to help you as much.
I have been taking 0.7 ml of Methotrexate by needle for 6 months. I feel alot better than I did before I took methotrexate.

Libby - Thanks for you post.
It's my thoughts as well.

[I take weekly injections of Enbrel and MTX ]
re: Leucovorin
I'm looking for information about Leucovorin. It's a refined form of Folic Acid. If you are on MTX you should be on Folic as well. I've heard that Leucovorin is even better than Folic to lesson the damage the MTX causes to the other cells in our bodies. Anybody know about this?

re: Nausea and MTX ~
If you take MTX as an injection you bypass the digestive track and life is not so miserable. The needle is super small and it doesn't hurt at ALL (not like Enbrel's needle)

Hope someone out there sees this
AnnaD

I was prescribed this without the dr really explaining to me what it was.. chemo basically.. i did not take it and it still sits unopened in the med cabinet. I would rather be in pain than to kill my bodys immune system. It is not a cure but a temp band-aid. I am only 26 and if i took this, i would not be able to have more children without thinking i am going to horrible harm them. How can anyone subject themself to this med.

I am sorry if i offened anyone in saying that but i dont think that the drs are telling the patients all the horrible side effects with this med.. mine didnt and im so glad i looked it up before taking the pill.. i wanted to become pregnant during that time also.. the dr even knew that and still gave me the pills! then on my folder, which i later got copies of, she wrote on there that she discussed the "no babies" while on meds with me, which was a lie.. please be careful if you are young and taking this medication..

missy wrote:

... to kill my bodys immune system ... i wanted to become pregnant during that time also. The dr even knew that and still gave me the pills! then on my folder, which i later got copies of, she wrote on there that she discussed the "no babies" while on meds with me, which was a lie.. please be careful if you are young and taking this medication.

The RA dose of MTX is 1000x smaller than the chemotherapy dose and it doesn't kill your immune system, it lowers an already overactive one ...

But it is TOTALLY not for women who even have a CHANCE of getting pregnant - your doc's uncaring incompetence is really shocking! Thank god you looked up the info for yourself! Good for you! Sad to say we have to "fact check" our own doctors nowadays.

Wally wrote:

<quoted text>
The RA dose of MTX is 1000x smaller than the chemotherapy dose and it doesn't kill your immune system, it lowers an already overactive one ...
But it is TOTALLY not for women who even have a CHANCE of getting pregnant - your doc's uncaring incompetence is really shocking! Thank god you looked up the info for yourself! Good for you! Sad to say we have to "fact check" our own doctors nowadays.

I must apologize in the way I wrote it was similar to chemo. I should have been more careful in my phrasing!=/

And thankyou for your concern about the preggo issue. It really bothered me and never went back to see that dr. She not only wanted me on metho but also wanted to start me on actual chemo without even trying anything else and discussed briefly with me this chemo thing at my one and only visit to her office. I was totally confused by her rash use of medicine and feel sorry for her patients. She is actually trying to bill me for someone elses visits and sent me their medical information by mistake. I looked it over thinking it was mine at first, and the number of meds and visits this other person has was amazing, i did contact their attorney (because it went to collections) and let them know of their mistake that they billed me by mistake.. but i was overwhelmed with the nonchalance that many drs have now for their patients health issues.

thankyou for responding to my post and have a great weekend!

sorry the post above was mine.. the name was someone elses! forgot to change it when i write something.

Wow - your dr is a real case. Smart of you to get rid of her. Get a good RA doc. I had to switch twice before I got someone I could really talk to. It's so important since it is a lifelong relationship. I must point out - the swelling you are experiencing is very serious and it causes tremendous change in your bones. You must keep that swelling down somehow.
re: pregnancy:
I have friends that have carried babies and had RA, they just stayed off the meds while doing so and used IBU or some other anti-infammatory instead. It's not easy but there's not much of an alternative route.
RE:MTX
Yup I was FREAKED when I read the info on that. But I was swelling so bad and had achey pain - oooh, and they gave me cortisone in my knee a few times and I went for a 2nd opinion in Seattle (to the big clinic) and got the same advice plus the fear of god put into me if I didn't go on the meds - as in "you will be crippled in 3 years and be unable to work" Oh man. That did it... and I went on low dose MTX and later Enbrel and it made an incredible difference for the better. The malaise is gone and swellng is gone, etc. So it's quality of life here.
My 2-cents worth.
Anna~

I can recommend a reputable pharmacy (Methotrexate) popular-meds.com/rheumatrex.htm... I recieved my pills within one week of ordering them.
P.S. 5% discount coupon code: 4y3g6f4k

emma wrote:

I can recommend a reputable pharmacy (Methotrexate) popular-meds.com/rheumatrex.htm... I recieved my pills within one week of ordering them.
P.S. 5% discount coupon code: 4y3g6f4k

MTX is cheap, it's been off patent for years.

I was diagnosed with RA yesterday and given a script for methotrexate. I am so scared to take it. I am afraid of the side effects and it ruining my organs. what do I do? I`m scared.

I was scared too Sandy.
Refused to go on it and as you can read in the post above - I waited and got a second opinion at a big time clinic in Seattle before finally deciding to go onto it. By that time I really had no choice as I could not keep the swelling down and was taking 16 IBUs a day to no avail and having cortisone shots in my knees. It was pretty awful. The MTX is a low dose. It may make you tired for the first month. Try taking it on a Friday so you can sleep on Saturday. Your body will get used to it and it should calm your immune system down. IF you keep swelling or the dosage gets higher without result they may add a biologic. Life will be better then. Or you may be a lucky one that needs only the MTX,

Oh Sandy - be sure to take folic acid with the MTX. Your doc should have mentioned it - did she?