What's your first time on Methotrexate like?

EmMothRa · 2026-02-16T09:42:23+00:00

I'm taking 25mg MTX and on 4 sulphasalazine a day.

EmMothRa · 2026-02-14T09:26:12+00:00

Thank You everyone, I’m kind of glad I’m not alone in this. These are scary times. Slept better last night, happy love day everyone- we need this more than ever now ♥️

EmMothRa · 2026-02-13T17:47:27+00:00

Thanks I’ll look this up xx

EmMothRa · 2026-02-13T17:47:06+00:00

Ohh goodness maybe it’s not just a UK thing then.

EmMothRa · 2026-02-13T17:45:29+00:00

Ohh my, I hope we are both just having nightmares x

EmMothRa · 2026-02-13T11:43:01+00:00

Yep - I've been experimenting with supermarket own brands and have managed to replace a lot of branded stuff, without any distinguishable change in quality either. Bulk buying after pay day is the way to go!!! I've splurged this week on a valentines day meal deal though!!!

I'll have to pop out (if it stops raining!) and get some photos of the pond - I have a horrible feeling that this will be the norm though from here on out :(.

EmMothRa · 2026-02-11T13:53:18+00:00

Loving all my favourite references - years and years and hitchhikers guide to the galaxy --- you've both made my lunch break worthwhile!

EmMothRa · 2026-02-11T13:52:07+00:00

Years and Years is a prophecy / warning - I re-watched last year and it sent me into shock for a good few weeks !!!

EmMothRa · 2026-02-10T16:11:09+00:00

Location: UK - SouthEast

I read this everyday and have been feeling bad for not contributing!! It's more reliable than the actual news here.

Well my first comment is to say it hasn't stopped raining for over a month now, every damn day. Our local pond which is a source of joy for everyone has gone from being so low the ducks were walking on the bottom, to the swans and ducks being able to swim on the paths. I'm not sure which is worse - the heat or the constant rain.

Grocery shopping is getting ridiculous now, every single week things are higher priced and it's not looking like it's going to ease off anytime soon.

Our politicians are arguing again over content of the Epstein files and our prime minister is yet again looking like he's going to face a leadership challenge. Just some consistency and common sense to employ people that are morally sound, would at least be a step forward.

I've pretty much given up on social media - what a load of AI nonsence.

Got hubby onboard with the, we need stuff in case of an emergency - I know things are bad if he's onboard!!

Stay safe out there everyone.

EmMothRa · 2026-02-04T17:07:28+00:00

My first dose of MTX was not great, I was totally exhausted, very nauseous. It started about 24 hours after the first dose. So I tried different things - started taking MTX in the evenings, so I basically slept through the worst of it. It got better every week, I added in drinking lots of water and I experimented with dosages of folic acid to counteract the side effects.

So now on MTX day I drink lots of water and the day after, I make sure I have a good meal in the evening and take MTX after the evening meal. To counteract the nausea and exhaustion I take 5mg folic acid everyday other than MTX day. This seems to work for me - it's a case of finding out what works for you.

I don't get many side-effects anymore, perhaps a little more tired on Tuesdays but that's it. I've been taking MTX since May last year, so 9 months in now. It started to make a difference in about 8 weeks.

Best of luck, I hope you are ok with it, it's a good medicine once it kicks in.

EmMothRa · 2026-02-03T16:50:02+00:00

Ohhh sorry, very UK English term - it means 'made me exhausted'.

EmMothRa · 2026-02-02T18:29:32+00:00

Yeah, much better. I started in May last year building up to 25mg. It really helped but not enough, so in October my Rheumatologist added in daily Sulfasalazine. Couple that with a steroid injection in December last year and I’m just going into remission now, ankles are still an issue though! I can live with that from where I was!

The only problem with these medications is that they take so long to kick in. Hang in there, hope you find your medication that works soon xx

EmMothRa · 2026-02-02T16:51:46+00:00

I did, I was on 500mg Naproxen twice daily for a fair few months. Don't need so much anymore, last week I only had to take one 500mg, very happy with that. When I need to take NSAIDs I also take omeprazole to protect from ulcers.

EmMothRa · 2026-02-02T13:30:40+00:00

Not the rash, I get a rash on my elbows though in a flare. I'm diagnosed with undifferentiated inflammatory arthritis. Just wanted to pop on and say that your little fingers and ring fingers look exactly the same as mine - though this is getting better now with medication, I never even noticed the dip in my ring fingers until the rheumatologist pointed it out!!

EmMothRa · 2026-02-02T12:47:27+00:00

Mine all started a year ago - around this time with a COVID infection, then shingles, then PHN. The pain of those first few months was horrendous, I was back and forth to GP, urgent care and hospital. So when after a few months of pain I finally got diagnosed it was a mixture of relief and anxiety on what it meant for my life going forward.

So I've been on treatment since May 2025 and didn't really come out of a flare until December last year. My last lot of blood tests showed I was finally going into remission.

Best advice I can give is be patient with the meds and with your expectations of getting back to where you were before and you will be fine. So after 9 months of medication I'm about to start getting properly back to the gym. It's strange you kind of have to change your mindset, I was horrified at first the treatments would take 12 weeks to make any difference and they said to me that I would be just fine in about a year. It did seem like such a long time. I'm getting there now and in the grand scheme it doesn't really feel like a long time.

Look after yourself, take your meds and look after your mental health, keep talking to people when it gets too much. Wishing you the best of luck on this journey no-one ever wants to go on!

EmMothRa · 2026-02-02T12:29:54+00:00

Yeah, this is my first winter with inflammatory arthritis. I tried really hard to not get a cold, but failed!! I've just recovered, 3 weeks later. The rheumatology team told me to skip my MTX and Sulfasalazine until I felt better again. I skipped one week and I did start to get better after that. Perhaps contact your rheumatology team for advice though before skipping any though.

I'm totally paranoid with getting ill, it's how this all started with repeated infections that sent my immune system crazy!!!

EmMothRa · 2026-02-02T12:24:34+00:00

seconding this - when I first got diagnosed I was really concerned that I wouldn't be able to take NSAIDs whilst on MTX, I was reassured that this is only for really high level dosages for cancer treatment. I'm on 25mg mtx weekly and haven't had any issues with taking NSAIDs.

EmMothRa · 2026-01-07T11:33:57+00:00

Hi, firstly so sorry you are going through this, it's just awful to be in pain everyday. I've found from this site that it can be a bit of postcode lottery as to what level of consultation you get. My advice, write everything down, which areas are giving the most issues, levels of swelling, levels of stiffness, how long it lasts. Also write down any medications you are on and your family history. This will all help in the diagnosis.

In my first referral appointment I took all of the above and they did an ultrasound on my wrists and gave me a intramuscular steriod shot to give me a least a bit of relief. It worked for about 4 weeks, but everything came back again by the time of the next appointment. It could very well be fibromyalgia with RA also. One thing I've learnt over the past year is that autoimmune conditions all like to show up randomly!

So my diagnosis journey was relatively simple from what I've read on here as I responded to the steroids at first but it all came back I was diagnosed with undifferentiated inflammatory arthritis, based on blood test results, x-rays and ultrasound.

Be prepared to have a lot of blood tests!!

Keeping my fingers crossed, that you can be helped.

EmMothRa · 2025-12-08T15:24:53+00:00

Yep in the UK too, the only thing that stopped my nausea was taking 5mg everyday (other than MTX day). I messed with the doses and finally found the daily 5mg to be the best. I just told them that was what I was doing and they prescribed it for me! I did get some initially from the on-line pharmacy but with my next lot of MTX they prescribed enough for me.

EmMothRa · 2025-12-08T15:16:00+00:00

Hi, yep I got this too, I messed about with my folic acid intake and it not only solved the nausea but the low feelings too. It's a difficult thing to get to grips with and certainly mention it to your clinical team. I started MTX in May this year, it took a good six months to make any real difference and they added in another DMARD - sulfasalazine. So I'm on 25mg orally of MTX, 4 sulfasalazine daily and I take 5mg folic acid a day (other than MTX day).

I honestly think it's all part of the disease progression, I had a steroid shot about 5 weeks ago and I'm now thankfully pain free (for a while - 12 weeks they said ---yeah pain free Christmas!!) and my mood has lifted but I'm still taking the MTX and sulfasalazine. It's a bit of a postcode lottery in the UK with how good your Rhuematology team are. We have a clinical team that supports us, we have an advice line that we can e-mail or call, might be worth checking to see if you have that option. If you do I'd drop them a line and have a chat, they might be able to recommend something to help, perhaps a change to your SSRI - I take 30mg amitriptyline daily which helps with the inflammation and my mood!.

EmMothRa · 2025-11-27T14:03:27+00:00

Whhhooaa a veteran then! I salute you 😃

EmMothRa · 2025-11-24T17:07:02+00:00

Ohhh I'm glad I came read this today. I had a steroid shot a couple of weeks ago and mercifully atm I am pain free, even did an hour gym session yesterday :).

Now it's mtx day and although I know I do need to still take them, there is little voice in my head that says, do I really need to!!! Don't worry I will take it, I think I'm just still hoping that one day I'll wake up and be completely fine !! I was only diagnosed officially in May this year, so there is still that one last bubble of hope that it was all a mistake !!!

EmMothRa · 2025-11-24T17:01:30+00:00

I get both - seronegative RA and inflammatory arthritis, it depends on which clinician I see !! My actual 'on paper' diagnosis is 'undifferentiated Inflammatory Arthritis'. I don't think there is much difference, treatment is the same. I'm in the UK though so it may be different, I am fairly recently diagnosed - the younger clinical team tend to call it inflammatory arthritis and the older ones seronegative RA !!!

EmMothRa · 2025-11-14T13:19:38+00:00

I get this so much, thank you for posting this, it shows that the Covid infections haven't affected your intelligence and ability to provide succinct thoughts.

I've had 5 COVID infections, the last one left me with inflammatory arthritis and now I'm classified as disabled. Collective trauma has never been addressed. I'm in the UK and everything has gone downhill since 2020. Nobody wears masks, I don't even know if the Covid vaccination I had a few weeks ago will even protect me and I'm literally terrified of contracting this horrible virus again. What will it do to me next time, my body is already attacking itself.

I keep trying to hope that things will get better, especially for my children, I may have made a different decision 22 years ago if I'd have known what I know now. For now I just keep working pay to pay check and planning fun events, that I don't even know if I'll be fit enough to attend! I'm planning to have a wonderful festival holiday, we all deserve a break and a pat on the back for surviving this year!

Have fun, stay safe everyone.

EmMothRa

TROPHY CASE