Hi Amber. I do hope all goes well with the MTX and I am sorry you feel ill when you take it. I have no experience of this but how about taking it at night and sleeping through the worst of it. Best wishes. Autumm

Try to split the dose to half. 4 fills in the morning and 4 in the afternoon.

it works for me

Michael

Hi Amberhere, When I took MTX, I would do what Micheal suggested which is 4 in the morning and 4 in the afternoon. I would later take Leucovorin which is a high dose (5mg folic acid in one pill) the next day (twelve hours later after the MTX) to protect the brain.

Lexis has a good potato recipe that is helpful for nausea that worked for me when I was on MTX. Dice up the potatoes and make hash browns. For some reason, the potatoes do help. Refer to Lexis for her extra ingredients too. I added bacon and jalapenos.

Best Wishes.

I had to move to injections to get up past 17.5 but I went straight from 17.5 to 25 mg which is the "normal" dose for us with Myositis. I was terrified to move to shots but they are a breeze. I usually don't feel them at all. The good news is I have minimal side effects. I also hear the injections are better absorbed then pills so you are getting a better impact from them.

The potato thing TRPT mentions is I found a big 'ol plate of hashbrowns before bed helped me a ton. I always took my pills at night so I could sleep through many of the side effects. About 8:30 or 9:00, I would make a plate of hashbrowns then take my pills and go to bed. I did them just plain with salt and pepper but there is no reason you couldn't do other things you like. I don't know what is it about hashbrowns but it worked. Not a baked potato. Not Mashed Potatoes. Not toast. Hashbrowns. I no longer need hashbrowns thank goodness.

I talked to my doctor about it and it said it made sense because it helps absorb the drug so it isn't just sitting in an empty stomach. Another choice is to ask for an anti-nausea medication. I was given one that worked great but it made me sleep all day and that wasn't so great either. Your doctor might find a better one then mine did.

Hang in there.....but give the injection serious thought. It will help a lot.

Thank you everyone for your replies. I think I will try to split the pills as suggested am and pm - if that doesn't work I will try the hashbrowns - if not then I think I will have to possibly change my option to injections. Fingers crossed things should go OK though.

Meow,

Hi Amber. I take only 6 pills, but have taken these for a long time.

Every Sat afternoon I take them with food and don't eat/drink any dairy.. If I don't eat dairy, my stomach is okay.

If I eat 2%, I have a mild case, but it is over by Tuesday. If I eat fat free, it is a light case and is over by Monday. Fat free is bland, however, so I'd rather not eat fat free.

If I eat whole or 4% dairy, I have gas, bloating, cramping & diarrhea until I take an Imodium.

I take insulin shots for Diabetes 2 twice a day. And get blood drawn every 8 weeks. So, if I can tolerate MTX in pills, I don't want the shots. Sometimes I feel like a pin cushion.

Good luck with your MTX. Hope this helps.

Purr
BK
.

Thanks Buttercup - know what you mean about being a pincushion! Don't really want to go down the route of injections - so will try my best to keep the tablets down.