Rheumatoid Arthritis Support Group

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic, inflammatory, multisystem, autoimmune disorder. It is a disabling and painful condition which can lead to substantial loss of mobility due to pain and joint destruction. The disease is also systemic in that it often also affects many extra-articular tissues throughout the body including the skin, blood vessels, heart, lungs, and...

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i need help

Jerrysgirl
Jerrysgirl
ok now i have been told that i have had fibromyalgia for 4 years and then because of this weird rash on my backside i got sent to a rhuemy, she has done a bunch of tests, and she told me that my vitamin d level was almost non existant in my body so i am on mega doses 2xweek, she first put me on imdur which caused nausea, and just feeling sick, so then she started me on methotrexate, 0.4 once a week, i stay sick all the time, she thinks i am serronegative, so i have everything hurting, i also take plaquenil, and prednisone, along with xanax, for the stupid anxiety, paxil for the depression, muscle relaxers for the muscles and lortabs for pain, which really don't help much, i can't figure out if the nausea i am experiencing is due to the mtx or all the other dumb meds, but which one do i do without, i can barely get out of bed, anything i do wears me out, sick, tired, hurting what am i supposed to do, i sure could use so advise and a friend, thanks in advance.
daizy8
daizy8
Dear Jerrysgirl,
Sorry you are having such a hard time. I am have lots of medications as well and finally went to www.drugs.com and signed up for their mednotes. They have a drug interaction checker that is very detailed and very helpful. I highly recommend it. Looking at your list I know that lortabs made me nauseous as heck, and I agree did not help much. I was lucky to get it changed to percocet which does not make me have nausea, and works a bit better. Methotrexate can indeed cause nausea as well. I take my MTX by injection and avoid the nausea side effect. Be sure and MTX on a full stomach before bedtime so that you can sleep through the majority of the nausea. The fatigue and exhaustion can indeed take a toll on one all by itself, and then to add the pain from the FMS and RA is a lot to deal with.

Hope things get better soon!
-daizy8
JillyT
JillyT
Let your doc know about the nausea, you made need a prescription to protect your tummy from the meds. I've been on meds to prevent heartburn and acid in one form or another for years. Don't stop taking anything without talking to your doc first.

I hope you feel better soon, goodluck...hugs jilly
deleted_user
deleted_user
I had the same problems with the pill form of Methotrexate, The doctor change me to 2x weekly injections. I do these at bedtime so I don't feel like a zombie during the day.
Being on injections for 1 year has done wonders. No more upsets, nausea etc. It bi-passes the stomach. I do my injection in my upper leg. Not ice needed any more either. I have to do monthly blood test for my liver. Taking high dosages Folic Acid, Triple my vitamins has done wonders. Arthritis robs our body of the vitamins & supplements it needs. With my blood test done 3 months ago, my B 12 was nothing. Now I find that B 12 & High dosages of Vitamin D is working.
Hope this help you.
deleted_user
deleted_user
Dear Jerrysgirl, First, know that we are all your friend! That is why we all joined DS. Because we have this unique and debilitating disease, we came together at this site...a place where we understand what one another are going thru and having to cope with. The outside world just doesn't get it no matter how much they may love us! Now, that said, I agree with Jilly, do not stop any med abruptly. There could be worse side effects than the ones you are dealing with now. I would also suggest you find a good psychiatrist in your area to talk to about your chronic pain and let him manage your meds for depression and if possible, pain. I use Kadian for my pain management, 100mg 2x daily. I can supplement that with Hydrocodone 10/325 4x daily. Until my knee and ankle became so bad that they are needing surgery, this kept me pretty comfortable. My psychiatrist is unique in a way...I talk to him as my "sounding board" for all my other docs and bounce stuff off of him about what the other docs are doing and ask his opinion. He also keeps track of all my meds to make sure there are no bad interactions. Daizy8, thank you for mentioning the injectable MTX. I didn't even know that existed! I am going to ask my RA doc about it since I take 8mg weekly. What kind of muscle relaxers are you on? Have they ever talked to you about Neurontin? It is an "anti-seizure, anti-convulsion" drug that stops the burning and jabbing feeling in muscles. It is a med that you can be on indefinitely. Hope this helps.