I just asked the same question to my rheumy the other day. He said the therapeutic dose is 20-25 but in reality it's anything we can tolerate. I'm at 7.5 and I''l go to 10 this weekend. I take Enbrel as well. I know of another person on 7,5 for years so maybe 5 or even 2.5 will do something. I guess you can try and find out.

If MTX is your only therapy then most Rheumys wouldn't take you off it. If the low dose is working then stick with it.

Very few people achieve sustained remission without ongoing treatment. And for most MTX effects only lasts for about 2 to 3 weeks before flaring again. It doesn't usually induce sustained remission.

Unless you are having side effects or infections then its likely better to stay on it.

for me I know about FOUR weeks after I stop taking the methotexate, this used to happen when I stopped for pneumonia's I would be fine until i hit the 3 to 4 week mark then additional pain and swelling and my it doesn't matter if I take mtx or not would go out the window...

i'm on what I consider low dose - 4 - plus the orencia so the old family favorite of mtx is back for me. desperation. I don't want to switch out of orencia so we added the mtx back in.

every single person on here presents differently in their RA and their bodies response to what a 1/2 dozen different DMARDS and about 7 different biologics. there is NO theory. there is only individual and unique response.

are you taking anything else by any chance like prednisone or nsaids?

depot

I take 4 pills a week, plus Retuxin infusions.

I am also on low dose mtx. I know that it helps when I have to go off of it due to antibiotics and such. After week 3 of no mtx, I start feeling it. So, for me, staying on the low dose does help.

Thanks everyone for the input. For some reason I don't get the email updates when someone responds. I should check my profile & see if I accidentally turned something off.

Anyway, I don't take anything other than MTX. I was on Plaquenil for a month & it gave me such bad hives I stopped it & I didn't feel any difference pain/stiffness wise after stopping so I don't think it helped.

I've been on the 2 pills or 5mg now for about 3 months solid & haven't noticed a significant difference between 5mg to 7.5 or 10mg so I just took my dosage today (Sunday) & bumped it down to 1 pill. I'll see how that goes for the next month or 2 until I see my Rhemy again in September.

Once again thanks for everyone's input! Stay well!!

My doctor and I had this discussion last week. He said that less than 5% of RA patients can go off all meds and maintain a remission. I guess someone falls into that 5%.

I take 3 MTX pills, and Humira injections every two weeks. We were reducing the MTX, but I think I've reached the lowest point I can go. I start noticing soreness when I'm a few days out leading up to my Humira injection. It's all in finding what works for you.