I was on MTX for almost 3 months and I didn't see any real results. In fact, my side effects were getting worse so my Rheumy took me off and recommended Humira.

I am still waiting to hear back from my insurance company to see if they will approve it or not... We'll see...

Was on mtx and prednisone for 4 months-same thing. Constant flare and could never got off the prednisone. Started humira a month ago. I was off of prednisone within a week. Still some stiffness in a few joints but 99% better. Have an appointment this week and hope to taper off of or stop mtx. Good luck!
Patrice

Thank you!! Hoping for the best :)

I'm not a doc, but if MTX isn't working, when you make the switch to a biologic (Enbrel was the magic bullet for me!), I'd ditch the MTX or go on a tiny 1 pill per week dose. No reason to have double immune system suppressants unless you need it to function.

I know combo treatment is preferred but there is a huge liver risk involved too.

Good luck - hopefully you will get amazing results from your biologic!

I'm hoping I can come off of the mtx!! It seems to be causing more flares if anything. And I will admit I miss my glass of wine or margarita on Friday nights :)

Which raises another question - can you drink alcohol on the biologics?

what I don't get is your second bout of pleurisy and you are still on mtx? every time I was admitted to the hospital for pneumonia the mtx was the first thing stopped. i would think that everything would be on hold until your lungs were back in order. what does the pulmonologist say?

Ros

Sorry to hear the mtx is not working yet. It took almost a year before the Rheumy got the right combo to take the constant flare away. At that time I was on 15 Mg mtx weekly / 40 Mg Humira every two weeks and 5 Mg prednisone daily. Ive since went to the humira every 10 days and ditched the prednisone.

Tried going off mtx due to a similar pleurisy issue and was in full flare again in about 3 weeks. Took a couple of months supplemented with prednisone to come back out of. Eventually all of the lung issues went away. Don't get discouraged as it can take time to find what will work for you.

Oh and ive never heard anything about not drinking with biologics alone. Ive given it up except for vacations or a couple during the holidays. I beat up my liver enough with all 14 meds I take so figured something had to give.

Hope you find success with the right biologic. Sounds like what is needed to get your flares under control.

I started on Enbel and then added MTX two months later. My doctor said the combo would produce better results - which it did, but took about 3-4 months till I really saw a difference.

I began MTX 2 years ago. I was taking the pills at first but was getting no results. My Rheumy changed me to injection and worked well. She could never get me out of flair so bumped up MTX and added Humira. Still could not get me out of flair. I changed Rheumy's due to her incompetent staff. New Rheumy changed me to Humira each week. When that did not work, I went to Remicade (was allergic) then to Rituxan (VERY allergic). Looking into other kinds of treatments. I am looking into Beta Glucan supplements to see if those will help. I have seen lots of reviews etc stating amazing results.
Don't loose hope. It is a tough fight but once you find something that works it will be great! Just know you are not alone!!

Just read an interesting article through Medscape.com-"Two New Approaches to Treating Rheumatoid Arthritis. Short version is that several clinical trials that combine mtx and a biologic early in treatment indicate that many patients are able to go to just mtx after about a year. They call it "induction-maintenance" treatment with the idea being to treat aggressively from the beginning and then back off. Interesting. You might want to check out the website. Once you register, they email you links to articles related to RA (or whatever you are interested in). Hope that you've been able to add a biologic and that it's going well,
Patrice

After a lengthy discussion with my RA doc a couple of weeks ago, we agreed that any of these treatments is essentially a "crap shoot." What works for one person, may not work at all for another. I was on Humira for a few years and it worked great; then I screwed it up by stressing my joints (thinking I could do things like a normal person). I have been suffering with the current flare since last August. Starting Orencia tonight.

plr27 - I was aggressively treated with methotrexate and Enbrel - only 3 months of Enbrel. I was completely symptom free and had liver enzymes climb drastically. (it was the methotrexate - apparently Cymbalta increases the length of time that other drugs are in your system)

Anyway, I've been in remission every since - for the most part. I have occasional small "flares" but after switching to a non-inflammatory diet, I'm back in full remission with just Nsaid relief as needed.
I'm a FIRM BELIEVER IN EARLY SUPER AGGRESSIVE TREATMENT. and, now, I believe in anti-inflammatory diet. Still surprised at myself. Good luck!

I will be starting on a biologic soon as well. It will most likely be Hunira. I have been on MTX since November with no significant results and my inflamatory markers are actually higher than before treatment. I will most likely stay on both drugs.

My rhuemy explained to me that the reason biologics quit working in time is because our bodies develop antibodies to the drug and renders them ineffective. How long this takes depends on the person. The MTX not only suppresses the immune system in a different way than biologics which helps treat the RA but MTX also helps increase the amount of time it takes our bodies to make the antibodies against the biologic. So MTX has a synergistic effect on the biologic as well as prolonging the time that the biologic works.

Lori,
Remember, though, you don't have to take much methotrexate to get the combo effect.

Hi Nicklein, you are so young to be dealing with this, but RA is not picky as to whom it will attack. I could not be in a constant flare. I just could not tolerated that. Hopefully a biologic will help you. I have been on one or the other biologic and now on MTX and Rituxan as they are supposed to go well together. I still have those flares briefly (A day or two) on occasion which have just recently started. Hope you get some relief soon/ How do you function everyday when you are in a constant flair? I wish you well. Good thought are coming your way.