Yep..on it too ..scared me as well ..but after it started to help ..some of the fear went away ..guess it is the first line of defense ...i notice if i drink a lot of water with it the side effects arent as bad...it is scary ..so i might not be the rite person to post on this ..butttttt ...i dont think we have many choices for first line of defense drugs ...later biologics are teh second line ..and added on ..to much at times to in hale but many many many people are here with you ..so you arent alone ....hang in there ...took the first dose as soon i was suppose too , odd sensation at first ..then as the time went by ..that wore off a little .. yuo dont want permrmanent damage and it also is a bleesing you have a dr who cares about that rite off the bat ....wihsing you relief in your fear and hang in there .

p.s. luv your name ....very hollywood -ish :)

I did the same thing, read about it and scared myself to death. Waited5 months to take it, and honestly nothing half as bad as what you've read. Just make sure you take 1,000 mg folic acid daily, although I'm sure your doctor will tell you that. What changed my mind was a conversation with a gall that has had RA for over 30 years, who basically told me TAKE IT, no fooling around. So I started in Feb and may experience some extra fatigue the day after, did however notice hair loss after about 3 months. Someone on this forum recommend Leucovorin and it worked, hair is okay. I only have one really damaged joint (visible) so it's all good. Trish

My doctor assured me that he saw very few patients with any serious side effects. I was closely monitored with blood work every 3 months. It worked very well, and I was actually symptom free for nearly 3 years. Then the blood work started to show elevated liver enzymes. Really just slightly elevated, but after trying to correct it with doubling the folic acid that you take along with it, and going off of MTX completely for 3 weeks, it started to elevate again as soon as I restarted even a lesser dose. Bottom line, he didn't want me to take a full dose of it any longer. Now I take a small dose of MTX and Humira.

I guess you have to weigh the benefits against the risks. There are serious risks of allowing the disease to run its course. If you research RA, you will see that it can involve much more than our joints, which is extremely painful and crippling, but also can involve internal organs (heart, lungs, etc.), eyes, skin, and more. It can shorten our life.

Adding the Humira was scary for me. I was too dumb about all of this to realize that MTX could be scary, too. At the time I was just so grateful to be taken seriously, and that something could help. I started the Humira in July, so this was when I did all of the thinking about risks vs benefits. You and your doctor have to make that call.
If you decide to take MTX, you will be monitored closely.

I wish you peace of mind as you make your decisions.

mtx has been the first line treatment for RA for decades, so its got a TON of data backing up how well it works. A lot of people are scared because it is also given for cancer, but, that is in much, much larger doses. Think of it this way, Benadryl is given for both allergies and for sleep aid, and in the same way, methotrexate has multiple uses. As Trish said, you'll have to take a daily 1mg folic acid (a vitamin), along with the weekly methotrexate. The most common side effects are mouth sores (in this case the doc will just increase your folic acid to 2mg), nausea (you can split up the weekly tablets into a 24 hr period, or can move to injections), and some people notice some hair thinning (temporary, the doc will generally have you take another vitamin called biotin 5mg to help)

You'll likely start out at 4 tablets (10mg) a week, and then get bloodwork in a month to make sure your liver is tolerating it well, then you'll increase the dose slowly until you get up to 20mg, all the while monitoring your bloodwork about once a month. If there is any elevation in the liver numbers, the doc will decrease your dose. The elevation of the liver numbers is temporary and will go back down once you reduce the methotrexate dose. Then once your final dosage is figured out, you can start increasing the interval of when you need bloodwork. Most people stable on mtx end up getting bloodwork every 3 months and doctor visits every 3-6 months.

Mtx is well proven to dramatically slow RA progression. I hope it works well for you!

I have been on MTX and plaquenil for about 8 weeks and the improvement was amazing. Like you, I struggled with the decision to start MTX. After consulting with my very conservative Rheumy, he felt the RA was doing more damage than the MTX would do.

I do not regret my decision to start MTX and I will use it as long as my body will tolerate it.

You received some great advice from everyone and I hope it helps you with your decision

Nipper69

I took methotrexate 25 mg for 1 year. It helped so much. As long as you get you blood monitored, take your folic acid. Dr. also told me no alcohol, no non-steroidal anti iflammatories. I just stopped it as I am now in a mini-remission.

Good luck!

I have had zero problems with Methotrexate. It really helped me when the doctor prescribed it along with the Enbrel I was taking. I have been as high as 5 pills per week (now on 2 pills per week). I have no deformities and I am now going into my 5th year on Methotrexate. I didn't want deformities either, as once the deformity starts, it's not reversible.

I've been on the injections for 7 weeks now. No side effects, but it isn't working, either.

Hi Eva and welcome to DS. There are a lot of other threads about MTX that you will be able to read on this site. Many of us are sacred of MTX including myself. I am also concerned about the other medications I am and have been taking in the past. I am on Rituxan which is a biologic and if you read the possible side effects on that you wouldn't want to take that either. But I look at it as do I want to be crippled and bedridden with RA or take the medication and hopefully keep the disease at bay. I choose the latter. I and my doctor Rheumatologist wants to keep me functioning and working as long as I possibly can. if I can do that by taking these medications then I will take them. I wish you well with the MTX and hopefully you will be feeling better soon. I am also on Plaquenil. You need to have frequent eye exams while you are on that medication as it can affect your eye site. Wishing you much luck with the MTX and other meds you may try and hoping it works well for you.

Thank you all so much. My nervousness is slightly lessened. This runs in my family, as my sister and father have RA. I'm also afraid my 21 year old daughter is starting to show signs. I know I have no choice but to start on the Methotrexate, but I definitely should never have Googled it. My vanity took over as I have a very thick head of hair and imagined it all falling out!! I didn't know about the extra vitamins you take, as I'm having the Methotrexate meeting with my Rheumo doctor so my husband can attend at my next appointment. This is when she wants me to start the medicine.

I really do appreciate all your help, and am so glad I found this site.

Eva