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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lionprincess00 12/23/2013

So am currently sero neg and very newly diagnosed, but am being treated aggressively for RA by a wonderful rheumatologist. She had me on 20 mg of prednisone...tapered to 7.5 right now and weaning off slowly. She gave me a shot of metho three Thursdays ago at 15 mg dose. Next Thursday I took 17.5 mg (7 pills). I had headaches, nausea, hair loss, and fatigue. Well the 1 mg daily of folic ( all days except metho day) combated all symptoms except the headaches. They got worse and worse...like 8 Tylenol 8 Advil daily with a bc powder in between bad. Fast forward to this Thursdays dose of 20 mg/8 pills...my max dose she wanted me on, and the headache was horrendous.

Called rheumy and she said it's highly unusual for metho to have headaches all week... and I can pop 10 folics and get rid of the metho, ie cancel it out. If my headaches go away we know it was the metho causing it, or I can go up on the prednisone and see if it was withdrawal of steroids.

Saturday it was awful, I popped all the folic acid pills and my headaches are gone. 100%. So now I have to wait for her to get in the office Jan 30 and she said we could try something else. Now I hurt:( and have to wait for something else. The metho virtually wiped out my pain. It was a miracle drug for me except the horrible headaches.

Sorry so long! Anyone else hear of or experience killer headaches? What is the second go-to drug/dmard...plaquenil? What's your experience on it or on other dmards than metho? Thx!!!

gaitless 12/23/2013

The only side effect I've had from the mtx (injections) is severe fatigue. No nausea or headaches at all. I started out at .3ml injection and increased it by .1 every week until max dose of 1ml which is 25mg of mtx. I also take 1mg folic acid a day.

This is my second dmard. My first med was plaquenil, which helped me tremendously. Sadly, I developed a severe rash and had to discontinue it.

deleted_user 12/23/2013

i had unbearable headaches when i started mtxt. i used to take a tylenol everyday for my headaches. but eventually the headaches disappeared as mtxt got adjusted to my body. i think i had those headaches for the 1st 2 months. now i dont have any. i didnt notice any other side effects from mtxt. hope your body gets adjusted to it soon and you will feel better.

deleted_user 12/23/2013

hairloss and fatigue are very common from mtxt. i am using aragon hair oil for my hair. bought it from amazon. i just started it. hope it helps. many suggested that hair oil in this group.

pls go thru mtxt side effects in the internet. you will get a very clear picture. good luck

lionprincess00 12/23/2013

Yeah, I researched extensively. I actually did expect the symptoms I listed and thought I'd go ahead and mentioned them as a background to my situation, but did not expect the daily constant headaches.
My rheumy actually said headaches are common the day of and maybe day after metho is taken, but she said it's unlikely it would last all week long. So I am hoping I'm not crazy for having them intensely all week. I wondered if it was in fact something else and a coincidence they went away with the folic acid. I don't know. Thx for your comments and perspectives!

carrottop50 12/23/2013

I also have the headaches all week long since being on the mtx plus I am on plaquenil too... but they are not as bad as yours from what you are saying... so I am going to stick it out and see if as my body gets use to the new meds it will get better because this is only my 3rd week. Hope you get yours figured out so you can get to feeling better.

Christine26 12/23/2013

I get Migraine headaches so so I know that is not attributed to MTX. It's a shame that it worked so well with helping with the RA pain but the headaches are not worth taking it. I have been on MTX on and off. I am on it now 5 tabs no side effects. I did have the hair falling out which was my only side effect when I was on it years ago, I no longer have that problem. Arava a DMARD and Plaquenil work well. I was on both, but now on the Plaquenil. Hope you find the right mix for out without those headaches.

Christine26 12/23/2013

Sorry, what I meant to say was hope you find the right mix that will not cause you headaches.

stephgas 12/23/2013

i have headaches all the time but had not attributed to the mtx. but it could be. however, i also get jaw and neck pain and i think both could translate into headaches.

nipper69 12/23/2013

I did not have too much trouble with the headaches until I started taking 8 pills (20 mg). They are usually manageable after a day or two. Hopefully I will adjust to the higher dose.

Good luck!

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