Kickas.org Forums Rheumatoid Arthritis General Discussion #1 RA Web Support Group After 8 months mtx doesn't seem to be working

Thanks Irish. Also thanks for all the humour you bring to KA.

Twice in the last month I forgot to take my a.m. meds, which include the prednisone. By the end of the day I couldn't understand why I felt so much pain and stiffness...until I saw at bedtime that I missed my dose.

I've been on it for 4 months and it doesn't seem to be doing much. Well, my oncologist said it made my nodes completely normal, but AS wise, it is helping a little with peripheral joints, but not SI. Or maybe it is the 10mg of prednisone.

Are you on mtx, Micki?

Yes, 20mg. At my visit in April doc mentioned adding an NSAID. So far all the NSAIDs I've tried have had undesireable side effects, so i don't know where he wants to go from here.

I'm so glad you can walk again. Tuesday I walked about 1km and not all at once either (shopping at Target, then 2 0.5 mile stints plus a little more), but on Wednesday, I could barely move until the late afternoon. If I'm on my feet for 20 minutes my thighs start getting numb and tingly and now pain is added.

I see rheumy in 10 days.

Micki,
Along with DISH....
stenosis at L 4, bulging disk causes my thighs get very heavy, then numb, then dingle and then they / plus my ample behind, just hurt like a son of a gun!!!
have they done the x-rays//...

How are the kids?
Is it summer there?

I'm taking celebrex as an NSAID but, as it's a COX2, it doesn't seem to be giving my any stomach issues.

Sounds like you are on a similar regimen to me - mtx plus pred. I'm up to 25mg mtx per week but I'm keeping my pred down to 6mg per day. When I start reducing again, it will be very very slowly. I just want to get off the pred. It seems so pointless taking a toxic drug like mtx if I also have to take pred.

hi micki,

i noticed that you said something, either the mtx or pred seem to be helping the peripheral joints more than the SI.

and saw you say you haven't found a NSAID yet that you could take (side effect wise).

not sure what side effects you have from the NSAIDs, but if its tummy troubles, Wendy's point of trying the Cox2 inhibitor might be worth considering. i was able to take vioxx a few times a week for about 3 years before it bothered my stomach, whereas every NSAID i have tried affects my stomach much quicker.

but an equally big problem for me is edema, and that is a side effect that i get from both the NASIDs and the cox2 inhibitors.

but still, if you haven't tried the celebrex, its worth considering.

for me, since i can't take either NSAIDs or Cox2 inhibitors but they really do help with my inflammation, i've been trying topical NSAIDs with some good effects. the LDN has helped all my joints so much except for the SI not as much, so started wearing a flector patch over it. the combo of LDN and flector patch seems to be helping a lot; not enough, but significantly. and i also have a triple NSAID topical creme. i don't usually use that, but last week my cervical spine was very bad, so i tried the creme and it helped a lot, finally after about a week it has calmed down, don't know if the creme calmed it down or just made it less painful while it was flaring, either way, its a lot better now.

don't know if any of these topical NSAIDs (patches or creme) could help you, but thought i'd mention them as options for people for whom NSAIDs help their symptoms but for whom the NSAIDs cause intolerable side effects.

Lon,
How wonderful to add DISH and a big butt to your medical CV.
Last x-rays were a year ago. Perhaps I need updated ones? All doc said after x-rays was that there is active arthritis. And in April when I explained the numbness, he said it was sacroiliitis. His focus is on reducing the inflammation, which will then reduce the pain. So far he hasn't offered, and I haven't asked for anything to treat other symptoms. Yet.

Summer is here. The kids have 4 more days of school. The middle school starts at 5th grade here, so my 4th grader is "graduating". It's a cool, cloudy, rainy day here. We like it.

If I felt more relief from the MTX. If I actually felt normal like doc said I would, then it would make sense to me to continue it, in spite of the risks. I don't know. aTNFs scare me because I've already had Lymphoma and I don't want to encourage it to return. Plus the lowered immunity doesn't sound cool when you are living with 7 children who bring everything.

Anytime I drop from 10 to 5mg I feel awful. Doc hasn't tried dropping 1mg at a time.

I tried Celebrex. NSAIDs give me edema, pitichiae and depression, or a combo of them. I've assumed that patches and gels would not be good for me, too, but maybe I'll ask doc.

You can't take LDN while on SSRIs, so it's a no-go for now.