My mother has been on MTX and Biologics for years for RA.
From her experience the inject-able version of MTX has far fewer side effects than the tablet form. As with most things to get into the body via the gut the dosage has to be much higher. You gut is full of acid which will destroy a lot of medicine before it can cross into the blood stream. Inject-ables are not facing such a difficult journey so the dose can be lower.
Try the injections, she took a while to get used to the process but was much happier once she had.
Posted Wed 20 Jun 2018 23.41 by RuthSnow
Dmort please get a one-off pneumonia jab. I agree with the above contributors who say get regular blood tests and your doctor's surgery is bound to arrange this because of the effect on your liver. They may not warn you about flu and pneumonia jabs but it is a warning on the leaflet with the drug.
After being on MTX for 5 months, I got MTX-induced pneumonia. I have never been so ill and it put me out of action for a month. Steroid treatment then made me put on a stone which I could not afford to do.
Worse still, later that year it was decided by the specialist that I was in remission. I wonder if I did ever have psoriatic arthritis at all.
Posted Thu 21 Jun 2018 08.04 by Dmort
Thanks for your advice Ruth. I have been attending nurse for reg bloods which have all been good so far. But wasn’t aware of pneumonia jab. I’ll ask when next in. I’m now past the 12 weeks on meth tabs and doing well ee side effects. My arthritis I think is fairly mild still so not noticing any big changes yet.
Posted Thu 21 Jun 2018 12.36 by Vicky
Hi - with regards to the vaccination I was told that live vaccination would not work (body would not fight it to develop antibodies but I would get seriously ill over it) when taking MTX but all the others do - I was strongly advised to take the flu jab as not live but I can not take yellow fever (as I used to have to take when travelling to some parts of Asia and Africa) or some of the children diseases like measles. I tolerate it so far good and I can see some difference and my whole body is affected. I have the condition since childhood and it is pretty severe without ongoing intervention. I continue do a lot of alternative methods and also upt my physical exercising to manage pain and discomfort.
Posted Tue 26 Jun 2018 14.02 by Lou (edited Tue 26 Jun 2018 14.41 by Lou)
Hi - I have just had a light bulb moment whilst reading this forum. My psoriasis went away when I had breast cancer treatment which included Methotrexate in 2005/6. At the time due to feeling so ill on chemo I never made the connection. Can someone tell me if this drug is available as a topical treatment? Thank you
Posted Tue 26 Jun 2018 17.16 by RuthSnow
I know that Meth is used both as a cancer treatment and as a treatment for psoriasis. My skin psoriasis (scalp, ears, hands etc.) was not bad but it did disappear. I was misdiagnosed (I think) by a specialist with psoriatic arthritis and that is why I was put on Meth. After the bout of Meth-induced pneumonia and steroids, I was told I was in remission from psoriatic arthritis. As I'd had two knee replacements because of osteoarthritis, I think the other diagnosis may have been wrong.
In short, I do not know if it used as a topical treatment purely for skin psoriasis. If it is, you need to have regular blood checks for your liver as well as an annual flu jab and a one-off pneumonia jab.
This powerful drug is understandable for cancer. I think it is a sledgehammer to crack a nut if you have mild outbreaks of psoriasis because of the side effects.
Posted Wed 27 Jun 2018 12.32 by Dmort
Thanks Ruth for your advice re pneumonia immunisation. I’ll be asking at my next appt for bloods.
Posted Wed 27 Jun 2018 17.38 by RuthSnow
Good luck Dmort.
Posted Thu 28 Jun 2018 22.00 by Matblack
I'm afraid Methotrexate cannot be applied topically, unless Psoriasis is very wide spread its probably overkill but unless PsA is suppressed it can be very damaging and is probably worth it.
I got my prescription today and start on Saturday. I'm not looking forward to it but if it works it will be worth it to get the use of my fingers back.
Posted Fri 6 Jul 2018 22.32 by Bracken
Just reading all the comments, i'd really encourage people to keep trying with the MTX! Ive been on it nearly 10 years now and just managed to have a baby, (even was okayish off the MTX whilst pregnant) a few hiccups after birth causing a flair up now, but increasing my dose seems to be working. I tried the Humeria injections and a couple of others but didnt find they worked. It did take a few months for the MTX to really kick in and for me to feel the effects :)
Posted Fri 13 Jul 2018 09.33 by Dmort
Just had follow up appt with rheumatologist and he has decided to stop the meth and start me on Otezla as he felt meth wasn’t working for me. So fingers crossed I have more luck with this.
Posted Mon 23 Jul 2018 22.04 by Paul macbay Hi. I'm Paul and I have had guttate & plaque psoriasis from the age of 4 and recently PSA which first started in my teens but was missed.
Hi everyone. I'm about to start Methotrexate for PSA. I was wondering if you can ask for injections over tablets from the off or must you start with tablets? Reason I ask is because I'm a bit prone to gastritis (inflamed stomach) and I understand that tablets can upset the belly somewhat?
Thanks in advance, Paul
Posted Mon 23 Jul 2018 22.16 by Cazzy27
Hi Paul. I've had mtx tablets which made me feel sick for 3/4 days out of 7 and that was only a low dose so it didn't really work for me. Apparently the injections are much better and a higher dose can be administered as it bypasses the stomach. They have said that I can have the injections but I am trying something else first whilst I wait for an appointment. I would have thought you could ask for injections rather than tablets.
Good luck. Carole
Posted Sun 29 Jul 2018 19.13 by Hazeljune
Took Methotrexate for 4 weeks and just developed bad mouth ulcers, phone the hospital and told to stop taking them immediately and to have an emergency blood test, awaiting results
Posted Fri 3 Aug 2018 09.00 by RichardIan Hi, i have had the pleasure of Psoriasis for 62 years and the related Arthritis for the last 5. So far nothing works.
Was on Meth tablets when first diagnosed back in 2014. Unfortunately i wasn't absorbing enough drug to reduce my inflammation markers. I had a little nausea but nothing to write home about. My specialist recommended i moved to injections of 15 mg. The side effects were horrible, nausea, head ache mood swings and muscle pain lasting 3-4 days. The dose was reduced to 12mg to try to reduce the effects with limited success. Im told I'm just one of the unlucky ones. Most people I'm reliably told suffer little or no side effects. The drug is however controlling my condition and so I put-up with it.
We use cookies to help us provide you with a better service, but do not track anything that can be used to personally identify you.
If you prefer us not to set these cookies, please visit our Cookie Settings page or continue browsing our site to accept them.
Close
Posted Wed 13 Jun 2018 09.39 by Matblack