I have been taking Methatrexate for about 8 years without side effects, However, in the last two years I am suffering from bouts of fatigue which usually last 4 or 5 days. My doctor tells me its a sideeffect of Methatrexate. Has anyone had a similar experience?
I have always had the fatigue with mtx but my doctor told me it was a symptom of inflammatory arthritis. Eventually it became too much to cope with, working full time and having 2 young children was unmanageable so I pushed the issue and am now on subcutaneous mtx. It's a higher dose than I was on orally but because it bypasses the gastric system I experience less nausea and I'm definitely less fatigued. I injected this morning and am at work and fine. Previously I'd take my pills on a Friday night after work and then spent the majority of the weekend in bed.
Hi, if the tablets are giving you GI problems which are making you more fatigued then yes, ask for the injections. My fatigue was made worse by nausea, vomiting and bowel problems. Are you also taking the folic acid as well and have they checked your bloods recently? I know some doctors are good , but there are some who casually fob patients off by saying that things are just side effects, sometimes I think if they actually had to go through what their patients are dealing with every day, they wouldn't be as eager to pass things off as side effects! I know having bloods taken all the time is crap, as is chasing up doctors and nurses just to hear that they are ok, but it is a reassurance that the tablets aren't wrecking anything else, like your liver and kidneys!
Thank you f your helpful reply. My problem is that the fatigue is intermittent - ita happens every two three months for about four days. It does not happen the same day or the day after I take my two pills.
Thanks for your reply. I'm getting the feeling that I was in fact fobbed off. I need to loojk into this further. I do blood tests every three months so its not much of a bother - and I have always had good results.
Yes, I have a blah, tired feeling that lasts 4 or 5 days probably every 3 months. I never associate it with MTX, though. I assumed it was the RA itself, perhaps having a mini flare-up. Also, the feeling abruptly starts and just as abruptly leaves at the end of the 4 or 5 days. That is why I think it is the RA. If the pill were the culprit I don't think it would be as abrupt.
If it's following that type of pattern I wonder if it's maybe infections or viruses that are underlying and because of the mtx are being suppressed?
I just returned home from my rheumatologist a half-hour ago. During the visit we talked about these seemingly random, several-day blah and pain events. He said that when for whatever reason the inflammation level in the body rises (as measured by the "sed rate" that is part of your blood test) and various proteins in the blood react to the inflammation and cause what we feel. When the chemical imbalance in our bodies is rectified, the symptoms stop.....and suddenly. And these episodes are not predictable.