Too young for arthritis ;-)

Billie May

Hi,

I took my first dose of Methotrexate today .. to treat my reactive arthritis.
The arthritis is caused by a bacterie..while travelling in Asia more than 3 years ago. My feet and hands seem to be the main problem areas.

Is there anyone else, young, with experiences with (reactive) arthritis and this medicin?

Thanks,

Billie (F, 32)

Phoenix3

I am also affected in the lower arms and lower legs. I was diaganosed this time last year with "Limited Scleroderma" which is actually a skin tightening condition.I have being using Metrotrexate since November last. The results have been fantastic although they are slow acting.As the months go by I am still improving as a reult of this medication.Although prescribed as well I don't take Diafene as they are supposed to play havoc with your stomach.

Billie May

Hi,

thanks for your reply. good to hear that the results are great for you!

did you get any of the side-effects? My stomach was very upset after the first 2 times taking the pills but now it seems ok (dosis is 15mg) although I have mouth/lip ulcers. I am only 4 weeks in now and will have my first blood tests this week. diofene is heavy on the stomach but after food it is ok, and I really need it as the joints are swollen and painful.

What is your experience with alcohol and mtx?

star-pants

Hi there,

my mother's had rheumatoid arthritis since she was about 24 (shes 50 now) and she used to be on methotrexate, I recall she took 7 on fridays or something (can't recall the dosage of each tab). She'd be very ill on the Friday, and there'd be no way she'd drink friday or saturday.
Some of those tablets can cause mouth / stomach ulcers as they're harsh on teh system. My mother gets mouth ulcers from time to time due to some of her tablets. She also has had stomach ulcers I think.

Difene used to rip her stomach - make her rather ill. Some people are more sensitive than others. I was on it for tendonitis and my entire stomach became inflammed and I couldn't eat or drink for 2-3 weeks. Make sure to take them after food for definite.

I do hope these work out for you, if you're early enough in the stages of arthritis they might be able to keep most of the pain at bay once they get the cocktail of tabs right.

Phoenix3

Sorry for the slow reply. Mtx will take a few months to really kick in and relieve your symptons.After about 3 months I was able to stop the difene and havent use them since.

Re alcohol I would have a few cans of beer over the week at home.My blood tests have always been fine.However this is not to say alcohol is no problem with Mtx.Follow your doctors advice

Keep up the chin.

amoeba_girl

Heya, I'm 20 and was diagnosed 8 years ago with rheumatoid arthritis. I've been on methotrexate since I was diagnosed, with a host of other things. They always say don't drink when you're taking mtx, and true it does make you feel very sick at the start, I think that drinking while on it more then anything puts an unnecessary strain on the liver and makes you more prone to things like cirrhosis , but I'd be fond of the drink myself, and I'd say that the effects I feel, aside from having worse hangovers than those of anyone I know, are relatively little.

I think though for long term health it's probably wiser to stick to the 2 drinks a week guideline they give you.

Also, I'd never heard of reactive arthritis before. Is it incurable? I take it the symptoms as well as lifespan of the disease is the same as other forms of arthritis?
It's scary to think you can catch this kinda disease.

Billie May

when i got diagnosed with reactive arthritis they told me 6 - 12 months .. but they only gave me difene to kill the pain and the inflammation. now..over 3 years later and having seen many specialists .. finally found someone that takes it seriously. in my opinion i should have started wit mtx 3 years ago. the reumatologist tells me that i might get rid of it but i think i missed out that chance long ago.

thanks for the replies. i wish you all best of luck!

LegacyUser

Hi there

I am a 34 year old and was dignosed with reactive arthiris almost 3 years ago.Went to see a specialist and he put me on met and after 6 months I was completely clear off any pains .It has never reaccured since.

Heraldoffreeent

Unregistered wrote: »

Hi there

I am a 34 year old and was dignosed with reactive arthiris almost 3 years ago.Went to see a specialist and he put me on met and after 6 months I was completely clear off any pains .It has never reaccured since.

Are you still taking the MTX?
I was diagnosed with RA last March and went on MTX in may,it took a few months to really work but by about Nov. I was about 95% free of pain, still have a little infamation in 1/2 of my fingers.My GP says I can stay on it or not, its up to me but I"m afraid if i go off it, the pain will return and I'm horrified at that. When I was in pain it was horrrendus, Ankles,Knees, Elbows, Shoulders, the lot, so not looking forward to that! .

Schnork

QUOTE:

"Hi,

I took my first dose of Methotrexate today .. to treat my reactive arthritis.
The arthritis is caused by a bacterie..while travelling in Asia more than 3 years ago. My feet and hands seem to be the main problem areas.

Is there anyone else, young, with experiences with (reactive) arthritis and this medicin?

Thanks,

Billie (F, 32)"

Hi Billie,
I started suffering from crippling joint pain when I was 22 and was told by the 'brilliant' rheumatologist that I went to that it was 'probably some form of arthritis' and that it would hopefully clear up on it's own! I was put on cortisone and various antiflammatories and painkillers over time, such as difene, arthrotec, tramadol etc.
I later discovered that the pain was caused by a bacterial infection and since undergoing treatment for that, I'm off all antiinflammatories and the steroids, and 95% pain-free. (Although I'm still undergoing treatment and hope to get to 100% when I'm completely over the infection :-) )
So I was wondering about your bacterial infection you got in Asia-has that been dealt with properly? Because your arthritic pain could be down to ongoing symptoms of that infection?

Best of luck, living with pain is not fun.

Mar.

LegacyUser

It is never too young to have arthritis...I was diagnosed with chronic juevenile rheumatoid arthrits just before my 9th birthday...I am nearly 22. I have been on MTX from the begining, I have never had any side-effects with it but i am adament to come off it because of long-term use effects,zoton is often prescribed to prevent stomach ulcers. I have been/am on a cocktail of medication, Enbrel, MTX, deltacortril (prednisolone), Naproxen, Brufen to name a few...the activity has come down to normal, however the joint damage has been too severe and I must have both knees replaced this summer. I am just speaking up for all the children/teenagers/young adults out there with it as there is little heard of it. It is a horrible disease and when first diagnosed especially as a child, your life is completely changed, hobbies such as horse-riding and dancing had to be given up due to weakness and pain. However, it is possible to get through it, I am graduating from college this year with an Honours Degree in Pharmaceutical Chemistry ( ironic I know ) and hopefully will go on to fulfill all my ambitions.

To all children/teenagers/young adults out there, be strong, there will be light at the end of the tunnel.

karma403

I'm 21, have lupus and have been taking MTX for 1.5 years. Wasn't experiencing any nausea at 10mg but it wasn't helping my joint pain enough so I was on 15mg for a while and now I'm on 12.5mg. I get bouts of nausea every few weeks and it puts me off eating food.

I started having joint problems at 17 but at the moment, plaquinel and MTX are keeping me under control and I just experience the odd day of joint swelling and pain. I get tired more easily than most, that's a symptom of lupus but I can function normally. I just dont go to nightclubs every weekend.