Any success stories

Hi, !

First off, let me say I am glad you found us and almost every member of this community has been where you are. Being newly diagnosed and struggling to get on top your symptoms can be an overwhelming, challenging time.

You doctor is right and it can take some time for medications to reach full efficacy. That said, that wait can seem interminable when you are dealing with pain! Please don't hesitate to keep communicating with your doctor as you wait to see if this treatment is going to work well for you. If you truly feel that you are experiencing little to no relief, you can talk to your doctor about possibly upping your prednisone and/or looking at a new medication besides Methotrexate. Please know I am not recommending you add or drop any treatment, but I am a big believer in being your own best advocate. Not like you don't have enough on your plate, but the hard truth is that no one will be able to speak for yourself better than you. And, ultimately, YOU get to decide which treatments to put in your body. Well, as long as insurance covers those medications.

This post is already getting a wee bit long, so, my apologies!

As far as success stories with methotrexate, I do have some positive stories from this community, which I will link. That said, it IS a strong treatment (as you well know) and the side effects can be too much for some individuals. Here's one story about methotrexate and I wanted to mention the dozens of member comment following the piece that you can check out for more input on this particular treatment -- https://rheumatoidarthritis.net/living/what-to-expect-methotrexate. Also, I wanted to share one patient leader's medication experience (including methotrexate). While methotrexate ultimately wasn't a good fit for her, she did find the medication helpful -- https://rheumatoidarthritis.net/living/treat-symptom-decision.

On to another topic; I do hope you have support as you adjust to this new challenge in your life. I hope you have someone to talk to and help you process your feelings and struggles, both your RA related issues and your typical every day "life" stuff. We all deserve support and understanding, I believe. At the risk of inundating you with info, here's one last article about finding support for yourself while being newly diagnosed -- https://rheumatoidarthritis.net/living/support-new-diagnosis.

Please know you are not alone in this. And it's okay to question your doctor if you have concerns or reservations about your treatment protocol. And, it's also okay to be comfortable letting him/her recommend treatment options, since they are the one's that went to school to specialize in autoimmune conditions/arthritis.

I do hope you start getting some relief from the pain and other symptoms. And please don't hesitate to reach out if you have further questions. We're happy to help in any way we can!

Best, Erin, Team Member.

I can understand why you’re looking for some reassurance right now, . RA can really feel like an invasion of your life, especially when everything seems to change so suddenly. You’re just trying to figure out how to manage all of this while hoping you can get back to feeling more like yourself again. Four months may feel like a long time when you’re hurting every day, but you’re still very early in figuring out what your new normal looks like. There are so many different treatment journeys in this community, and sometimes it takes a while to find the combination that gives you your life back. Be gentle with yourself while you’re figuring all of this out. You’re adjusting to a lot at once, and that takes time. Try to hold on to hope and take things one day at a time. You may not know what the road ahead looks like yet, but things can get better, and there’s every reason to believe you’ll find your way through this. -Latoya (Team Member)

Hi . Your anxiety and fears about the methotrexate and meds in general is certainly understandable. My wife, Kelly Mack (a contributor here), was diagnosed at age two, 47 years ago - before modern treatments, with the damage to show for it. She was not put on methotrexate until she was well into adulthood. It stabilized her for many years. I don't want to sugarcoat it - it was not the best medicine for her. She di not find that until a number of years later. That is the unfortunate nature of living with RA - finding a medication is mostly a trial and error process.

Most medical sites say that a person should start to feel improvement on methotrexate in 3 to 6 weeks and the full effect can take 3 to 6 months. As our contributor Andrew notes in this article, "Switching RA Medicines – Don’t Wait Too Long or Try Too Many: https://rheumatoidarthritis.net/living/switching-ra-medicines-dont-wait-long-try-many. It's a fine line, but don't hesitate to ask the doctor about when it is time to think about trying something different. There are now more options than ever and you shouldn't have to suffer unnecessarily. Best, Richard (Team Member)