Methotrexate
Hi, it’s not me with Psoriatic Arthritis it’s my husband. He was diagnosed in his mid 20’s I think it was so it’s almost been 20 years. Recently his meds (salozaperine) have stopped working for him. He’s going on to Methotrexate. His bloods are back and they want him to have a chest X-ray. Is that normal practice before starting on Methotrexate? Only he missed the call and they left a message with lots of questions about his chest. TIA x
Yes normal. Methotrexate can have some pretty nasty side effects, I think they like to know your body could deal with any issues before you try it, I had to do a couple of lung function tests too.
Hi
I've just been prescribed Methotrexate. In fact, I was only diagnosed with PsA and Spondylitis a month ago. I had to have a chest X-ray before I could start on the treatment. It came back clear.
Methotrexate is often the first line DMARD prescribed to treat PsA for the simple reason that it is cheap. Most insurance companies will not authorize the more expensive, and more effective, biologic DMARDs unless and until you have a failure of therapy on the less expensive drugs. And, while Methotrexate can be effective, most people with PsA have had to move on to TNF inhibitors like Enbrel or Humira, sometimes in combination with Methotrexate, and even beyond that to the newer biologic DMARDs. So, keep a log of your disease activity, side effects of the medication, any observations you feel demonstrate the medicine's efficacy or lack thereof, and keep your Rheumatologist informed of your progress. Most importantly, recognize that this disease can be stubbornly resistant to treatment, and it might take awhile to find the most effective treatment or combination of treatments. Good luck, and visit here often.
