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Protect your liver!

I would be grateful for any advice on how to protect your liver whilst on Methotrexate?
Thanks so much!

  1. Hi , it's nice to see your name pop up again! Most people on methotrexate will be told to take the folic acid supplement that @Eric_the_Eric mentions; have you been prescribed this? Taking it is supposed to help protect the body from the side effects of methotrexate.

    Alongside taking folic acid, I personally choose to not really drink alcohol (I have a couple of drinks at Christmas) and I always check with my doctor/pharmacist if I'm going to be taking any new prescribed or over-the-counter medication (although I try not to take anything on top of my prescribed medications if I can help it).

    I hope others will share their experiences here too. Did your doctor give you any guidance on this? -Catherine, Community Moderator

    1. thank you!
      I haven’t felt like alcohol but I would like to have a couple of drinks in the week at some point! My Dr said this was ok! As long as it was moderate. I just thought I could do more things to be proactive, like take Milk Thistle or something? I do take Folic acid!


      BTW
      Thank you so so much for amitriptylme tip. I mentioned it to my Dr and she said she was about to prescribe it.
      I had my first sleep in a week, and the best I’ve had in months.
      Unfortunately prednisone is not reacting well for me and has pushed me from no problem with blood sugar to close to diabetes. My Dr is taking me off as quickly and safely as possible. It’s great to have the amitriptylme as another tool to help!
      Can’t wait to come off prednisone. I am breathless, unable to eat, sleep and function on it!


      I had a good morning today for the first time in months. I did a few things but then I felt too dizzy and faint! Amazing to just have some nice hours though! Grateful just to feel good for a little while ♥️♥️♥️

    2. , yes I believe there are some recent studies which suggest that moderate alcohol intake should be okay. I'm glad you checked with your doctor about that! I did actually look into milk thistle myself when I first started on the methotrexate. I was only able to find a study that had been done on rats though (here's a link, if you're interested and haven't seen it already: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3212785/). I haven't been able to find any studies where they looked at milk thistle and methotrexate in humans, but I might have missed them! I hope they do look into it's effects on people taking methotrexate... I ended up deciding not to take it but perhaps you could ask your doctor or pharmacist if they have any thoughts on this?


      I am SO happy to hear that you were able to get some sleep!! Starting amitriptyline and getting regular sleep made such a big difference to my quality of life. I'm sorry to read that the prednisone has affected your blood sugar though. I have heard some people say that it has an impact on their sleep sometimes too. I hope it doesn't take too long to wean off of it!


      I'm glad you had a good morning too, although it sucks that we sometimes have to pay for doing things with feeling rotten afterwards. It's so hard not to overdo it on those better days. Hopefully this is the start of many more good mornings for you!! 💖 -Catherine, Community Moderator

  2. Thanks Cathy! You’re so kind and supportive. I really appreciate you!

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