methotrexate

[Sangye]

I agree-- why would they do another Hep B test between infusions?? I don't know if Dr Seo even did one for me. He never mentioned it. I don't have any of the risk factors though, so maybe that's why.

[Chris G]

It's possible that you have two different things going on. I don't think the current increase in symptoms and development of new ones should be ignored. Especially with feeling very tired, too. Not good. I wonder if the original chest discomfort is Wegs that is not being entirely contained.

Tell your doc that you think you might be developing an allergic reaction to mtx--pneumonitis. She'll know about it for sure. I'd ask for a chest x-ray at a minimum. If she wants a chest CT that's great, too. If the chest x-ray shows "atypical" pneumonia it's likely to be the mtx.

Ok, so I went to urgent care last night.......it was more like a mini ER. They did an ekg, some bloodwork, and a chest ct. Of course everything came back NORMAL. Good news, right? Yes, but it still leaves me with the unexplained nagging sternum pain (& shortness of breath), which has been my mystery wg symptom since before diagnosis last summer. I seem to be the only one who has it!

When I look back at my notes of the last couple weeks, I have "achy chest" listed more frequently. And then on Tuesday and Wednesday, it was the worse it's been since before I started wg drugs last fall. The fact that it's returning, further confirms for me, that the mtx is failing - which is not really that important at this point, now that I've started rtx. Except that they want me to keep taking the mtx, and it's making me increasinly sicker each week!!

One other piece of good news (at least I think it's good news)......my wbc was 8.4 last night. For the last 6 months, while on mtx (25-30mg), my wbc has refused to dip below 11. Is it safe to say I think the lower wbc is due to the rtx infusion I had last Friday??

[Sangye]

I'm relieved that you went to the ER, Chris. Glad the CT was normal. When was your last echocardiogram? Wegs can cause heart problems that might not show up on EKG.

If heart involvement has been ruled out, and you're feeling sicker from the mtx each week, it makes me think the mtx is irritating your lungs enough to cause symptoms but not show on CT. How long does your doc want to you stay on mtx since you've already started rtx?

[Chris G]

They haven't given me a difinitive answer about how long I will continue the mtx - at first she said "a couple of weeks", but when I asked for clarification, she said that the plan is to get the pred down FIRST. Change only one drug at a time. Since I'm still at 20mg pred, I know that could take a while. My guess is that it could be a couple of months before getting off the mtx. But, I'm tellin ya.......it's making me so sick! I can't function the day after my shot. At some point it's going to inhibit my ability to tell whether my symptoms are improving with the new therapy.

I see them on June 7. Until then, I'm not sure what I'm gonna do.

[jmmilliorn]

I'm getting my 2nd RTX infusion this coming Tue May 24th. Locally. Victory over the insurance company at last.

[Sangye]

I'm glad you're finally getting it Mike. I can't call it a victory since it'll be 4 weeks between your infusions--way outside the protocol. I just hope it works well for you and gets you into a solid remission.

[jmmilliorn]

Dr. Villa-Forte said it was not optimum, but should still work.

[Chris G]

I second what Sangye said........ Yay! and Boo to them!!!

[Sangye]

LOL Chris.. exactly!