hi all,

well i've been suffering with a sore throat all week ... so made an appointment to see GP on Friday although don't think it's gone to my chest, was due an appointment with him anyway.

also was due to have the Flu Jab on Saturday but looks like that will have to be put on hold.

i'm feeling very vunerable now with having RA and being on Methotrexate ( which so far still hasn't done the job ) another 3 weeks on it before anything is added ... as i feel open to all sort of bugs etc. now winter is here.

normally i don't suffer with colds i always seemed to avoid them, but wondering if you all felt the same vunerability as i do..?

i take a slow release Vitamin C have done for years.

felt like saying i'm coming off the Methotrexate this week but i know this would be fool hardy ... but i'm still not sleeping well so rationality has gone out of the window !!

well got that off my chest so to speak but would be interested to hear how you all feel and deal with it.

thanks for listening,

Suzanne x

Hi Suzanne,

You mirror my feelings exactly, I too was very vulnerable and apprehensive about the flu jag and being on MTX . That was 3 years ago and I haven't had it since before it all started. I believe it was that flu jag which triggered all of this, I mentioned that before. There are lots of people get it and swear by it, It's entirely your choice, the MTX does not really make a difference in getting the flu jag, your immune system is stronger than you think. I have been on it for 3 years and worried and hated taking it too, but the upshot is it gave me my life back and for that I will be eternally grateful.

I have kept well all year and I also work in schools, you kind of get immune to all the kids germs. Having said that I was hit really hard this week, The child I am working with has a streaming cold, Thursday my throat started to hurt, Friday I had a bad head cold later on, Saturday I was not well at all cough started at night, Sunday and Monday I had a hacking cough, Tuesday and Wednesday I still have a cough but my ribs hurt so much with coughing, but I am getting better. So will you just give it time. How long have you been on MTX now. You were braver than me you came on here right away, I took 2.5 years to reply on here. I was really scared and frightened of what lay in front of me and did not want to know before I experienced things myself, does that make sense. We all deal with things in our own way, try to be positive I know it's hard but you WILL get there. Look after yourself and do what your gut feeling tells you. Then look forward and be positive. Thinking about you Lorna x

Hi Suzanne,

I can well understand you feeling vulnerable being on mtx, I'm sure lots of us feel the same.
I have just recovered from a nasty throat infection where I had a bad reaction to the antibiotics. I had stopped the mtx and humira and missed 3 weeks and feeling so ill made me think I might be better off just accepting what happens with the RA and not going back onto the drugs.
However, once I started to feel better I reasoned that during the 6 years I have been on mtx and 18 months on humira I have had no more infections than I had before I started on them, the fact is they are just harder to get rid of, and decided that yes, I would go back onto the drugs and have restarted them both.
It's your body and you have to decide whether to take the mtx or not but I hope you decide to persevere for a bit longer in the hope that they will make a difference to your RA.
Thinking of you,

Love, Doreen xx

hi all,

what fantastic and informative replies so far,

i know i will feel i have given up and all for nothing if i do throw in the towel re not taking the Methotrexate and then panic will set in as to where to go next.

and i feel as you do Lorna, i always agree with your posts i think we are on the same wave length and i know how ill you have been which was got me thinking about our immune systems along with this sore throat ... my gut feeling on the Flu Jab is not to have it but a little thought in my head says " what if i don't " i really can't make rational decisions at the moment which is half the battle of coming to terms with having RA as well as the tiredness.

i've just been through my notes and i've been on Methotrexate 17 weeks now, the last 3 weeks have increased my dose from 15mg to 20mg and they want me to go another 3 weeks on the 20mg before anything else is prescribed. to be honest it feels a lot longer and i was surprised to count up only 17 weeks gone ... next dose is tomorrow making it 4 weeks gone on the 20mg and i will get my last fortnightly bloods from GP on Friday morning when i go and see him.

i started a Thread on the Flu Jab Amanda but of course it won't be the original one, so i might find it and bring it forward again to see if others respond.

i will discuss the Flu Jab again with my GP who i trust implicity as i've posted before ... but i know at the end of the day the final decision has to be mine and this is where i am failing at the moment.

also wish my sleep would improve which is why i am making another trip to see GP.

i'll come back and let you know how i get on, i am coughing so glad i have this appointment just in case !!

thanks as ever for your responses,

where would i be without this Forum.

Suzanne x

Hi Suzanne
I understand completely how you feel. I have been taking mtx now for over a year 20mg and it totally knocks me out for 3 days of the week and recently I have been getting terrible headaches but a few months ago I stopped it for 6 weeks and was in so much pain could hardly function! This made me realise that it is doing some good... Also I work in a GP surgery so was prepared to pick up every infection under the sun when I started mtx but (touch wood) have been very lucky, havent had flu jab yet this year but will probably have it... Sorry your feeling so unwell good thing youve got a good gp that you trust I never see the same dr twice. Anyway hope things look up for you take care luv Ceri xx

Hello Suzanne

Sorry to hear you have a bad cough. I have had an irrating cough for about a month
but my Doc feels it may be my BP tablets ( Ramipril).

Hope the Doc sorts for you. I had flu last year and I feel that I would rather have the
jab. I had flu twice and it is awful so I take it with now having RA as well I would
be doubly ill, so I have opted to have it.

Nice to speak again but Laptop has had to be re started again 3 times this evening
so I fear all is not well.

Rose

Hi Suzanne

Sorry to hear that you have now had to go onto anti-biotics with your bad chest.

I was strongly advised by my rheumatologist and GP to have the flu jab and the pneumo jab as my RA was so active and I was going onto anti-tnf therapy which would leave me vulnerable. I was a little worried at first at how I would tolerate them and if it was really necessary but it's been fine. I was told to expect a high temp for a few days but I honesstly didn't notice anything. I think the pain from the RA superseeds anything else! The pneumo jab last 10 years as well which is good.
I would recommend everyone to have these jabs as the last thing you want is to fight the flu when your body is already stretched.
Hope you are feeling better soon

Sue x

Hello Suzanne,
Glad You got on well at Docs - he sounds very nice and also very good. The anti biotics will hopefully work
soon so tha tyou will bhe feel better, at least with the infection.. then there is the RA - 4 weeks is still early
days hope it starts to work.

Thought Mairead post was interesting. She felt that mtx was not doing any good, but having stopped whilst
poorly she actually felt it was. Hope you feel better Mairead and able to take mtx and feel 'more normal'
you poor thing.

Rose

Hi Suzanne ... and others!

As others have said the drugs we take for RA can leave us feeling vulnerable. However I think it is important to be positive about these things and not let emotions affect our decisions. Not always easy I know! At the end of the day we need the meds we are given to control the disease, without them we would certainly be in a mess. Anything additional we are offered, such as the flu, pneumonia and swine flu jabs can only boost our immunity to these highly infectious illnesses. Sometimes it is easy to forget that we don't have weak immune systems, a common misconception, they are actually over active and hence the need to suppress with drug therapy. The additional immunisations are always a personal choice but it's worth considering how you may be affected should you succumb to the dreaded Flu.

I hope the methotrexate kicks in soon for you Suzanne; you may actually find once something else is added to the mix you will get a very fast response to it as your body is already well primed with the Methotrexate. Are you keeping up a maximum dose of painkiller? The methotrexate doesn't help that much with pain to be honest, it's an anti inflammatory. I appreciate levels of pain will decrease with less inflammation but always good to manage the pain separately if you are able.

Hope the improvement is just around the corner for you Suzanne,

Lyn x