Hello Darshin
As you can see by the variety of responses there is no norm but can understand your eagerness in trying and get your head round what the future might hold for you by way of others' experiences. I started off on 15mg mtx at the end of august last year. I didn't get a record of my DAS score on presentation but after three months, in the november, it was 3.96 (remission is regarded at 2.5 or below). At this point my mtx was increased to 20mg and in january of this year the DAS score had gone a little further down to 3.77. My rheumie said it was moving in the right direction but not as quickly as he had hoped. He said that after nine months on it you probably wouldn't see any further improvement and can only assume at that point (my next appointment) depending on the DAS score he will add to or continue with the same. I have mixed feelings about the different therapies. Like Polly I hate the idea of heavy duty chemicals and was pleased just to start on one, and that was one too many although one can always wonder what the story might have been in a different hospital. All I do know is that I have tolerated the mtx reasonably well, that is what I was prescribed and that is how it is. If one treatment were proven superior to another then I would hope that the whole of the UK would be in accord. I know at the beginning one is desperate to see results quickly but it is often only when going over things in your mind you appreciate how much you've improved. At presentation I had a very sore wrist, neck, my feet were so stiff in the mornings or after sitting in the car for a relatively short journey, if I walked for any distance feet were agony my hands were swollen, I couldn't push open doors, I couldn't open anything it was really a very miserable time. By January of this year I had bought myself matching left and right hand splints and invariably had to wear one or the other to bed. My major problem at the moment is fatigue, but I haven't had to wear my wrist splints for three months, I would say my everyday pain is so much improved to be almost negligible and just seem to have to be careful when using my hands because they can easily become sore, strenuous weed pulling, reaching high into cupboards with plates, saucepans etc. I came across an interesting you tube video yesterday about ra, it is quite long and in two parts but perhaps you might like to take a peek http://www.youtube.com/w...tVQ&feature=related .
.....eve