To lose the joy of eating...

By Ching Chan Saturday, September 05, 2009

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I am currently taking methotrexate.

At first, I would experience an ulcer here or there. Usually I'll get an ulcer in my mouth. Lately, its been increasing in severity. Currently I have 5 ulcers on my tongue and one on my lip. It hurts, to say the least. My tongue looks so dreadful, like its decaying. My doctor says its a common side effect.

I'm a cashier, so when I talk or smile, it hurts. It's ok because its my job and I push on through the pain. However, eating is something that has also become a dreadful experience. I love to eat, I enjoy the taste of food. With all the ulcers in my mouth, its really hard to enjoy my meals.

I was wondering if anyone else has been experiencing negative side effects of methotrexate. How do you deal with it? Any suggestions on how to alleviate the pain?

First the trigger finger, now the mouth ulcers. This has definitely not been my week.

Comments (6) | Add comment

Ish

9/ 5/09 8:23am

Hi,

Has your doctor put you on folic acid? Or increased the dosage? I take methotrexate and am now taking 3mg's of folic acid each day. I really helped me with the mouth sores!! And you're right, the ones on your tongue are really painful.

And yeah, food isn't all that great these days for me either. Nothing looks good, nothing sounds good. Well, except for crunchy cheetoes.

Good luck,

Ish

Nan

9/ 5/09 4:47pm

I've been on 10mg a week for 7 weeks now, I've noticed hair loss but no ulcers. I get these tiny blisters around my nose and mouth and they HURT. For such tiny things they sure pack alot of pain, I usually just pop them with my fingernail and put alcohol on them and they go right away. The hairloss is disturbing. I have to do the whole comb over and fluff to cover the worst of it.

I hope the mouth sores go away for you that has got to be bad. Don't let it make you weak from not eating enough. Try drinking smoothies or ensure to keep nourished if it hurts to eat.

I started taking nexium when I was on the arava a few months ago, it cured the stomach problems and heartburn I was having due to the arava. My doc switched me to mtx cause the arava was also causing sores on my hands. I kept taking the nexium and have had no real stomach related issues. Ulcers can come from upset or acidy stomach and gastro issues.

mydogzilla

9/ 6/09 10:32am

Sorry you hare having such a tough week! I would also suggest Folic Acid. My doc has me taking 1 mg per day and I have had no mouth ulcers. (I take 12.5 mg of MTX per week) IF you are not on it then ask them. It is not that expensive either.

You can also have them "painted" at the dentist office and it will help them "dry up" faster. I was a dental hygienist for 6 yrs ....not anymore:(....and we did this for people who had chronic ulcers (it should not cost much either). It burns REALLY BAD! But it helps them heal and you do not have that burning open feeling for so long. I am sorry I do not remember the name of the solution but you can call your dentist and ask them if they can treat ulcers and they should be able to help. Again it is painful for about 1 minute but I thought well worth it. Get Better & take care!

Vicky

9/ 7/09 10:51pm

its an acid etch process. i work at a dental office as an expanded duty assistant and we do these treatments alot for mouth ulcers, the doctor i work for also uses a soft tissue laser to force the tissue to regenerate (heal) faster for large or extreamly uncomfortable ulcers. its a realatively fast procedure, of course they can always numb the area some but that only last for a few hours :(. Good luck with everything!!

Lene Andersen, Health Guide

9/ 8/09 7:40pm

There were a couple good suggestions in the previous comments, so I'm just going to add a quick note. All meds have good effects and bad/side effectsand we all weigh the pros and cons of the medication. Sometimes, the side effects can outweigh the benefits and it's time to talk to your doctor about other treatment options. When you reach that point is something only you know, but I wanted to remind you that there are many other options for treating your RA out there. You may want to give the suggestions in your comments a try before you think about switching, but keep it in the back of your mind that methotrexate isn't the only thing that can help you.

samantha

10/ 3/09 12:01am

You need to start taking folate and b12 every day. These supplements prevent the side effects of MTX

To lose the joy of eating...

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