Sunday, February 08, 2009 joanj asks

Q: Mouth & lip blisters

I have had a reaction to Methotrexate in the form of mouth irritation and lip blisters.  Dr. had me stop taking the Methotrexate (3 weeks ago) but my mouth is still irritated and one of the lip blisters is very slow in healing.   She wants me to go back on a lower dosage of Methotrexate but I'm very hesitant to take any at all.

Any suggestions how to treat this problem - the prescription she gave me did not help AT ALL.

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Answers (4)
2/ 9/09 6:33pm

When I was on methotrexate my doctor put me on folic acid.  It stopped my mouth ulcers all together.  I'm off methotrexate because of other problems but I still get mouth sores sometime and folic acid fixes the problem for me.

Good luck

Nan

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2/10/09 5:39pm

Hi there!

 

I have also had mouth problems-   blisters, chapped lips even, and a really sore tongue.  I had assumed it was a side effect of methotrexate, but I recently had to stop the mtx and I still had the same problem.  I take so many meds that there isn't enough space  to even list them here!  Do you take narcotic pain meds or several meds for your RA?  (In addition to your methotrexate)

 

I find that eating yogurt-  LOTS of yogurt- helps a good deal and I am never without a cold bottle of water or mint herbal iced tea.  I also chew sugar-free gum,  trying to keep my mouth from becoming dry.

 

These are just my little Dr. Holly home remedies!

 

Ciao,

 Holly

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2/12/09 2:06pm

Folic Acid is a BIG answer.  MTX actually was originally chemotherapy for leukemia, so we are not talking "take two aspirins..."  It is a "Folic Acid Antagonist," which means it blocks folic acid in every biological process.  For leukemia, it was much faster multiplication, hence the disease was affected more than the body. 

Taking folic acid helps all those tissues that turn over quickly, like the mouth epithelium cells, as well as the gut epithelium ( Epithelium=slimy coating cells)

I just had to increase my dosage from 800 a day to almost 3 grams a day, 3000 mg.   Finally the pits on my tongue and mouth have stopped.  Really push the folic acid, talk to your doctor about this and get some relief.   Good luck.

The over the counter sore throat sprays work well to stop the viscious cycle of pain and irritation and cell breakdown.  See if you can find one that works for you.

h

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2/13/09 6:23pm

I make a mouthwash of one part peroxide to 3 parts water and rinse,when my mouthsores appear, it helps healing to mine overnight.

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By joanj— Last Modified: 12/22/10, First Published: 02/08/09