Methotrexate & Fatigue....how long will it last?

I've also used methotrexate and boy, does it ever pack a wallop in the beginning.  As the treatment progresses, your body will adjust and the fatigue should start simmering down soon.  With any drug like this, it's a good idea to make sure that you eat regularly and stick to a balanced diet, high in fruit and vegetables.  I find that making the rest of me as healthy as possible can help reduce the side effects a little bit.  You can also speak to your doctor about it - maybe you need to start at a lower dose and increase it gradually, giving your body a chance to acclimatize over time. 

Good luck with it!

Oh the fatigue.  I deal with it too on a weekly basis.  I take 25mg a week, as maintenance until I can get on a biologic.  Here is the tricky thing that I like to explain to people about methotrexate.  Methotrexate can cause severe fatigue which in return can cause sever depression which also cause fatigue.  Now if you have recognized that it is purely fatigue from the methotrexate have no fear.  Slowly but surely the methotrexate will build up in your body and your side effects will become less severe.  Now I cannot promise you that the fatigue will go away.  It does for some, but I have been on it for over three years and experience fatigue.  Now I completely understand the anxiety of not being able to get up and do what needs to be done.  Here is something that might help, even out your days.  Here is what I do.  I make a list of things that need to be done throughout the week.  And instead of overduing it before I take my methotrexate (which makes the fatigue even more severe), even the chores out throughout the week. Say there are 5 important chores that need to be done throughout the weekdays.  Instead of doing two or three of them the days before you take you methotrexate (as we tend to do because we know the fatigue will knock us out) do one chore a day, even on the day you take your methotrexate.  If you can't accomplish it, then put it on the list for either the weekend or the next week.  You will find that it you don't overdue it before and after you take the methotrexate the fatigue won't be near as bad.  I hope this helps.  Good luck and best wishes!

Hello,  Methotrexate is an immune supressant drug and supresses the immune system.  Yeah it does make one tired.   We are already immune supressed just by the rheumatoid.  When y add Methot. or Arava they make system even more supressed. (depressed ?)

Methot. works well for some and not for others.  I am off it and feel much better.It was not working for me - does not work for everyone.  However some do really well on it.

After 6 months or so ask yourself if it is really working.   Ask your Rheumy if you can go off it to see if there is any difference.  Go back on if there is.

Take calcium (citrate), check your Vitamin D levels, iron levels, thyroid too as this can effect RA.

I have been on it for about 5 years now and it never goes away and I always ache.  It never goes away unless I have an infection and I"m off my meds. 

Methotrexate sure does take it out of you. When I was first put on it I had headaches and an upset stomach which could last a day or two.  The next time you go to the doctor as about taking Folic acid.  I found this helps me rebound from the effects of the methotrexate.  I have been on methotrexate for 12 or so years and I am currently taking 17.5 mg a week.  I take Folic acid on a daily basis and it really helps to the point I rarely feel the effects of the methotrexate.

I have been on methotrexate for more than 3 years - have gone off it twice to see if there was a difference.  No.  The fatigue is overwhelming.  I thought it would decrease as time went on but it has not.  I take 8 pills on Saturday - even tried spacing them out (half and half, at my doctor's advice), to no avail.  I spend the entire Saturday on the couch in a half-dream state.  My house is a mess.  I'm limited in what I can do cleaning wise anyway due to the pain from the RA and OA and Fibromyalgia.  The folic acid does help a little little bit but not enough.  There has to be something one can take to fight off the fatigue and bring back some energy to my tired old body.  Any suggestions out there? 

I can only give you my experience.  I've been on Methotrexate for about a year, taking 25 mg a week.  I take it by injection, subcutaneously.  It's a bit of a drag to have to do the injections (I do them myself), but it avoids the nausea I was experienced when I was taking it orally.  I do suffer from fatigue, but I don't know if it's related to the Methotrexate.  Perhaps not, because I take the Methrotrexate usually on Monday night, and my fatigue seems to peak on Wednesday and Thursday.  One thing that seems to help is exercise.  This may seem like it would have the opposite effect, but I think just getting the blood pumping and the body working really helps.

I am taking mtx for severe facial seborrheic dermatitis (although I hope I don't get rheumatoid arthritis, I've got one parent with RA and it looks like I've already started down the autoimmune disorder pathway at my young age-- 20's). Anyway, I've taken three doses of mtx so far (three pills per week). I take it on Friday nights and sleep in on Saturday until about 10 or 11 AM. I haven't experienced fatigue (although if I did, I'm not sure I would've noticed, school keeps me so sleep-deprived/stressed/tired anyway lol). But I don't think I was extra-tired. I am taking daily folic acid supplements, plus I have a super-healthy diet-- veggies, brown rice, low-fat, cooked in olive oil+ extra olive oil poured on top of my food. I don't know if that has anything to do with it.