#methotrexate

[mandana-the-service-pup]

Today I had an appointment with Cardiology. I think the Cardiologist is avoiding me bc the whole time I was under his care his attitude was I’m doing these tests bc your anxious not bc I think there’s something wrong with you and There’s nothing more we can do and it’s not going to kill you. You need to learn to live with your heart problems and be ok with that. So he was kind of flabbergasted when I came back after starting methotrexate and my blood pressure & heart rate were completely normal after years of them progressively getting worse to the point of both being in the 190-200s.

So anyways, he’s been pawning me off on his assistants which is fine with me. At multiple appointments I had mentioned how my low blood pressure was one of my most debilitating symptoms. He never wanted to put me on meds for that bc to him my low blood pressure wasn’t a problem. But it is a problem. It affects my vision. It affects my cognition. It makes it dangerous to drive and impossible to think or accomplish tasks. He literally told me to just drink more water and then talk to his assistants. For two weeks I drank so much water and electrolytes that I was vomiting it up into my mouth when I moved. I ate all the salt I could take and used compression wraps. Nothing helped. I had to set alarms to remind me to take caffeine before driving and make sure I was home before it started to wear off. A few times it wasn’t enough and I had to pull over and wait it out.

So today his assistant finally prescribed me Midodrine. Which is so laughable for anyone in the POTS community bc it’s usually one of the first things drs try (after the water & salt trick 🙄) but I’ve been going to the doctors for POTS symptoms since 2009 and have been disabled by those symptoms since 2014 and this is the first time it was ever an option. I understand that for a while my blood pressure was too high to consider taking Midodrine but I haven’t had high blood pressure since the summer of 2023 and it’s almost 2025 now? It’s ridiculous.

Anyways, I’ll let y’all know how it turns out. It’s a short acting medication that I’m supposed to take three times a day. I took my first dose an hour ago and so far my eyes feel better, I can breathe better and my blood pressure is ideal so I’m taking that as a good sign.

[ineffectualdemon]

Word of advice

If you take a medication like methotrexate which upsets your digestion and you're also lactose intolerant DO NOT eat cheese on the same day you take your medication

[chronicillnesshumor]

Meth

I found out this week that my daughter told everyone at school that I'm on Meth because that's what I call my Methotrexate. 🤣

#autoimmune #autoimmunedisorder #autoimmunedisease #methotrexate #chronicillness

[duerede]

💌Happy ❤️💉Methotrexate 💊Tuesday❤️ To All Who Observe💌💞💞💞💞

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

The June 24, 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court held that the Constitution of the United States does not confer the right to abortion. This decision returned to individual states the power to regulate any aspect of abortion not protected by federal law. Since this ruling, multiple states have limited or completely banned abortion care for people who are pregnant. In at least nine states, abortion is blocked with no exceptions for rape or incest.

Multiple states have banned abortion after 18, 15, or even 6 weeks gestation. These time restrictions make it impossible for patients to use medical information from ultrasounds and/or genetic testing, available later in pregnancy, to determine if a fetus has an anomaly and/or a life-threatening or lethal condition.

These abortion restrictions and laws permitting any citizen to sue anyone “aiding or abetting” an illegal abortion for up to $10,000 has created uncertainty and fear among health care providers trying to provide medical care to pregnant patients experiencing miscarriage, tubal or ectopic pregnancy (when the embryo implants in the fallopian tube, where it cannot become a full term pregnancy; can be lethal to the mother if not treated promptly and correctly), or those who need prenatal genetic counseling. Clinicians are unclear where the lines stand between providing care and committing a felony that could equal jail time, and this means that pregnant people aren’t getting the appropriate and timely care they need, even outside of a healthy, viable pregnancy.

But did you know that the Dobbs decision has also prevented non-pregnant women from receiving the medications they need to treat lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and other conditions treated with medications like methotrexate?

Chris Stallman, MLS, MS, is a certified genetic counselor, an expert in medication impact during pregnancy, and a Clinical Instructor of Pharmacy Practice-Science at the University of Arizona R. Ken Coit College of Pharmacy. “Methotrexate is a medication used to treat many conditions, including lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease, and other autoimmune diseases. If a person who is pregnant uses methotrexate, it could increase the chance of miscarriage, birth defects, and other issues in pregnancy or after birth.”

For this reason, girls and women of child-bearing age who are taking methotrexate as treatment for their autoimmune or other diseases are not able to take methotrexate – even if they are not pregnant.

This critical problem is not hypothetical – treatment with methotrexate has already been withheld from female, non-pregnant patients with serious medical conditions in multiple states.

A 48-year-old woman in Tellico Plains, TN received an automated call from her CVS Pharmacy in July 2022 indicating that her prescription for methotrexate wouldn’t be refilled. This patient, who has inflammatory arthritis and a neuromuscular disease called myasthenia gravis, stated that methotrexate allowed her to resume simple, yet previously painful tasks like putting on her pants and rolling over in bed.

In June 2022, not 24-hours after the Dobbs ruling, a patient in Maryland who has Crohn’s disease received a call from her insurance company indicating that methotrexate, used to treat the chronic inflammation and pain associated with this condition, would no longer be available to her.

Within a week of the Dobbs ruling, a woman in Virginia who has Lupus received a letter from her doctor’s office indicating that it was pausing all prescriptions and refills of methotrexate because of the Supreme Court decision on abortion. Before taking methotrexate she experienced flares of Lupus so severe that she had trouble walking and needed to use a shower chair to wash.

Another woman from Missouri had been taking methotrexate to treat rheumatoid arthritis. When she went to the pharmacy to pick up her refill she learned from the pharmacist that they needed a specific direction from her doctor that the medication would not be used for an abortion. The pharmacy, Walgreens, confirmed with this customer that they do not require the same procedure from their male clients.

A 14-year old girl in Arizona was denied a refill of methotrexate to treat her debilitating rheumatoid arthritis and osteoporosis. Her angry physician tweeted that her patient was denied this critical medication because she was female. The withholding of life-saving or -altering medications from the women who need them has forced some of them to consider surgical sterilization.

Could denying women of childbearing age (who may or may not be sexually active, fertile, heterosexual, or pregnant) methotrexate be just the beginning of problems for women who need prescription or over-the-counter medications? Stallman says, “This certainly could lead to more medication denials – and not just for people who can get pregnant. If my husband or children need medication that could increase risks to a pregnancy, would they be denied the medication simply because they live with a person who could get pregnant? Will health care providers have to stop handling or dispensing such medications if they or their partner could get pregnant? And before saying ‘that will never happen’, remember that is what people said about the overturning of Dobbs. We don’t know how far this will go.”

Let’s take this thought experiment a step further. Is it possible that young girls will have to present a letter from their pediatricians indicating whether they’ve started having periods before they can receive the medications they need? Will adult women have to present written proof of tubal ligation, menopause, or infertility from their physicians before filling their life-saving medications? Will other medications that can affect the health of a fetus, even the highly regulated acne medication Accutane, require such additional proof? Could pharmacies use the data they have on prior purchases, like tampons and lubricant, to determine if a woman may be of child-bearing age and/or is sexually active?

The Dobbs decision is just the beginning of our government interfering with womens’ bodies, their personal choices, and their medical care. This decision is already impacting health care outside of pregnancy and could force women and their family members to disclose personal information about their fertility, sexuality, sexual and medical history with pharmacists, medical systems, the government, and the databases that all of them use. Our federal government must act swiftly to ensure that this decision doesn’t lead to further government overreach, discrimination, interference in proper medical care, and tragedy.

[metrixnos]

How do you pronounce your username? I keep pronouncing it methotrexate but I Know that's not at all right (my apologies)

Im curious how other people say it now that you mentioned this lmao, but the closest way i can explain it is like this:

Meh-trix-nos

If it helps any with pronunciation, a name people on the internet call me is ‘Met’ :) !!

[sawrens]

Lord i cant wait to get off my meds so i can get piercings EVEYWHEre...

[femmerose98]

I’m not sure what to do at this point anymore. Ever since we moved into this apartment, literally the first night we moved in, we get woken up by three kids stomping, screaming, and jumping in the apartment above. It’s been over half a year now (since February it’s now nearly November), and it’s still the same shit from 8 pm until 10 am, stomping and screaming, sometimes for half an hour or an hour after 11 pm. Seems like they do nothing to take their kids outside, most weekends and weekdays they are inside all hours, and they act like it’s a trampoline or gym in a apartment building. Regularly waking us up anytime from 10 pm onwards til 12 am, 3 am, 6 am, and 8 am regularly. Earplugs do nothing, nor does fans or white noise on louder volumes. I have an app that tracks my sleep because I’m chronically ill and take chemo meds every week, and it tracks decibels going over 100 nearly every night from their kids stomping. I know because I look at my clock at 2 am, etc, when they stomp, and my app records 80-100+ decibel at that time. Occasionally my partner uses a blender for smoothies in the morning and even our blender in our own apartment is not as loud as their kids. What do I do?? They rarely leave the apartment so I can’t even talk to them in person which I would prefer to to. Our windows shake, our bed shakes, our lights in our apartment go super bright, then dim and flashes like a strobe (I’m sensitive to light flashing and can actually faint), our doors unlock from being closed from the force of their stomping, jumping and running. I feel like talking to them will only make it worse but when we talked to our apartment place they said just to call the police which isn’t fucking helpful. I left one note on their door when they were vacuuming at 11:30 at night like a month or two ago. I don’t know what to do but I’m sick of not getting sleep. I get like 6 hours of sleep each night with frickening chemo meds.

[scootersscooter]

Methotrexate tablets my detested </3

[mandana-the-service-pup]

Service dogs are not exempt from local dog registration in the United States so we went to our City Hall to pay our annual $10 fee. They were closed for renovations so we had to leave without dropping it off.

We were already prepped for public access training so I took her grocery shopping instead. It was my first time driving since starting Methotrexate and I felt even more dizzy & nauseous than I usually do while driving. There are some driving warnings on the Rx so I’m thinking it’s related. I will have to be extra cautious until I figure out the details.

My main focus was public access training so shopping was slow. It amazes me how she always seems to be improving even when we have to take long breaks from public access. A couple halfhearted sniffing mistakes that were easily redirected and that was it. Her heeling is marvelous imo. She was noticeably slower on her position changes but I know it’s because I swapped out her old shoes for new ones that still need to be broken in. I like the Ruffwear Grip Trex for quick outings but they can be tough to break-in especially in the cold.

She was being super good at ignoring people which I like to reward with occasional breaks to say hi to polite strangers. She prefers kids & elderly people so when I noticed a blind preteen with her grandmother who were talking kindly about us I offered to let her say hi. The child was especially excited to meet Mandana because she is working on getting her own service dog. I described Mandana & her gear and let her feel her ears, head, harness, badge and shoes. I answered questions about training & tasks. She wanted to know what tasks Mandana knows that could help a blind person so I told her about how she’s trained to locate specific objects by name and bring them to me. She was excited to show me her Disney stickers so I gave her one of Mandana’s custom stickers and showed her how she could feel the ears and tail that are cut out. Mandana really enjoyed the attention and we all had a fun conversation.

[ineffectualdemon]

Did you know that if you have a vagina and take methotrexate, a medication used for including rheumatoid arthritis, that it can cause reoccurant thrush?

Meaning yeast infections that keep coming back after being treated?

Do you know how to treat reoccurant thrush?

Pessaries

Medication shoved up your vagina

Every day

FOR SEVEN DAYS

And then once a week

FOR 3 TO 6 MONTHS

CAUSE I SURE AS FUCK DIDN'T

NO ONE THOUGHT TO INFORM ME OF THAT WHEN I SIGNED UP FOR THIS MEDICATION

[chronicillnesshumor]

[found on Etsy as mug, tee, and hoodie https://tinyurl.com/yc2cnd8s ]

[petiolata]

Kind of want to draw but i feel too mentally beat up by Karens and methotrexate to try

[clockcower]

I was scared of immunosuppressants and anything to do with opioid receptors and like, ive been scare shitless of shower products for so long but. I finally caved and risked it for the biscuit with baby conditioner.

And I'm actually holding back tears I had NO reaction besides a little tingle (which was probably anxiety and foreign texture). My hair is soft, I smell nice, and I have 0 burning!!!!! I've not been able to use conditioner for well over a year and before that only sparingly for years, suffering burning so my hair wouldn't be as brittle.

I don't think of myself as very deprived because I'm used to my limitations but being able to use one step, in shower conditioner that smells nice is just. I'm actually crying now goat DAMN

[elyjm1313]

I'm starting methotrexate for my PsA tomorrow and idk how to feel. We've been fighting with my insurance for half a year and they won't cover the biologic that my rheumatologist would prefer I take without my failing on methotrexate first. I'm just really dreading the side effects. I reacted really badly to gabapentin when I tried it for my nerve pain and while I know they're totally different drugs, I also know my body is a little weird.

I just want to not hurt without taking a billion pills.