The Girl With Arthritis

  Photo credit: Psoriatic-Arthritis.com If I could use one word to describe my time taking methotrexate (MTX), it would be: sluggish. Frankly, I felt like a zombie sometimes. I had no energy and was very tired all the time. And I had lots of other not-so-fun side effects, like nausea, cankers, and hair loss. Read the rest of the post at Psoriatic-Arthritis.com

When I was thirteen years old, my mum and I had a very steady weekend routine. Right after school on Friday, we would go to my doctor’s office where a nurse would give me an injection of methotrexate. It wasn’t a huge deal, but I began to dread Fridays because of the medicine’s side effects. A lot of people with autoimmune arthritis do very well on methotrexate and go into remission. But I didn’t. I remember the doctor often telling me that the medicine “had better start working soon, because [I] won’t like the next level.” It was horrifying to hear this as a kid. I knew it wasn’t my fault, yet I blamed myself. It felt hopeless; if the medicine that worked for everyone else failed me, what would that mean for me later on? But years later, I realized there was no reason to feel hopeless. I’ve seen many different doctors since, and I’ve found that there’s no one way to treat chronic pain. But the most successful approach I’ve found is to treat the person, not the disease. The outc...

Updated October 2022 Lately, I've spent a lot of time reading articles online. One of my favourite places is All Women Stalk: I like the beauty and hair advice, and I really like the name. Last night I was on All Women Stalk and one article was very interesting to me: 7 Skin Problems That Are So Easy to Treat. I expected this article would talk about things like dry skin, but I was proved very wrong. One of the problems that are so easy to treat is psoriasis. Psoriasis?! Easy to treat?! Over my dead body it's easy to treat. The article states that the number six easiest skin problem to treat is psoriasis. This is what the website says: "You might not realize how common psoriasis is. In fact, it’s one of the most common skin conditions that affect adults. It produces red, scaly, dry patches of skin and can appear most anywhere on the body. There are several types of psoriasis, and some require nothing more than taking a prescription pill. As long as you remember to t...

Now, I'm not a doctor and I'm not telling you what you can or should do. Don't take it to heart. Talk to your doctor. "Can I still drink with a chronic illness?" A question muttered in many different forms by many different people. And the answer is almost always yes. In the case of arthritis, you certainly can. It's not so much the disease we worry about alcohol affecting as much as the medications. Many medications do carry risks when it comes to alcohol. NSAIDs are usually safe to drink in moderation, of course ask your doctor first. DMARDs like methotrexate are popular in treatment. Some doctors tell you that it's fine to drink, but to limit it. Others tell you to avoid it like the plague. It's mostly concern to protect your liver and kidneys. With biologics, it may be the same story: you might be told you can drink, you might not. Only your doctor knows what is best for you. Me personally? Well, I was about twelve when I started methotrexate a...

I'm obviously not a young teenager. However, I once was. And I was a young teenager with arthritis too. That was not a fun time at all. Not only was my body going through all those awkward phases, but I had to deal with arthritis, medicines, side effects and a lot of emotional pain from all that. It's hard to forget life back then. Recently I've thought about that time. And I'm willing to share some of it in the form of confessions. And now I present Confessions of a (Young) Teenager with Arthritis. 1. My mood swings were both hormones and medicine. It's not well known that many medications can cause mood changes in people. Thus it's not surprise that I was very moody. Whilst it doesn't happen to everyone, it happened to me. Fridays were my Methotrexate days and the rest of the weekend could be miserable at times. It was very bad at times, so much so I said a lot of things I still regret. 2. I felt alienated from my peers. Okay, I never exactly fit in wi...

Yesterday I was talking with a friend who was trying Methotrexate for the first time. She told me how tired it made her feel and how it hurt. We both agreed that it would probably take a while for her to adjust to it. That's when I said, "The thing about medicines is that they are like shoes: they're painful to wear until you break them in." It's true in some cases. Sometimes a medicine will cause very ongoing side effects. Other times, they'll gradually (or even rapidly) lessen or even disappear. I went through about three weeks of horrid side effects with Enbrel before they began to go away. Like a good pair of shoes, Enbrel hurt for a minute but then became very comfortable and worked for my benefit. And in my life, I've tried too many 'ill fitting shoes.' And, like shoes, medicines are necessary. Sure, we could definitely walk around without shoes but it would be rather painful on sharp rocks or slippery on some floors. Many shops and place...

I've been taking Enbrel for about five months now. I wish we had known how wonderfully it would work for me so I could've switched earlier. I think the biggest thing about Enbrel that most people don't like is that you have to get it through a shot. I know I didn't like this at first, as I read it burnt and stung terribly. However, five months in, I can't see life without it. I now present some of my wisdom. 1. When you are washing your hands before, make sure to run them under warm water for a minute. It's not only hygenic, but cold hands pinching some skin on your stomach or thigh is not comfortable at all. 2. If you use the pen and recieve a lot of pain from it, consider switching to the regular syringe. That way, you can control what force the needle goes in and how quickly the medicine is injected. Believe me, it's not that hard to learn to do correctly. 3. Remember, you don't have to rush. If you feel burning or stinging while injecting the...

I'm actually writing this as I try and begin an art project (just a painting of a kitten), so please bare with me. I think it's funny how people have to take medicine to care for the side effects of the medicines that care for the symptoms of a disease. I remember taking one NSAID that caused me headaches, severe light headedness, fatigue, muscle ache and later extreme nausea. The light head feeling was so bad that I would tip my head upside down and cover it with a pillow just to feel like I actually had blood in my head. I ended up staying home from school for about a week, with that weekend being filled with- to put it bluntly- vomit. I think the worse part about this all, was the doctor kept telling me to push on. I actually ended up in way more pain from the medicine than I ever have from the disease. My mum, being the smart woman she is, took me off of it after I couldn't move. And me, being as stubborn as ever, eventually fired that doctor after two years of him ig...

When I was on Methotrexate, I lost quite a lot of hair. Not enough to have bald patches, but enough to have much thinner hair. It's a bit nerve wracking to feel thin hair when you have had a thick head of hair since birth. I did eventually get a bit used to it, and I actually began to like it. Then I stopped Methotrexate last spring, and almost a year later, I got my normal hair back. Well, mostly: A bit is still growing back. However, I didn't get back to normal hair without a struggle. It started growing back towards the end of the summer. This typically would've been cause to celebrate but I began to have a lot of hair just randomly sticking up straight off the top of my head. Honestly, you don't realise what you have until it's gone, and you don't realise it's place until it comes back. I have so much hair that is so much shorter than the rest of my hair and it looks terribly messy. Granted, it did come back and I'm glad. Currently, it's bett...

I hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas, holiday, or whatever they celebrate. On Christmas Eve I did announce that there are some changes to the blog, and a few things I would like to talk about, as well as a posting schedule for the next days. First of all I did update a post called 'Methotrexate Irregular Periods.' Originally when I wrote it, I was very upset and needed to express my concerns. I forgot about the post until recently when I have gotten a lot of views on this post. I'd like to say that Methotrexate HAS helped a lot of people, that that particular side effect is rather uncommon and since it was uncommon I was stressing that people should take it seriously should it happen to them, and to also listen to their body. But I would like to say a medicine will only work if you let it: You can easily convince yourself a medicine won't work, so even if it does you won't feel relief. People can even convince themselves into getting a certain side effect. Per...

This past week, I've bumped and banged my legs and arms and I'm covered with bruises. Though I haven't taken Methotrexate in weeks, I'm getting used to life without: Whenever I start or stop it I get excessively tired, sore and lose my appetite. I guess I'm still going to bruise for a few months though because it's effects are still in my system. It's like the advice to wait three months after stopping Methotrexate to get pregnant. I hit my elbow a couple times and it's all bruised and sore and I'm discovering new ones from gentle bumps on my legs and arms. I'm not typically this clumbsy it's just all of a sudden I'm hitting this or that. This just isn't fun what so ever. While the pain I get is beginning to get worse due to the lack of medication, I don't mind it much because I've never noticed too much pain relief on Methotrexate. A bit emotionally drained at the moment, but I will fill you in when I feel better.

Last night was one of the last times I will be taking methotrexate in pill form. This will sound gross, but when I swallowed it a few seconds lately I became violently ill and vomitted anything I ate a few hours prior. I really didn't think I ate much. My mum had to call Marc, my doctor, and we have to make arrangements so I can begin taking injections of methotrexate again. This time I am going to learn to give them to myself: I've seen many people on Youtube do it and I think it will be a good idea for me to learn to do it in case I'm unable to get to a nurse or doctor. I was actually thinking of getting the injections done at school so I could make my friends watch. Yes, I write make. I want them to see myself injecting yellow liquid into my own flesh. I want them to feel my pain... Okay, actually I would really just like moral support because I know at some point I will not want to do it and I will get sick at the smell of rubbing alcohol or something. Not that I need...

They all say its the easy fix. Methotrexate, they claim, is a little miracle and all it takes is some little pills, a little liquid or an injection once a week. That's all, and there shouldn't be any side effects and if there are, we'll take care of it with this little pill. They coax you to take it and claim any side effect is all in your mind. But it's much more difficult than that, I promise you.It has side effects! I take about 20.0 mg of this wonderful drug once a week. It's not a lot compared to the amount others take, and though I try and tough it out, today I simply cannot. I can't tell you which day will be my Methotrexate day: Some days I just can't handle taking it. It's an extreme battle for me to take it. I use a clear capsule to put all seven of the small tablets in. My mum does this for me because I can't handle the smell of it. When I actually take it, it's not the simple fact of swallow with a little water. It's choke it do...

Arthur is just fine: I doubt he'll flare up anytime soon. Our friend Methotrexate seems to be keeping him under control. Methotrexate is more complicated than I first thought. I asked my rheumy if the nauesa pill I take before Methotrexate is as strong as most stomach ache relievers. He told me there's no answer because the pill isn't for my stomach: It's for my brain. Turns out Methotrexate doesn't affect your stomach but you brain! The pill keeps the Methotrexate from reacting signals in your brain that make you sick. You learn something new everyday! This is probably why a lot of people get depression and such.

Everyone in my school has been sick this winter, which isn't surprising. While running noses and sore throats are common, we have worse things around. So many kids have gotten pneumonia and the flu. I'm lucky I got off with only a cold or whatever it was, but I'm not out of the woods. With Methotrexate, my immune system isn't working much to help keep me healthy. Wish me luck. Anyway, I had a wonderful day. I seemed to have gotten along with everyone swimmingly, other than this one boy who thinks I'm insane, or so I get the feeling. I love feeling everyone can get along. In fact, everyone seemed to be in a good mood! During a break time a group of boys started down the corridor whistling 'The Chicken Dance' and clapping along. Rest assured, today has been a comical day. The biggest joke being the amount of school work I have to get done.

Now that I've told you the truth about Methotrexate, I think it's clear how clueless everyone is about it. Through no fault of their own, of course. When I first started it again (orally this time) I was in Disney World with my parents and other family members. I had only been taking it two or three weeks before the trip. I didn't realise how sick I would get. The worse thing was the mood swings. I won't specify but there was a lot of tension that week. My depression and mood swings were not the best thing to mix with stress. I cried a lot. Also, my jaw hurt an awful lot that whole week. I was tired all the time as well, and though we use a wheelchair in there anyway, I was literally stuck in it except for getting on and off rides. AND my mum had made reservations to all my favourite restaurants but I had lost my appetite that week and forced myself just to taste all my Disney favourite foods. I got nauseous too, and thank God I never got sick. The worse part of thi...

Updated October 2022 Truth is, I take powerful medications to treat Arthur. It's called Methotrexate and in much high doses it is used to treat cancer. In small doses it is used to treat arthritis - it is not considered chemotherapy when used for arthritis. We use it to treat arthritis because it suppresses your immune system, which does not work properly in many arthritis cases, except in the case of Osteoarthritis (arthritis you get due to wear and tear). Though I take it in small doses once a week in pills (people with cancer can take it in pills too), it does not mean I do not get the side effects. Sure, it's much less worse than a person taking it in high doses but no doubt it's still there. I've lost some hair (most people won't lose all their hair), especially eyelashes much to my annoyance. I get mouth sores too and whilst they don't hurt, I do get that odd taste in my mouth. I get nausea too, as most people do. Fatigue happens too. In fact, when I fir...

I saw my rhuematologist. He said my increasing pain is normal because of the cold! He told me my Methotrexate would take care of it, and any damage. Thankfully, I only got away with giving a little blood for the visit. See you on the flip side, Elizabeth