methotrexate & lungs

[Poppy]

Hi everyone is the anyone taking methotrexate who also has a lung condition? I have bronchiectasis as well as sjogren's and since the hydroxychloroquine that I was on has stopped working my GP said that my rheumy could suggest that I take methotrexate. I have read that this drug can cause lung problems. Can anyone help?

[irish]

I don't know if you have seen a pulmonologist, but this might be a wise thing if possible. The methotrexate can cause some lung issues at times and one never knows if they are the one to have this problem. You can do a search on this site for methotrexate and lung issues and chances are you will get some posts to come up. We have had a lot of discussions on here over the years about methotrexate.

There are other drugs that you can use that also work fairly well. Cellcept is one of the other drugs used more these days for the Sjogrens. If you don't have access to a pulmonary doctor you may find that a asn internist who deals with a lot of lung issues would be of value. Rheumatologists are also internists, but if they don't deal with lung issues much they may not be as much help as a regular internist who sees a lot of people with lung issues. Good luck. Irish

[lane]

I am in the midst of dealing with this problem.  My breathing has been getting bad with shortness of breath and productive coughing.  My rheumy was just retiring so I waited for a new Dr.   She was very distressed by the sounds of my lungs and sent me for CT scan.   She saw the results and took me off methotrexate immediately saying that drug harmed lungs. My dermaomyositis got worse but she said it was better than taking MTX.  She is going to put me on  retuxan. I have now seen a pulmonologist who said MTX was bad for lungs.   She also said the lung damage was Sjogrens related cysts in the lungs. I am just getting tests now so all I know is that MTX is bad for lungs.

[SjoDry]

Poppy,

I had Bronchiectasis and had 2/3 of my right lung removed. Because of my cvid and part of my lung missing, I won't take any of the biologics. I do give myself sub-Q IVIG infusions every other weekend. If I get worse, my Rheumy and I have discussed it and he will increase my IVIG dose.

He said he does that for patients when the biologics don't work.

Maybe you could check into this?

SjoDry

[Poppy]

Thanks everyone for responding. I'm in quite a quandary,  on the one hand I have this crippling fatigue, on the other I don't want to take anything that might make me sicker. I have an appointment with the rheumy next week so I'll be discussing all possibilities with him. I want to go there with as much knowledge of these drugs as I can gather.

irish I do have an excellent pulmonologist, so I would check with him before taking any drugs.

Thanks again.