Long Term Medication Usage Pros And Cons

[ghostkiwi]

I've been very conflicted the past couple of month on whether to continue using methotrexate or not. I was hoping to get some advice from people who were diagnosed young or have been taking it for many years. I'm 21 and I would like to have kids one day. I took methotrexate for 2 years and it lowered my sed rate but very slowly and not by a whole lot and then I stopped it for two months and my sed rate is even higher than it was before I started, which gives me little hope that I'd be able to discontinue in order to have children. I can't take any of the other medications and I'm worried about the long term affects of basically taking chemo for the rest of my life especially when I still have so many problems even when I do take it. I don't know, I just feel like I'm doomed if I do and I'm doomed if I don't so why spend money on potentially further damage for something that barely helps? I'm only 21 and my 82 year old grandma is holding up better than I am. I mean I'll just wake up and not be able to move body parts and I was doing alright at keeping it together and being hopeful until my left knee, both my elbows, both my hands and wrists, lower back, and my left shoulder all decided they wanted to be immobile all at once on top of a sporadic throat/lung infection none of which my doctors or hospitals could explain or help with other than saying "well its probably due to inflammation from your disorder" LIKE NO DUH! I came to get help not to rack up a bill and be told the obvious. I just feel like doctors know little about sjogrens and their judgement on whether risks outweigh benefits can't be fully informed and I was hoping someone that has lived through it could give me some advice cause I'm feeling rather hopeless about having a family and just having a semi-normal life in general.

[irish]

There is another problem called stiff man syndrome, I think that is it. When you get stiff all over like that it could possibly be something else besides Sjogrens. Have you seen a neurologist with these issues?? It would be well worth it to investigate this further. Good luck. Irish