I started my new medication last Wednesday after finally getting a response from my rheumatologist. She said that it was fine for me to stay on my other medications while taking the new one. (I'll see her in a few months to discuss if I should continue this long term.) The medication is only once a week and I need to take folic acid supplements on the four days furthest away. (Methotrexate on Wednesday and folic acid Friday-Monday.) Apparently, methotrexate makes it harder for the body to absorb folic acid from food. I started with a half dose of methotrexate last week and tomorrow I'll go to a full dose.
The reason for the half dose first is because the new drug can have a lot of side-effects, such as nausea, that can be reduced through a slower introduction. I hadn't had any side effects until last night when I started feeling really nauseated. It stopped me from sleeping well last night and I still felt sick this morning. I decided that I had to stay home from work today because of it. Hopefully, it'll get better as my body gets used to the new medication.
This past weekend, I also chopped off my hair to donate for the fifth and final time. It's been getting harder for me to take care of my long hair with all of my health problems and it was long enough to donate again. Plus, one of the common side effects of my drug is hair thinning or hair loss. I'm only taking a low dose, but the medication is used in high doses in chemotherapy and abortion. Clearly, it's good at killing rapidly growing things. I'm not sure if I'll experience this side effect, but I do like my new hairstyle and the ease of shorter hair.
I've also started going to a physio to get some exercises to help with pain. At this point, they're just causing more pain because those muscles are not used to being used.
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