When I first started sharing my methotrexate injection videos, my goal was simply to help people see a “real patient” doing it and to feel less scared of the injection process.
However, I started noticing an interesting trend – people would make lots of comments about how “scary” methotrexate is, or about how “everyone who takes it gets horrible side effects.” It was surprising to be because 1) I hadn’t personally experienced any untenable side effects from methotrexate, and 2) I was familiar with the research that methotrexate is one of the safest and most effective starting medications for people with rheumatoid arthritis
Over the last ten years of being more active on social media, I’ve become aware of the intense pressure many patients feel from friends, family and themselves to “control their disease naturally,” and how afraid many are of medications.
I find it comforting to consider the *wealth* of evidence supporting the effectiveness of RA meds like methotrexate for slowing down disease progression (citation: Jeffrey A. Sparks, 2019, Annals of Internal Medicine), and the fact that over 90% of patients require medications to function. There is nothing to be ashamed of about that! In fact I feel grateful for the existence of these disease modifying anti rheumatic drugs. Of course as an occupational therapist I’m well aware of the importance of lifestyle medicine and lifestyle methods as a *complementary* practice, but they are not a replacement for medications for the vast majority of patients.
So today, I continue sharing these videos of my weekly methotrexate injections and continue my mission of ensuring others are equipped and empowered to make the best medical decisions for themselves, armed with evidence based sources rather than “snake oil salesmen” and other problematic claims that are prevalent on social media.
Do you have any questions about methotrexate? Let me know in the comments!
