I was on mtx and folic acid for 9 months in the 90s (weekly injections) and it was 9 months too long (nausea and vomiting got worse until I was even dry heaving almost every day. The rheumy wanted me to still take the weekly shot, then take meds the next day for a mtx overdose. I refused and quit right then and there.) After I stopped it I just relied on aspirin, my supplements, and diet and was actually okay most of the time over a period of about 15 years.

The folic acid that people take with mtx takes up the space on folate cell receptors so your cells aren't getting the folate they need. Folate is what is needed, not folic acid--it's an imitator. (I just learned that in the past year.)
I am on Orencia with no other arthritis meds. I always make sure I have my joint supporting supplements because if I miss 2 days--I can tell a big negative difference!

Some have been able to do mtx and not have problems--I am happy it is helping them. The truth is, we are all different and respond different ways to what we take into our bodies.
It's frustrating because you have to find the fit that is right for you.

When I first got RA, I found fasting at least one day helped the pain level. It still does, but it's harder to fast because I lose muscle so fast.
If you haven't tried cutting out processed foods, you may want to give it a go. Anything that is closer to the way God made it is better for you.

Since you were off of Orencia for 10 weeks, it may take a while for it to start helping. DO you take any aspirin or Ibuprofen? 4-1/2 years ago when I had a horrible flair, so bad I ended up in the ER, I started taking Ibuprofen because aspirin (had used it for 30 years) had stopped working. I was taking 3-4 regular Ibuprofen every 4 hours to cope along with 15 mg prednisone for about a week, then I started cutting them down. I was on prednisone 27 months before I was able to go off of it. Now I usually take 1-4 Ibuprofen per day, depending on how much I overdo it.

Praying you find something that helps soon! I wish I could take everyone's pain and wipe it away!

God bless!

As you can see, theres a myriad of answers. Some on polls, some on injections. But I WILL tell you this. When you go on biologics, you have to also take mtx. Something to do with antibodies. I dont know if you're talking pills or injection. If you're taking by mouth, try taking them right before you go to bed. You'll sleep thru a lot of the nausea. And be sure you're taking prescription folic acid. It helps with all the side effects. Once my body got used to them, I can take them anytime & have NO side effects. Good luck.

I had a flareup this past spring, took 10mg of prednisone and it calmed down. Weaned to lower dose and the fingers swelled up again. This went on for 4 months until I agreed to go back on 10mg. for 2 weeks, agreed to Methotrexate. I then weaned down to 5mg for a week, then 2.5 mg for a week and stopped. Have been good since. So to answer your question, YES you can have a slow return of symptoms. However, DIET is so important. I just had food allergy testing, not the skin prick type but blood drawn at the lab. I am sensitive so far to 10 foods I regularly eat. I was shocked. I honestly believe that eating those foods causes inflammation in my body that is affecting my RA.

I found taking Leucovorin the morning after my MTX helps mitigate some of the symptoms.

@A myRAteam Member, I'm so glad you found it helpful and I applaud you for trying to avoid the nasty meds. While they are sometimes necessary, if you can avoid them, it's great! The ER doc said it was refreshing to have someone who obviously could use high end pain relief not using it and trying other means--that surprised me. She said they get so many people come in wanting a pain killer for a hangnail--so sad!

I also followed (and still do) a diet free of wheat, dairy, (except for butter and goat's milk products), sugar cane in any form, msg, and anything artificial. Any soy or corn I try to make sure is GMO free and I also only eat those every 3-4 days if at all--eating them 2 or 3 days in a row causes more problems, but rotating makes them okay. Diet + supplements + prayer and support = doable!!!!!!!!!!!!!