Hi ,
I am really sorry to hear that you're experiencing such widespread joint pain, and that you have to deal with insurance stress on top of all of that ! It feels very unfair.
I have been taking methotrexate since April 2017. It was prescribed for psoriatic arthritis, but I have psoriasis too. I can completely relate to your thoughts on it sounding scary - I actually put off taking it for a whole month because I was petrified of it. For me personally it was nowhere near as bad as I was expecting it to be.
Psoriasis-wise it has been a bit of an interesting experience. For the first 7 months my psoriasis was continuously improving every week. Unfortunately stress and illness then lead to a flare that got worse until I saw my rheumatologist and my mtx dose was increased. Again it cleared up more and more each week until it got triggered again. Because it was working so well for my joint pain at that dose, we decided to try adding a topical treatment (as opposed to increasing the dose again) for my psoriasis. This seems to be working pretty well for now.
For my psoriatic arthritis it has been much more straight forward and successful - my joint pain is SO much better and I have a bit more stamina, which was not something I expected.
With regards to side effects, I have had some mild nausea that has improved over time and is manageable with ginger. I also feel pretty groggy the day after I take it. I take it on a Saturday evening (with the hopes of sleeping through any side effects that may occur) and by Monday afternoon I forget I've even taken it. My blood tests have all come back fine so far. Of course, this is just my personal experience and there are people who have a bad time on methotrexate.
I hope that this is of some help. I know it can be scary thinking about starting these medications. If you don't get on with methotrexate, will your insurance then approve Cosentyx? Either way, I hope you're able to find some relief and get onto a treatment that you feel comfortable taking. If I come across anyone else taking methotrexate I'll try to send them your way. Please keep us updated on how you're doing, and best of luck! -Catherine, Community Moderator