They usually start you on the Methotrexate low dose . You can take the pills within 24 hours and do not have to take them all at once as you will feel nauseous. A friend told me about this and I confirmed it with the pharmacist. So you can take them with breakfast, lunch and dinner as long as all the pills are consumed within a 24 hour period. You take Methotrexate once a week so choose the day that works best for you. I had no issues at all with this medication but then it stopped working for me after 2 years and I'm pretty upset about that now and have to add Humira injectable to my list as of next week.

I was diagnosed 60 days ago. I was started on methotrexate during the first appointment. y PCP said that would happen. Due to ongoing fatigue, I was started on HuHumira after 30 days. Good luck

Thank you

Have added you to my team. First visits vary a lot since everyone has had some differt combination of prior visits leading up to your specialist visit. They will generally want you to give a detailed rundown of how your symptoms started, they will look at, feel and press on your joints looking for redness, swelling, temperature changes, and coloration changes. They will move your limbs and digits looking for ease of motion. They may have you get up and down from a chair and exam table. They will look for and ask you about stiffness, when does it occur, how long does it take to go away once you start moving around. They will likely want to know your sleep patterns and general fatique levels doing different activities. They may do x-rays, and will likely order blood and urine lab tests. They may order certain dna tests looking for disease markers or what type metabilizer you are for certain medications. Depending on what treatment they consider for you, you may need to have chest x-ray and TB test. They may give you a lot of reading material to take home. It's also a good idea to write out a list of any questions you have before you go since there will be a lot going on that visit and you won't want to overlook anything.