i have been taking 17.5 mg of methatrexate for 6 years as i suffer from RA.this drug eased the pain and made life bearable but needed monthly blood tests .following a blood test in december 2007 i was advised to stop taking this by my GP due to an abnormal liver function count of 180 .i am female & 58 years old.within 3 to 6 weeks my RA has flared up again and was almost unbearable on some days at night & ist thing in the morning so i was put back on MTXE again and within a few weeks following a blood test was advised to stop taking it again due to abnormal liver function ,after a month of not taking MTXE my liver count was back to normal..following a visit to my rhumatologist i was told to continue with MTXE but i have delayed taking it again due to the abnormal liver function.i now ahve a lot of pain in my joints -shoulders, feet,fingers & wrists with lumps developing in these places .is there an alternative to MTXE