Celecoxib and Methotrexate Interaction
Drug interaction information between Celecoxib and Methotrexate.
Celecoxib and Methotrexate have a documented moderate interaction in FDA labeling.
FDA drug labeling documents a moderate-severity interaction between Celecoxib and Methotrexate. Major interactions are generally avoided, moderate ones may need monitoring or a dose adjustment, and minor ones are usually low-risk. This page shows the documented mechanism and guidance. Label-documented interactions are not a complete safety review, so always confirm your own medications with a pharmacist or doctor. Educational information, not medical advice.
How They Interact
Celecoxib can make methotrexate more harmful to your blood and kidneys. This happens even though the amount of methotrexate in your blood stays the same.
What To Do
Your doctor should monitor you closely for signs of methotrexate toxicity while you are taking both drugs.
FDA Label Information
Methotrexate Clinical Impact: Concomitant use of NSAIDs and methotrexate may increase the risk for methotrexate toxicity (e.g., neutropenia, thrombocytopenia, renal dysfunction). Celecoxib has no effect on methotrexate pharmacokinetics. Intervention: During concomitant use of celecoxib and methotrexate, monitor patients for methotrexate toxicity.
Celecoxib Also Interacts With
- Diflunisal moderate
- Heparin moderate
- Meloxicam minor
- Furosemide minor
- Aspirin minor
Methotrexate Also Interacts With
- Diflunisal moderate
- Indomethacin moderate
- Mefenamic Acid moderate
- Meloxicam moderate
- Misoprostol moderate
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I take Celecoxib and Methotrexate together?
This is a moderate interaction. Your doctor should monitor you closely for signs of methotrexate toxicity while you are taking both drugs.
How serious is the interaction between Celecoxib and Methotrexate?
This interaction is classified as "moderate" severity by the FDA. Moderate interactions may worsen your condition or change how your medications work.
Why do Celecoxib and Methotrexate interact?
Celecoxib can make methotrexate more harmful to your blood and kidneys. This happens even though the amount of methotrexate in your blood stays the same.
Understanding the Celecoxib and Methotrexate Interaction
FDA-approved prescribing information for these two drugs flags their combination as a moderate-severity interaction. Celecoxib belongs to the COX-2 Selective NSAID class and Methotrexate belongs to the Disease-Modifying Antirheumatic Drug (DMARD) class - two categories that can collide when co-prescribed. The mechanism described in FDA labeling is: Celecoxib can make methotrexate more harmful to your blood and kidneys. Severity tiers matter: major flags generally advise avoidance, moderate flags often require monitoring or dose adjustment, and minor flags may only call for awareness.
Context around a specific patient determines real-world impact. Celecoxib has 19 total documented interactions on file in this dataset, and Methotrexate has 38. Each additional medication compounds the interaction surface, which is why pharmacists run full-profile checks rather than evaluating one pair at a time. FDA-derived guidance for this pair is: Your doctor should monitor you closely for signs of methotrexate toxicity while you are taking both drugs. Timing of doses, renal and hepatic function, age, and other concurrent prescriptions all shape whether a labeled interaction matters clinically.
An interaction flag is not a verdict. A large share of labeled interactions are managed routinely in clinical practice, the fix may be as simple as spacing doses or adding a monitoring test. Others require the prescriber to choose a different medication entirely. This page surfaces FDA-sourced labeling and openFDA data for educational purposes only; it is not medical advice and cannot account for your full clinical picture. Never start, stop, or adjust either Celecoxib or Methotrexate based on a web page, speak with your prescriber or pharmacist before making any change.
Sources: FDA Drug Labels (SPL) via openFDA (2026). This is for informational purposes only and is not medical advice. Always consult your healthcare provider about drug interactions.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.