“My RA pain persists despite medication. What should I do?”
About 8 months back I was diagnosed with RA and I am currently on physio therapy and medication. My right knee is severely affected by the condition and the swelling doesn’t seem to come down. How long does the treatment take to start working? Should I go in for a more intense treatment?
4 Answers
Please see your rheumatologist and heed their advice
Unfortunately RA is a lifelong disease, with up’s and downs but our new treatments are very effective and can prevent long term complications
Unfortunately RA is a lifelong disease, with up’s and downs but our new treatments are very effective and can prevent long term complications
You probably need to take more aggressive therapy such as methotrexate, plaquenil, arava, imuran, penicillamine, which are approved disease modifying meds and should be considered before biologics.
You clearly are not benefiting from the medication that you are taking. Since there are many medications to treat RA, you should see your rheumatologist to try a different treatment. Physical therapy is unlikely to reduce the symptoms of RA.
Disease modifying medicines for rheumatoid arthritis work slowly. It typically takes several months to notice significant improvement. However, if you do not feel any better after reasonable amount of time, you should discuss with your rheumatologist about adjusting dosage or changing medicines or re-evaluate the diagnosis.
