|
Have you tried any of the disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs)? Early treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is often with nonsteroidal antiinflammatories (NSAIDs). If symptoms of joint pain and morning stiffness are not improved, then DMARDs may help slow or inhibit this disease.
DMARD therapy is used when patients have other signs of active disease or evidence of joint damage. Methotrexate (MTX) is one of the most commonly and successfully used DMARDs. Many RA patients take more than one medicine, including analgesics, NSAIDs, DMARDs, and/or low-dose steroids. NSAIDS and steroids may help with the symptoms but they don't protect against joint damage like DMARDs do.
In addition, treatment with a single DMARD doesn't always work. Patients may end up taking more than one DMARD. Treatment for RA should be followed by a medical doctor or rheumatology specialist. If you aren't getting control of your symptoms, then further evaluation and treatment changes are needed.
Researchers are looking for new, more effective drug treatments with minimal side effects. This alternative treatment is called biologic therapy. These are immune system modifiers to help prevent the destructive inflammatory cycle of RA. They work by stopping the start-up of immune cells involved in the RA cycle.
Some of these have been approved by the FDA for limited use with RA patients who have not been helped by any of the DMARDs. Again, talk with your doctor about your current situation and what options are open to you.
|
