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Finding the best treatment for a chronic health condition is hardly ever a simple processandrheumatoid arthritisis no different.
There are numerous ways to tell if it’s time to change your rheumatoid arthritis treatment.
Plus, some drugs may work for a while and then stop, prompting arelapse in symptoms.
But how can you tell when youve reached that point?
Your symptoms start resurfacing gradually.
Ashley Nicole, 38, was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in 2010.
My hands were extremely painful due to inflammation, swelling, and stiffness, she tells SELF.
I also had limited mobility in my wrists.
It helpedbut only for a while.
Eventually, Nicole once again started dealing withjoint painin her hands and wrists, which got worse over time.
So she visited her rheumatologist to get to the bottom of it.
Im blessed to have an amazing rheumatologist, Nicole says.
I talked to her about how I was feeling and wanted to try something new and she agreed.
Nicole tried several different medications after that because nothing worked fully.
It works like a charm, Nicole says.
I have my RA under control now.
Its a wonderful feeling.
Or your symptoms come back really suddenly.
Kelly Rouba-Boyd was just two years old when she was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in 1982.
A little later on, I was limping, the now-41-year-old tells SELF.
Initially, Rouba-Boyd was treated with baby aspirin.
At that point in time, they didnt have much to treat children with rheumatoid arthritis, she explains.
But that did not do much to stop the progression of the disease.
When she was a teenager, she was put on abiologic that worked wellfor several years.
I regained some function.
For the first time, I could open my front door, she says.
It scared me because sometimes medications can stop working that quickly.
Rouba-Boyd is now taking a different biologic, which helps keep her rheumatoid arthritis symptoms manageable.
A steroid medication was also added to her treatment plan to help decrease inflammation.
Whenever medication stopped working throughout her life, Rouba-Boyd turned to the advocacy groupCreakyJointsfor guidance.
You experience serious medication side effects.
That was the case for Shelley Fritz, 52, who was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in 2012.
I couldnt move well at all.
I missed two weeks of work.
It took a few weeks for my symptoms to fade, Fritz says, but eventually they did.
She tried several morebiologics, none of which worked.
You notice symptoms in new areas of your body.
Jennifer Bell, 58, was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis when she was 36.
I had a lot of sudden, very severe problems with my toes, she tells SELF.
I went from doing aerobics to having problems walking.
It worked for a little bit, but then it stopped working, she says.
At that point, Bell had pain and swelling in her wrists too.
She started taking a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory that caused uncomfortable digestive symptoms, so she switched to a biologic.
That worked for a while, but then her symptoms came back.
Once again, she had pain in a new area of her bodythis time it was her elbow.
I feel great, she says.
I do have joint damage but I always make a run at focus on what I can do.
She adds that having a doctor who she trusts has been invaluable during the process.
Your symptoms progress quickly and severely.
Stacy Courtnay, 43, started feeling unexplained foot pain that gradually moved to her shoulders and wrists.
It felt like someone had taken a hammer to my feet, Courtnay tells SELF.
At the time, Courtnay had recently gotten married and planned on having children.
My left wrist was literally being eaten away by the arthritis, she says.
I could barely move it because it was so swollen.
My entire body was in severe pain, and I just couldnt function.
So, my husband and I fast-forwarded our plans to start a family.
But in 2011, she started taking one that finally relieved her pain within a few months.
I was like, Oh, my gosh, this is working, she recalls.
Im heavily involved with volunteering at theArthritis Foundation, she says.
The organization pours millions of dollars into research.
