Rheumatoid Arthritis Treatment

Rheumatoid arthritis treatment is aimed at achieving remission of the disease. While there is no cure at this time, RA treatment, which is aimed at decreasing joint damage, is improving. Pain control is also improving, with the advent of new treatment protocols.

Unfortunately, there is not a simple medication for the patient to take to alleviate all the symptoms. Rather carefully selected medications, reduction of joint stress, gentle exercise and surgical intervention will be needed for a comprehensive rheumatoid arthritis therapy program. RA is a complex disease and the treatment can be complex as well.

Some of the drugs used as an RA therapy are very familiar. Other drugs will be totally unfamiliar, or at least do not come to mind when thinking of drugs associated with RA. Probably the group of drugs that is the most familiar is NSAID’s (Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs).

The use of NSAID’s for the RA treatment has been around for years. Probably the most recognizable member of this class of drug is aspirin. While aspirin has fallen out of favor, because of its possible gastrointestinal complications, it is still used in Rheumatoid Arthritis treatment.

The most commonly used NSAID’s are the ones that will require fewer daily doses than aspirin to achieve the same affects, such as ibuprofen and naproxen. However, these drugs also can have gastrointestinal side effects. It is always a balancing act with RA treatment, to mediate the effects of the disease with the least amount of medication possible. The Cox-2 inhibitors are also used with good success with some patients. Again, the benefits of the treatment and the risk of the drugs are always balanced.

Corticosteroids are the other grouping of medication that is commonly used in rheumatoid arthritis therapy. Corticosteroids are drugs that help relieve the inflammation from the disease process, and help to mediate the autoimmune response from the disease. Corticosteroids will be used in as small a dose as possible to achieve the desired result.

Corticosteroids do have side effects that range from minimal to life threatening. Do not ever increase your dose, or suddenly stop your dose, without talking with your physician. Steroids must be tapered off in a controlled situation. Corticosteroids are often prescribed to help with flair ups and then tapered back as a normal part of rheumatoid arthritis treatment.

Both NSAID’s and corticosteroids will increase patient comfort during flair ups of the disease. But neither one will truly mediate the disease process. Another class of drugs is now being used in rheumatoid arthritis treatment. These are the DMARDS (Disease Modifying Anti-Rheumatic Drugs). It looks like alphabet soup with all these drug abbreviations!

While DMARDS are not a cure for RA, they do slow down the joint degeneration. With the advent of DMARDS, rheumatoid arthritis therapy has made some clear advances in fighting this debilitating disease. DMARDS will not give the patient immediate relief from the symptoms of active RA like the NSAID’s and steroids will. Rather the effects may take several weeks to notice. But the real payoff is in the drastic slowing of joint degradation.

DMARDS are an interesting group of drugs that include chemotherapy agents, anti-malarial agents, and antibiotics just to name a few. These drugs may be used alone, or in combination with each other in RA treatment. The RA therapy dosages and combinations are dependant upon patient response.

These drugs in combination with rest, physical and occupational therapy, and surgery are all part of the rheumatoid arthritis treatment. Every patient is different and some will need all these interventions and some will only need a few. The good news is advances are being made in fighting this painful and debilitating disease.