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Suggest Treatment For Rheumatoid Arthritis

Posted on Tue, 19 Aug 2014

Question: i am waiting for a specialist referral with regard to my recently diagnosed rheumatoid arthritis - it is another 5 weeks away and at the moment I have been self prescribing ibuprofen and paracetamol to aleviate the joint pain - do i need to speak to my doctor about getting something that may be more efficient or not so 'self medicated' - I seem to be fine on these although I am still very stiff in the morning of course because I can only take the prescribed dosage which does not last over night.

Answered by Dr. Dr. Alokkalyani (6 hours later)

Brief Answer:
see a rheumatologist as soon as possible

Detailed Answer:
Hi and thanks for the query

I am Dr. Alok and very pleased to be assisting you with your health questions today.

I am so sorry to hear that you have to wait for 5 weeks, it is a huge time, it may lead to permanent deformity. I advice you to see your doctor as soon as possible. Ask for methotrexate which is a anchor medicine for rheumatoid arthritis. Probably you need some more medicine, but just pain killers are not the answer

Hope this helps and provides answers to your question.
If you have any further queries, please don’t hesitate to ask me again
I wish you good health, take care
--Dr. Alok

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Yogesh D