COMMUNITY QUESTION: Best pain medication for RA?
Patsy asks: What is the best pain medication to use for RA....besides the extremely expensive kinds? I am on Methotrexate, Prednisone and Ibuprofen 800.
@AlyssaWinegarden Re: Patsy's question: technically, none of the meds you list are pain meds except the Ibuprofen 800. Methotrexate (MTX) is a DMARD (disease modifying anti-rheumatoid drug) and is considered the gold standard among the DMARDs for RA - which I call RD (Rheumatoid Disease) instead. Prednisone is a corticosteroid used to battle inflammation and yes, Prednisone bursts really do help with pain, but long term use is very dangerous with many possible complications. Because RD and other autoimmune diseases are chronic without cures, long-term use of real painkillers is strongly advised against by the AMA, CDC, FDA and American College of Rheumatology (ACR) and many other leading medical organizations. Doctor's who prescribe long-term use of real painkillers come under intense scrutiny, so the trend is to send patients to Pain Management Clinics instead. I personally believe that pain killers and their management should be left up to the attending physician and the patient, but that is not the case today.