Symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis include joint pain, swelling and stiffness. At first, rheumatoid arthritis usually only attacks a few joints, but over time it affects more. Many people experience worse RA pain in the morning or after they’ve been sitting or lying down for awhile. It can also cause fatigue.

Unlike some other types of arthritis, the chronic swelling from rheumatoid arthritis can cause permanent damage to the joints. Rheumatoid arthritis is also linked to heart disease.

Rheumatoid arthritis treatments include disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) and biologics (medications produced from living organisms or components of living organisms). Other medication options include nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications (NSAIDs) and analgesics (painkillers).

If you aren’t responding to first-line rheumatoid arthritis therapies, then your rheumatologist may be looking at offering you a second-line therapy. Second-line therapies are a major advance to the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, and may be pills, injections under the skin or intravenous infusions.

In addition to medications for rheumatoid arthritis, canes, crutches and walkers can help people stay mobile. You may also need to make lifestyle changes to manage your condition and reduce your risk of heart disease. Maintain healthy blood pressure and cholesterol. If you smoke, quit – even light smoking is linked to an elevated risk of RA.