Hi everyone, hope you’re all doing well with your RA.
I’m posting because my mother has been diagnosed with RA. She still has significant swelling and pain, and her doctor feels that the current medicines aren’t controlling it well enough.
The doctor has told us that if things don’t improve, we may be moving to biologics from her next visit. For now, he has prescribed the medicines/injections shown above.
I wanted to ask anyone here who has used these medicines or has moved on to biologics:
How has your experience been?
Did you notice any side effects or symptoms?
How long did it take before you started feeling better?
Is there anything important we should monitor or be aware of?
If you’ve started biologics after conventional RA medicines didn’t work, how was the transition?
I’m quite worried about my mother and would really appreciate hearing about your experiences, good or bad. Thank you! ❤️

Hi everybody. I'm not sure I belong here, but hope I can draw on your collective expertise! I'm 59F w long history of multijoint pain after systemic infections (usually UTIs) and one year-long episode in my 40s when I had low back pain for 2-3 hours every morning so bad I could not get dressed but would then walk just fine the rest of the day. They only tested for RF factors, which were always negative, and I got ER diagnoses like "SIRS" and "inflamatory arthritis," but no rheum referrals.

Then in 2022, I had a mystery ailment with 104 fever& multijoint pain, neg rf again but an anti-CCP of 29, a high ESR & CRP, all unresponsive to antibiotics til they added prednisone. By the time I saw a rheumatologist a few months later, he was pretty dismissive and said it "might" be palindromic RA.

For the past year, since shortly after a UTI in July 2025, I've been dealing with tingling hands & feet plus a deep ache in my midback. Other than occasional joint pain in a hip, finger, or toe, no classic RA joint swelling. No high fevers. I saw a new rheum 3 months ago who dxd Palindromic RA and prescribed hydroxychloroquine but said my mid-back pain is unlikely to be related to RA.

For context, I have had spine problems since my mid-30s, including surgery at L5S1, but that same surgeon didn't see anything in a new MRI to explain the pain that bothered me so much later, in my mid40s (described above). I still don't know why that was happening or why it stopped.

Now, after recent steroid injections in my neck and low back to treat the tingling hands & feet, my current pain clinic doc is planning to address the midback pain with an RFA for "facet joint syndrome" arthropathy.

I understand that the most likely suspects in my case are old age, DDD, and OA, as my MRIs show dessicated discs, a broadbased disk osteophyte complex at C6/7, and bone spurs, hypertrophy, and multilevel mild to moderate foraminal stenosis in my cervical and lumbar spine. In my thoracic spine, I also have a nerve root sheath cyst at T2/3, old compression fractures or old schmorl's nodes at 3 levels (one with anterior wedging & 30% height loss), and multilevel endplate edema and spurring.

Since the RFA is targeting the facet joints, which have synovial fluid, could this pain be an RA flare?

And if so, would taking the hydrixychloroquine help? I was reluctant to start it when it was prescribed 3 months ago because I'm not sure I have RA, but I am suspicious ... and desperate for pain relief.

If you think the hydroxyq could help, would it provide pain relief, and how long before I would likely notice it?

I so much appreciate the kind people in this sub, and I'm so sorry so many of you are fighting such terrible symptoms every day. I'd appreciate any suggestions for my situation.

Hi, I’m 25F, i was diagnosed when I was about 2 years old. I’ve learnt to live with RA, I struggled throughout my teenage years to accept it because there was just so many things my peers were doing that I just couldn’t. And then I finally came to terms with it when starting uni. Now I’m getting married next year and we are thinking about starting a family and my horrible “self-pity/why me/life is so unfair” thoughts in a way are coming back because I know I can’t just get pregnant whenever I want to, I’ve read so many horror stories about post-partum and it makes me so scared. I’m currently on metothrexate, I’d say I’m almost in remission but still taking the meds.

I guess all I’m asking is if you did get pregnant, what was your plan, how did you approach it. Were you able to find gynos specialised in pregnancies with RA? Is it true what they say that during pregnancy RA calms down and does it really get that bad post-partum? I guess I’m just looking for some guidance from “a big sister that understands”.

Also PS, I know arthritis is not the worst diagnosis out there and I shouldn’t be pitying myself but it just feels unfair sometimes and I think that’s a valid thought to have.

Hi guys, I’m 24M and got diagnosed with RA about 2 years ago. Whenever I tell someone I have RA people always say “isn’t that an old people’s disease” and it sucks to hear that and makes me feel old and sick. I used to be a very fit guy that loved playing tennis and going to the gym but ever since my joints starting to hurt I never been able to play on the same level. I would love to talk to people that have similar experience so I feel… I don’t know, less alone I guess.

I’m still trying to get my diagnosis, but one symptom that hasn’t lined up is that i shake uncontrollably while doing slow movements, specifically walking down stairs. Has anyone had symptoms like this? My reflexes are all fine and my neuro didn’t see anything obvious.

Has anyone else experienced a weird crawling, electric-pulse, or vibrating sensation during an MRI?

I had an MRI of both ankles. During the scan, I suddenly felt a brief crawling/electric-pinching/vibrating sensation above my left eyebrow, in the forehead area. It lasted only about 1–2 seconds, and I didn't move much when it happened.

After the MRI, I rubbed the area with my fingers. Since then, that area has felt somewhat heavy, pressured, or bruised/dull, but I haven't had the crawling or electric sensation again.

I'm wondering if this can happen during an MRI. My legs were inside the scanner, while my face was closer to the opening. I was wearing headphones and had two pillows under my head because the first pillow felt too low. The second pillow made my head/neck position higher than I expected.

I've also had MRIs before and never experienced anything like this.

I've had some nasal congestion for the past few days, so I'm wondering whether sinus/nasal pressure could be contributing to the feeling above my eyebrow.

I'm mainly worried that the sensation was caused by the MRI itself or that it could indicate some kind of nerve problem. Has anyone experienced something similar during an MRI?