Introduction
The decision to start a new medication should not be entered into lightly. It should involve a frank and open discussion with your health care provider regarding the potential risks and benefits of each drug, its side effect profile, other medications being taken concurrently, and history of general health status to ensure each drug is the right choice for each patient. Other alternatives, as well as the risk of not taking the drug and experiencing worsening of the disease activity or irreversible damage from the disease being treated must also be considered. If the potential consequences of not taking a medication are greater than those of taking it, this medication is most likely an appropriate choice for therapy.
The following are various medications that are useful in the treatment of arthritis and autoimmune conditions. While this list is not all-inclusive, it deals with some of the medications most frequently prescribed by providers in this office. While the dosages of the medications mentioned below are those utilized in treating rheumatic diseases, the dosage may differ with the patient’s height, weight, age, and according to the disease being treated. The monitoring recommendations in the following information are simply guidelines utilized by the providers in this practice. Others may choose to utilize additional laboratory studies or to monitor more or less frequently.
Many of the medications discussed in this section may interact with other medications, either increasing or decreasing blood levels, or producing additive or contradictory effects. This often changes the way your medications work. It is, therefore, important that each patient brings an accurate medication list to each visit.
Medication List
To find the medication of interest, first look over the list below. All medications are listed alphabetically, according to the generic name of the drug. In some cases, only classes of drugs are listed, with common examples included. The respective trade names and category of drug in which each medication is discussed is also detailed below.
To see a description of the medication, click on its name in the “Generic Name” column. To see a description of the category and the medications in that category, click on a name in the “Category” column.