How Soon Should I Start Treatment for RA?

How Soon Should I Start Treatment for RA? (0:56)

For a clear diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis, treatment should begin within three months to bring the disease under control, says Natalie Azar, MD, a rheumatologist at NYU Langone Medical Center. In this video, she explains.

Read Transcript

Basically once you've received a diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis, you should begin treatment. The earlier the better. Most of us adopt a treatment protocol, a regiment that we call treat-to-target, which is that we're trying to get the disease under control. The only exceptions to this are in cases where the diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis is not exactly clear cut, it hasn't been well established yet in that particular patient, the diagnosis may be evolving.

So certainly there's a little bit of wiggle room, but within the first three months of a clear rheumatoid arthritis pattern of symptoms, treatment should be instituted.