I think different drugs either work for different people or harm them. My particular version of arthritis first started at age 34 when I was hospitalized with a rheumatic-like illness. In the following years it would come and go with acute episodes in the fingers but did not progress beyond the fingers. By acute, I mean red, swollen, and painful joints. In the 1990's, while taking prescribed Feldene, I suddenly contracted Ulcerative Colitis. With no family history of UC I think the use of Rx NSAIDs caused it, although the doctors more or less scoffed at the idea. However, the gastroenterologist at Baylor College of Medicine who treated me advised that I should never take OTC or prescribed NSAIDs again. Said to use Tylenol, and "just live" with the pain. I followed his advice. The acute episodes continued for the next seven or eight years, attacking one finger at a time, sometimes for as long as a year, then suddenly leaving when the damage to the joint was done.
After treatment for the initial episode of UC, I was among the lucky ones who have never had a flare-up of that disease. 25 years after the onset of UC, I cautiously tried Celebrex, which wasn't available during my active years of arthritis, and found out that it suppressed acute pain and swelling after a few days.
Just my story and no advice offered here. Just that there are many aspects related to arthritic diseases, how to diagnose and how to treat.
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