Goals of Treatment
The overall goal of treating rheumatoid arthritis is to halt or at least quiet and slow the disease while improving the patient's well-being. There is currently no cure for rheumatoid arthritis (RA), so the focus of treatment is to achieve one of the following:
True remission -- In true remission, all of your symptoms (swelling, pain, fatigue) have gone, but you don't just feel better; x-rays show that the disease has been stopped. There is no new joint damage, and old damage is healing. You will still need to take medication -- rheumatoid arthritis never goes away completely -- but this is the best-case scenario. Early, aggressive treatment is your best shot at true remission.
Clinical remission -- All of your symptoms are gone, but x-rays still show evidence of disease activity. New joint damage is still occurring and old damage is not healing. This is the second best treatment scenario.
Near remission -- Near remission is usually the goal for people who've had RA for many years. Near remission means your symptoms have been reduced, and your day-to-day functioning has improved. This scenario requires more day-to-day management of the condition, including self-care.
To meet these goals, aggressive treatment plans are likely to include a combination of powerful medications that not only treat symptoms but also slow the disease and prevent joint damage. These drugs are called disease-modifying antirheumetic drugs (DMARDs).
