Yes. A good dr will. I'm off my meds and following an anti inflammatory paleo diet as my "treatment" so far so good. I got tired of putting chemicals in my body that made me feel like crap and made my hair fall out really bad. I figured, if it's killing my hair what's it doing to my organs.

It is your body, your choice!!!!! Hopefully you have a rheumy you can talk to. When I have med issues I talk to my rheumy about my issues. We talk about alternatives, he may ask me to give the med a little longer trial, but he listens and offers feedback. He would never tell me to stay on a med I no longer wanted to be on.

@A myRAteam Member im now 2 months into my nutritional plan. I'm down 18 pounds and feeling good. I still have prednisone on had in case of a flare and tramadol for days I feel I need one. This seems to be working for me. I hope you find a path better suited to you. I understand the desire to get far away from the medication and side effects. Good luck to you!!

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A myRAtea...

I just stopped taking mine at one point. I had been taking a long list of meds for a very long time (5+ years) and I had gotten to the point that I was sick on my stomach everyday for almost 2 months. So before Christmas of this past year I stopped them ALL! I was upfront with my doctor when i went for my next visit and I told him I just couldn't keep doing it. I felt the meds were doing more damage than good. My pain got bad, really bad. It was to the point that I had to have help to get to and from the bathroom. I couldn't go upstairs, I slept on the sofa for 3 months! My husband was super supportive though. My doctor said,"I don't recommend that my patients do this, but in your case it's good." He said I had cleared my system of everything so we could try something new. Now, I'm on different meds and am happy with the results. I have gained 10 lbs, but I will just have to work harder to get it off!

I don't take any RA meds , allergic to NSAIDS, plus RA doc isn't convinced ? I tested positive. it's enough to deal with being gluten free , my digestive issues make it hard to keep weight on, the cortisone-steroids , asthma and copd meds are enough to deal with , my regular doc has said she won't prescribe hydrocodone any more , I refill once every three months , not sure what I will do if I have another flare , so far, diet and finding something enjoyable which for me now is church, helps more than anything . I'm alone in this now , hate taking meds , and tired of doctors dropping the ball, not listening, and copping an attitude because I ask questions. My goal is less meds. Seems the more I take the worse I feel, just don't think the side effects are worth it.