Be careful. Supplements are not regulated like drugs. They can have nasty side effects, interact with medicines, and often do not contain ingredients listed or contain something else. If you want to do this, consult a qualified practitioner. Me, I would try the methotrexate. Tried and true.

I had a teleconference with my doctor today to go over labs and she said nothing stood out, no markers for all those Autoimmune diseases, a slight elevation of inflammation, but she said since I had such swelling in my hands and pain she would like me to start methotrexate and I agreed to a low dose to start. Thunder God Vine is something not many western doctors know about - but there have been studies, here's one of them
https://www.nature.com/articles/nrrheum(Phone number can only be seen by the question and answer creators)
I'm pretty surprised at all the listservs I joined for RA that no one at all has heard of or tried this - it has the same side effects as Metho, mainly gastro-intestinal - and you have to watch the liver enzymes. I've had problems with my eyesight from Lyme and Mold and so refused the Plaquenil the doctor suggested first. I still may try Thunder God Vine - The other research that seems very promising is by Dr. Cornelia Weyand (at Mayo here in Minnesota where I live), RA folks lack an amino acid in the cells (called aspartate), and they produced a compound (in mice only) and actually were able to reverse the disease. Will of course be years before clinical trials on humans are completed. Metho helps T cells fight tumor necrosis factor - and does not cure, so the state of fighting this disease, while promising, is still one of treating symptoms mainly. Hope the meds are working for you.

I feel the same about taking methotrexate but I decided that the risk of permanent joint damage was greater than the risk of the drug. I'd love to know what you find out about the herb!

Thank you very much for replying DesertRose - I realize these are not regulated. I think I'd almost rather have RA pain than take pharma drugs like Methotrexate and JAK inhibitors. I also have Lyme disease and keep it in check with tinctures (Cowden's protocol) and found a great integrative medicine doctor for this - but it seems there are no integrative rheumatologists. Thank you again.