Which arthritis medicine is the best? Let’s talk about Best Arthritis Pain Relief Tablets. Arthritis can cause painful swelling and tenderness within multiple8 joints making everyday activities difficult.
Taking the right medication can help you manage your symptoms and go back to your previous lifestyle without facing serious side effects.
Which arthritis medicine is the best? Do they help? While current medicines cannot help you relieve pain entirely, they are enough to keep your Arthritis dull and undisruptive to your daily life.
Here is a related article that might interest you on What Arthritis Medicines Are Safe For Kidneys?
Each medication comes with its own set of advantages and disadvantages. It’s important to note that other medical conditions, allergies, and individual patient profile plays an important role in the suitability of each medicine.
It is a good idea to go through a proper assessment and let your doctor decide the most effective drug for you.
Table of Contents
List of 7 Best Arthritis Pain Relief Tablets Reviews
1. Acetaminophen Pain-Killers
Common pain-relief tablets containing Acetaminophen have long been recommended by doctors for joint pain. Aspirin is one of the safest and fastest-acting medications that can be used for Osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid Arthritis. It is especially useful when treating short-term pain while waiting for slower medication to take effect.
Other alternatives with similar efficacy include Tylenol and Paracetamol. Some subtypes of Arthritis, including enthesitis, psoriatic and rheumatoid arthritis, can lead to persistent, high fevers. Tylenol helps relieve a fever quickly and doesn’t cause any serious side effects.
However, it’s typically effective for mild pain only and may not work for severe cases of pain and swelling. Your doctor may prescribe OTC NSAIDs to relieve inflammation-related pain and prescription NSAIDs when the pain becomes more severe.
Side Effects
- If not taken as directed, acetaminophen can lead to liver damage and even liver failure. It’s important to keep track of how much Tylenol or other Acetaminophen-containing drugs you take. You should consult your doctor to create boundaries for how much, how frequently, and when you take the medication.
- It must also be noted that Acetaminophen is widely used in most pain-relievers, and it’s possible to overdose without knowing.
2. OTC NSAIDs
NSAIDs are the most effective and safe medication for most types of Arthritis. They offer a multifaceted solution to the diverse symptoms caused by the condition. Common tablets include Motrin, Advil, Aleve, and Voltran. They work by disabling the enzymes responsible for causing inflammation and pain.
NSAIDs are particularly effective against Arthritis within the larger joints such as knees and wrists. While they are the most common treatment for mild to moderate cases, they are not suitable for individuals with certain health conditions such as asthma or stomach ulcer. Moreover, those who have suffered a heart attack or stroke should also avoid the medication.
Side Effects
- NSAIDs generally have milder side effects compared to other medications for Arthritis. The side effects may only occur if you are taking high doses, are older, or simply take it for a prolonged period of time.
- Some common side effects include indigestion, mild sickness, diarrhea, dizziness, and headaches. Stronger doses can also impact the lining of your stomach and cause stomach ulcers in rare cases. Taking a prescription medicine to counter this can help minimize the risk of developing ulcers or anemia.
3. Prescription NSAIDs
When the pain become more severe, your doctor may prescribe you a stronger form of NSAID. These include Voltaren, Cambia, Lodine, Mobic, Feldene and Cataflam. The tablets can prove particularly useful in the cases of severe joint pain and advanced stages of the disease.
Similar to OTC NSAIDs, they also help with inflammation, pain, and high temperatures.
Side Effects
- Long-term use can increase your risk of developing serious side effects, including lung or kidney disease.
- The stronger doses are also linked with a higher risk of heart attacks, strokes, and internal stomach bleeding.
4. Steroids
Oral steroids (Corticosteroids) are a fast-acting medication particularly useful for pain related to Rheumatoid Arthritis.
Most medications for Rheumatoid Arthritis, such as DMARDs and Antibiotics, work slowly and therefore don’t help with a sudden pain attack. Common tablets include Prednisone, Deflazacort, and Dexamethasone.
Steroids are more effective during the initial treatment, and the impact usually diminishes over time. They are also not a recommended long-term or primary treatment for treating most types of Arthritis. They are only viable as an alternative medication to deal with the pain until the safer medications such as DMARDs begin to take effect in 10 to 12 weeks.
Side Effects
- While it does not cause any serious side effects with short-term use, prolonged use is strongly linked with weight gain, high blood pressure, and increased risk of heart disease and high blood pressure.
5. Disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs DMARDs
DMARDs are the most recommended medication for Rheumatoid Arthritis. This subtype of Arthritis is caused due to the immune system’s white blood cells attacking the protective tissue surrounding the joints. Popular tablets include Hydroxychloroquine, Azathioprine, and Methotrexate.
The medication suppresses the immune system and prevents it from further attacking the tissue. For this reason, it helps with managing the pain and slowing down the progress. Compared to other medications for Arthritis, DMARDs have a long-lasting effect and are only taken weekly. They also don’t carry any risk of overdose or addiction and do not accompany serious side effects.
Finding pain relief from DMARDs is not a straightforward process and involves a lot of trial and error. Your doctor will usually prescribe you different DMARD tablets before they find the most suitable one for your case. They also take longer to show signs of improvement (up to 12 weeks in most cases), and alternative painkillers become a necessity.
While it is the primary medication, it cannot help relieve all symptoms alone. A combination of other drugs, including antibiotics, painkillers, and NSAIDs are often needed for noticeable improvement. Moreover, they are not significantly effective when treating advanced stages of Arthritis and need to be taken in combination with biological treatments and steroids.
Side Effects
- DMARDs are a safe medication even for long-term use and do not carry any serious side effects. Some common side effects include diarrhea, reduced appetite, headaches, and sore mouth. However, they can weaken your immune system and make you prone to catching viral, bacteria, or fungal infections.
6. Antibiotics
Antibiotics are the most effective medication for Septic Arthritis. Septic Arthritis happens due to a viral or bacterial infection entering the bloodstream and attacking the joint lining.
Generic antibiotics, including Cipro, and Suprax, are given for 1 to 2 weeks after infection. However, they are not the primary treatment and only help minimize the spread of infection. The drainage of infected fluid through hospitalization is essential in most cases.
Side Effects
- While they are generally safe for use, some possible side effects include nausea, diarrhea, low alertness, dizziness, and stomach pain.
- Long-term usage is linked to weakness in tendons, joint pain, and peripheral neuropathy. However, they are unlikely for the case of arthritis treatment as the medication is only taken in the short term.
7. Prescription Opioids
Opioids have long been criticized for the side effects they cause in the long term. They carry serious risks of turning into an addiction.
For this reason, they are usually the last recommended drug when all other medications fail to improve symptoms. Moreover, they are only required in cases of severe, debilitating pain that impacts the affected individual’s quality of life and independence.
Some common Opioid tablets include oxycodone, tramadol, and codeine. Along with prescriptions, patients are also required to sign a treatment agreement contract for the safety of both the patient and the provider.
Side Effects
- The medication is known for having some of the most serious side effects, and an overdose can be fatal.
- Long-term use is strongly linked with an increased risk of addiction. Even when a patient may not be considered medically addicted, they can still face severe withdrawal symptoms after missing just one dose.
- Common side effects include dizziness, constipation, erectile dysfunction, lower cognitive abilities, and a compromised ability to defend against infections.
Conclusion
Arthritis is a diverse and complicated condition with more than ten subtypes. Each subtype comes with unique implications and will require a different combination of treatment and medication. It’s important to go through a definitive diagnosis and consult your doctor for the most appropriate treatment.
Another post that will interest you is about How Rheumatoid Arthritis Is An Autoimmune Disease?
Most pain-relief tablets are also addictive and can lead to sudden flare-ups of pain after withdrawal. You should take a combination of different pain-relief medications after consulting with your doctor, rather than depending on one type of tablet alone.
Over-reliance on one drug can lead to reduced long-term efficacy, risk of overdose, and development of severe side effects.
Hi, my name is Eddie, I am a professional trainer specializing in the elderly population and I’m also a website designer. I love training in the gym, going to the beach, traveling, and having good food.
I combined my love for sport and website designing to make “DisabilitEase” whose purpose is to help elderly and disabled people live a more full and active life, have more fun, and enjoy their unique journey despite any disability.
