My ra doc put me on them because I was so swollen in my hands that my tendon shafts were spewing fluid and lumping up. My blood work was normal for ra but I was I. So much pain I could barely move. I went from healthy to being bed ridden. I started with taking. Prednisone ..in one day pain was gone swelling way done. Had to get off of prednisone. So cut down til plyquinal and methetrixate kicked in. As I said my hand swelling went down but lumps from synovial fluid stayed and now after a year it is almost gone from left hand but right is down 1/2 but still there. I keep tensing it and hot packs. My blood is normal once a month. My c protein ra and liver kidneys good normal. Blood good. I want to stop my pills but my ra is not ready to let me stop as long as my kidneys, liver normal. All I know is I cannot go back to the pain I was in. As long as my blood liver and kidneys are good I will continue the meds...yikes!