I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis 23 years ago at age 53. I switched specialists within the first year and was then treated at Hospital for Special Surgery in Nee York City. I learned very quickly to be proactive regarding choice of specialist. It is my understanding that the standard approach to a new diagnosis is to begin treatment with the most common medications used for new patients along with pain medication if needed. Then it is a ‘see how it goes’ in the subsequent weeks and months. Each medication may or may not help. Frustrating when you try several, that can have different ways of working and your pain is still there. In the first five years from memory I was prescribed 4 or 5 different meds. This is the only way to find one that bingo! Works Well for you. You might stay on it for a time and then find it doesn’t work as well as it used to. So you go up the scale to the next med the doctor chooses for you based on your own individual symptoms. The disease can progress also leading to another choice by the doctor.
It is common to ‘go through’ several meds - don’t be discouraged. You are important to your own care. Always report any new symptoms - patient portals are great for this.