Doctors are dedicated but not infallible. Multiple opinions are important for comparison purposes. When you find one that respects your opinions and questions, is compassionate and is highly skilled, hold on to them.

My wife has had RA for many years now. She gets some relief in her hands, which have been subject to RA, osteoarthritis and Dupuytren. She does get some pain relief with 300 mg thc/cbt hand cream. Everybody has a different level of sensitivity and she has gone through far more than most but they make lower mg as well which may work for you. We are in Florida but in New York city, they make a 1000 mg cream.

Also, make sure you end up on the right biologic. RA can attack organs and joints in the body including the heart and liver so the choice of biologics, which can increase inflammation, is important.

Finally, take a look at Setpoint Medical. It is a device that is inserted in the vegas nerve, the longest in our body, and in conjunction with some or no biologics, reduces the inflammation by sending a daily low level electrical signal through the nerve. A rheumatologist at Mayo told us that it is for people who have steadily been on a biologics program and my wife got off her biologics as she has had a bunch of co-morbidity "stuff" that has taken time to deal with. It's worth going to their web site and asking your doctor questions. Don't be surprised if your Rheumatologist is unaware of the device.