@onetowatchst Oh, you're not using anything for the pain. I understand when you say that you’re scared of side effects. All meds today seem to have these awful-sounding side effects, but not everyone suffers from them. The manufacturers are required to list everything even if only 1 person experienced the side effect. That’s partly why the approval process takes so long. I’m not trying to talk you into anything. I know you want to change the look of RA, so they need to see it as not so painful.
There are several discussions, here on Mayo Connect. Have you read them to see what meds others are taking?

I feel for you. The 'you look fine' comments make me want to curl up in a ball for a week! I don't know how you manage without either RA meds or pain meds. I'm forever grateful my rheumatologist normalised taking meds with me right from the start. We talked about side-effects in depth but her advice was if you delay meds to the point that your joints are damaged it can be irreversable - and then the pain is much harder to manage. I figured as she was the one who finally diagnosed my problem I'd best take her advice. 🙂 I hope you find something to help out with the fibro pain - it absolutely is debilitating. That kind of ongoing deep-seated pain is exhausting. xx

I have had RA for Abt 40 yrs. I've been on many different meds and lastly been taking humera for 12 years. I have not had many problems other than some sinus infections at times. I'm very active and am so thankful for the meds science comes up with.