My rheumy started me with methotrexate....I was already on pain management of daily tramadol and hydrocodone for break through pain.

Methotrexate seems to holding mine at bay, along with meloxicam. I haven't had any of the side effects I was worried about., Actually I have a worse time with Prednisone, the sides on that are yucky. I can't wait to get back on Meloxicam, I had to put it aside until the eye surgeon said I could take it again so I have been taking the pred for a flare. I know I will never have the option of "normal" again, but I want to be able to enjoy what I can.........Wish you well on your quest for the right meds for you. Trish

So does your rheumy not think you have RA or just not treating it? Either way, sounds to me like time to get a new rheumy. The recommendation now is for early treatment to prevent deformity, not waiting (and allowing the patient to suffer) until you are deformed and disabled.

On the very first visit to my rheumy we started MTX aggressively. Nothing else. After 16 weeks we have increased the dosage by half again and staying only with MTX. Just one major flare since starting the increased dosage and it was a pip.
Peace
Bluedogs2

I'm with Auto- may be time for a second opinion. Whether or not you are sero negative doesn't affect how likely you are to respond to treatment, and being sero negative certainly won't protect your joints from eroding if you don't get the inflammation under control. Standard first line treatment for everyone with moderate to severe RA should be methotrexate, and the second line is adding a biologic to that. I was diagnosed five years ago and have never had anything turn up n my bloodwork except a positive ANA. Despite that, I have erosions on X-ray and nearly constant swelling and heat. My doc started me on methotrexate right away and began a series of biologics shortly after that (none have worked for me for very long). If you're having a very bad flare right now with swelling, you might want to try a "prednisone challenge". Basically, you take a short course of prednisone, and if you feel much better, your problem is likely to be inflammatory. This was one of the clues my doc originally used to diagnose me.

My Rheumie completely skipped methotrexate, never even mentioned it.
I started on Sulfasulazine, then went to Arava when that didn't work. Now I am on Arava with a weekly Enbrel injection. Feeling better, but not sure if it is the Enbrel or the warmer weather or a combination of both.
I hope you can find something that works for you.

I'm with auto and care - a second opinion or new Rheumy would be a good option. There are many seronegative people with RA. A good rheumy should listen to you, feel your joints, do x-Rays or scans.
If not treated, RA will create deformities but can also attack any organ - lungs, heart etc. so aggressive medication is essential.
Research as much as you can about RA as you are your own best advocate.
Hugs

Get out of there: she will do you no good and will cause harm by not treating. If you have rheumatoid nodules there should be no question, regardless of what the lab report says. All the blood tests they use have plenty of false negatives and false positives. This isn't like diagnosing strep throat.

I second the vote for a new doc. It took me 4 docs to finally get a good one. Pursuing getting a really good doc is the foundation for getting well.

warmly~
WeeWers