Arthritis drugs are used by most arthritis patients as part of their treatment plan. Patient response to arthritis drugs can vary, so it's impossible to say ahead of time which drug will be most effective for an individual patient.
What arthritis drugs are most often prescribed by rheumatologists? Based on an analysis of 7,945,910 prescriptions written by rheumatologists from January to March 2008, Rheumatology News published the results that show the top 10 drugs prescribed by rheumatologists:
- Methotrexate and Folic Acid
- Prednisone
- Plaquenil (hydroxychloroquine)
- Vicodin (hydrocodone and acetaminophen)
- Ultram (tramadol)
- Mobic (meloxicam)
- Celebrex (celecoxib)
- Flexeril (cyclobenzaprine)
- Lyrica (pregabalin)
Arthritis drugs fall into 5 different classifications:
- NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs)
- Analgesics (pain medications)
- Corticosteroids
- Nonbiologic DMARDs (disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs)
- Biologic DMARDs
Learn more about each of the most commonly prescribed arthritis drugs.
