Asking for the types of arthritis is a sorting question. Before you compare any option by cost or staying power, you need to know which kind you are pricing it for.
Short answer: start with inflammatory arthritis and gout
Two kinds come up first here, inflammatory arthritis and gout. Together they are not a full list of arthritis types. A clinician who has examined you is the person who can say which kind applies to your joints.
What the Arthritis Foundation describes
Arthritis Foundation notes that not every type works the same way. But in inflammatory arthritis, the immune system is overactive, attacking healthy tissue, including joints in the spine, hands and feet.
Arthritis Foundation also names gout. Gout is an inflammatory type of arthritis that can come and go. A condition that comes and goes is hard to judge from a single visit, so keep dates of when it starts and when it settles.
Reading the types side by side
Once you have a name for your type, ask the same questions of every option offered:
- What does it commit me to in visits, products or monthly cost?
- How will we know it is working, and by when?
- What happens if the condition returns after it settles?
NIAMS on gout and the CDC's arthritis overview are two public pages to read before an appointment. WebMD's pain management center gives a wider view of pain topics.
Next steps
- Write down which joints hurt, since the Arthritis Foundation names the spine, hands and feet.
- Ask your clinician which type of arthritis they think you have and how they reached that view.
- Ask what each treatment they suggest would cost over six months, not per visit.
A ledger note on labels
A type name can shape the whole price of your care, so get it in writing. If you live in Little Falls, bring that written name to every second opinion so each option is compared on the same footing. We are an information site, not a clinic. Our comparisons stop short of medical advice.