Weight gain

I feel you on that one! It’s so frustrating when the meds that are supposed to help actually seem to work against you in other ways. It’s hard enough managing RA, let alone dealing with weight gain that just won’t budge. I’m right there with you wishing we could get that one side effect we’d actually like! Hang in there—hopefully, you find something that brings you the relief you deserve without adding extra challenges! All the best, Latoya (Team Member)

As you can see Latoya's comment, you're not alone! You might appreciate this article one of our advocates put together about his experience with RA and weight fluctuations, https://rheumatoidarthritis.net/living/weight-fluctuations. There can be such a variety of reasons one gains weight (potential medication side effects included), but if it's something that you're concerned about, please don't hesitate to reach out to your doctor. There can also be other physical/medical reasons one might be gaining weight and it might be worth getting checked by your doctor, if you haven't already. I do hope that you can get some more helpful feedback here! Sending you gentle hugs. -- Warmly, Christine (Team Member)

Hi . On top of the excellent information from Christine and Latoya, I want to note that most of the research actually points to biologics potentially causing weight gain. The research is across autoimmune conditions, but consistently finds weight gain. For example here: https://www.rheumatologyadvisor.com/news/biologic-dmard-treatment-linked-to-weight-gain-in-inflammatory-arthritis/ and https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37211465/. Also, if you take prednisone, that is known to often lead to weight gain (see our patient leader Carla on this: https://rheumatoidarthritis.net/living/take-a-pill-gain-a-pound). So, understand there are factors working against you - I mention this so you won't be too hard on yourself.
I can also tell you that my wife, Kelly Mack (a contributor here), participated in clinical trial for a diet program altered specifically for people with disabilities that helped quite a bit (it was a variation of something called State of Slim) and our contributor Wren wrote about here experience with weight loss here: https://rheumatoidarthritis.net/living/weight-loss. Of course, what helps one may not another. I wish there were more/better answers. Hopefully this information is of some help and others will chime in with their experiences. Best, Richard (Team Member)