Hi KD,

That question is hard to answer.  No one knows what is inside the cupboard without opening the door.  LOL.

It is up to your doctor to take a look or open the door for you.

You did not mention in your profile how long ago you were diagnosed although you mentioned you RA is in most of your joints.  Generally most docs will say, where there is swelling damage is occuring.  However, in early stages or mild to moderate cases, the swelling just stretches tendons and is correctable with meds and exercise.  Cartilage and bone damage has to be corrected by your doc.

You also did not mention which meds you decided to stop taking or when was the last time you saw your doc. 

Please keep in mind a few things.  It takes a long time and a lot of trial and error to find the right meds that will work for you.  Not all of them are yucky or make you sick. And there are lots and lots of them on the market.  It is up to you to be a self advocate and work with your doc or find a doc who will work with you.  Our meds are our friends.  But since all of our bodies are different, some of us can live without them and some of us can not imagine a life without them as life would be unbearably painful. 

But there is a scenario to help you with the question about how long it does or does not take to do damage. 

I went a almost 3 years without insurance and without DMARD's or Biomeds.  When I finally got into a health plan I went straight to my doc.  He did xrays from head to toe.  His eyes popped when he saw my left hip and exclaimed, "How did you walk in here?"  My hip bone was pushed almost 2 inches into my pelvis and no cartilage existed.  I told him, it didn't hurt very often and asked if the 3 years had done all that.  He said it was surprising that I had become so accustomed to pain like that but it probably had taken about 10 or more years to happen but the 3 years was doing a number on my knees (my major complain to begin with).I was immediately whipped off for testing to have a replacement.

Don't let your RA take over if you don't have to.  Control your RA don't let it control you. 

Ronie