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I understand your fear, having grown up with parents who had the disease and knowing what it did to them. However, RA isn't the disease it was when your parents got it, it's not even the disease it was 10 years ago. The medications available now, such as the Biologics like Enbrel and Humira, have made the prognosis of this disease a completely different animal, enabling people to get back to living a relatively normal life.   That said, it is essential that you get treatment as soon as possible. Without it, your disease will progress and place increasing limits on your ability to live your life the way you want to. As you mentioned, there are side effects from medications and the bigger the medication, with potentially bigger side effects. However, you have to weigh the costs with the benefits - when I was first considering starting Enbrel and last year when I had to switch to Humira, the potential side effects concerned me. With Humira, one of those side effects is an increased risk of cancer. But I took a look at my life without the medication and decided that it wasn't a life. I had a really big problem and big problems need big solutions. Solving a big problem like that, getting my life back, was worth it. And I have never regretted it. The damage that had already been done to my joints can't be reversed, but the progression of the disease was stopped, my pain levels are significantly reduced and I am able to focus on what's really important: living my life, being with my family and friends, work, laughing. These medications were a miracle to me. That's a strong word, but there's really no other way to describe it. I got a second chance to live my life and it's so big a miracle, it still makes me cry with joy 3 years after it happened. Yes, I have side effects, but once you learn how, managing them becomes second nature - a couple of months ago, I wrote a post with some tips on how to manage side effects and you can read that here.   As things stand right now, we who have RA will likely need to be on medication for the rest of our lives - Dr. Mark Borigini writes more about that in his latest post (click here). But like me, you have to ask yourself what kind of life you want and how you want to spend it. You have a choice.   I urge you to see a rheumatologist to discuss your options. Your parents' disease is not your disease. You don't have to live like this.