From the little I've read, there's still no real meds for fixing the root cause of RA (whatever is causing the inflammation), only for reducing the inflammation. Does that match with what you know?

My mom has had pain in her thumb joints for decades; it's not as bad now as it used to be. But she doesn't remember experiencing the finger stiffness like I'm having now.

I am experimenting with my food intake, on the basis that something I'm eating is causing the inflammation. A couple of things I read suggested that going on a fast may help, so I may try that too.