How long does it take for medication for arthrities to start working?

Up to 5 days sometim: Some anti-inflammatory drugs need to be taken for up to 5 days before the anti-inflammation effects take hold. You will get some pain relief initially but give it 5 days before you decide if it is "not working".

Depends: Depends on medication dosage and frequency. Additionally type of arthritis medication. Sorry not very helpful. If you can be a little more spefic may be more helpful. Drug dosage frequency and how long you have been taking.

Minutes to weeks: There are many different medications used in arthritis treatment depending what type and severity of your arthritis etc..Pain medicine typically works quite fast, maybe in 30 mins, but medicines to treat rheumatoid arthritis may take weeks to couple months to start working (disease modifying drugs such as methotrexate, Enbrel (etanercept) etc..) thus, please repost your question. Consult doc. Good luck.