I Suffer From Chronic Hand/joint Pain. I've Tested Negative For

I suffer from chronic hand/joint pain. I've tested negative for all the obvious causes, and am currently waiting for the appointment with a rheumatologist in February. My PCP has been prescribing me Norco 5/325 every 6 hours for pain. Although I've only been prescribed these for about a month, I've found they are not effective for controlling my pain. All they do is keep me from giving up and going to bed for the day. I have trouble dressing myself, and cannot open most containers. My doctor was extremely hesitant to even give me these for the pain. I don't know what to ask her to switch me to that could be more effective, and I'm afraid she will not be willing to up my dose. I don't want to be on a high dose of pain killers but I can't function normally like this. What would be a good alternative to my current prescription?