After about 45 minutes or an hour all the gelatin that's gonna come off the cartilage into the stock will have done so. But I usually simmer the stock for five or six hours. Make the stock with the chicken (or turkey) bones and add celery onion and carrots to the pot. I'm sorry you have rheumatoid arthritis....that's tough. I was in a car wreck when in dental school that smashed my left hand and arm up. I still have pretty bad traumatic arthritis. I hate to say it, but all that Chondroitin Sulfate stuff may help but I don't think it alleviates arthritic pain much. But what the heck, it can't hurt...and it's better to have a bowl of gumbo in your stomach when you take your non steroidal anti inflammatories... right?