Hi Sandy,
Welcome to the "club". Methinks you need to find a WG specialist, or at least have your nephrologist consult with one. You can find a list at the Vasculitis Foundation's website.
I'm guessing that you're taking 2.5 mg of methotrexate daily. That's a very small dose and probably won't get you into remission. Also, methotrexate is not usually the best drug to induce remission. Cyclophosphamide or rituximab are more potent and more widely used to induce remission. Rituximab is frightfully expensive and only given by IV. Cyclophosphamide is much less expensive, but may have some long-trek side effects. Ask about them.
Prednisone is the drug we love to hate. It reduces the inflammation and helps begin healing. Initial doses of 60 mg/day are not uncommon. As the disease comes under control, you should be able to (slowly) reduce the dosage or stop taking it altogether. Side effects include Cushing's disease (moon face and/or buffalo hump), increased appetite (and weight gain -- I gained the 25 lbs I lost at disease onset and a new 25 lbs), sleeplessness, and sometimes (rarely) some very pronounced mood swings. All things considered, it's a very useful/necessary drug. I can't seem to get below 5 mg/day without disease symptoms recurring. I started at 60
Again, welcome to the forum. Let us know if you have questions or just want to vent frustrations, fears, etc...
Pete
dx 1/11
"Every day is a good day. Some are better than others." - unknown
"Take your meds as directed and live your life as fully as you can." - Michael Chacey, MD
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