So, what a journey since Thanksgiving... I don't believe there was a symptom that I DID NOT have. Thank God for the Pulmonologist, Dr. Downing here in Indiana! He looked at me and my symptoms, talked with my fiancé and said " he has WGP"- from there was renal biopsy to confirm, dialysis 3x/week> I was in ICU in Indianapolis on a vent as I was coughing up blood, had pneumonia, right lung had atelectasis moving into the left lung- I was a smoke, hence the word "was". The Rheumatologist said it would get worse before better> And it did.... 30+ days in hospital, home on dialysis, oh and I received 4 blood transfusions and plasmapheresis while in ICU- receiving 80mg of prednisone, tapered by 10 mg as of Jan 2, stomach pill, antibiotic, blood pressure med, high cholesterol med, and a binder to help absorbing the phosphorus of what I eat. I really have to watch my diet..... I had sinus reconstruction at a young age due to a car accident and I live along a river so my sinuses are a challenge for me, I use a CPAP for sleep apnea, I am emotionally drained as I am a skilled trade tool and die make for Chrysler and this disease came out of nowhere and knocked me to my knees, which reminds me of the pain......the joint pain.....wow. My fiancé is a nurse and helps a lot but my anxiety and being scared never leaves my mind! Im not ready to give up, Im not in remission yet, haven't been told how I will know when Im in remission. I hope to go back to work....I have hope and Faith but both are tested some days. I try and remain positive.. and I really appreciate this forum. Its comforting to know Im not alone and can relate to most everyones stories. Thank you! May you all learn to manage this disease/flare ups and move on with your dreams, maybe alittle altered but we are alive and find you a goo Rheumatologist is key and what ever other organs you have involved, get a specialist and my nurse fiancé said the hardest thing for her is to see me daily go through this but keep ALL DOCTORS INVOLVED ON THE SAME PAGE TO GET THE OPTIMAL TREATMENT> which she spends a lot of her time making sure labs get to doctors that are not able to access his info........as my disease continues, I will continue to post. Feel free to ask me anything, I want to help bring awareness to this disease and the sooner diagnosed the better the outcome. My Pulmonologist said this disease is under diagnosed, so lets help others. One thing I noticed is Im currently on my 4 dose of Cytoxan and don't see many others on this chemo med.....wonder is its because by the time I was diagnosed I was considered severe......... Have a good day all