Reply To: need spome advice on this cidp rollercoaster ride??

Hello Lori,

Doing badly on prednisone does not rule out other immunosuppressants. They act in different ways and so have different effects in different people. Immunosuppressants, except for prednisone (it is both an anti-inflammatory and an immunosuppressant), generally take a long time to have noticeable effects. CellCept is reputed to 3 to 6 months, while azathioprine (Imuran) takes even longer, up to a year. There are others to try as well, each with varying times to effectiveness and each with different side effects. You may need to try several, in sequence, until you find one that works for you.

I had to reduce the amount of time away from work, so I also used prednisone in disgustingly large doses for a few months while waiting for azathioprine to kick in, after not responding to CellCept. The combination of PE, prednisone, and azathioprine worked very well for me. I was able to finally taper off the prednisone. Prednisone caused other problems, but it was, on balance, a reasonable trade-off for me.

~MarkEns