Hi Davey,
Yes, it does and it can. I don't know any statistics, but I get the sense that, perhaps even for the majority, WG is a 'one hit wonder' and that after initial successful treatment, it goes away and stays away. Some people even come off all meds completely and never have another flare. For some of us, though, it never really seems to go away completely. Even so, in over thirty years I've had some long long periods of 'remission' (although I've never got off meds), the longest being nearly ten years. In that time I've had three major episodes and any number of mild flares, but it really is worth working at. I've just turned 40 and I work full time and have a great life.
That said, I reckon it's always best to assume that you will get 'cured', and that your life can return completely to what it was (or very nearly).
Stick with it. It's really awful when it's going on and I know all too well what it feels like when the docs are filling you with what seems like every drug they can think of. When I was about 20, I remember a time when I was getting IV pred, oral cyclo, IV cyclo and Immuran all at once and my doctor sat on my bed and said "I'm sorry, there's simply nothing more we can give you." Pretty depressing, but I stuck with it and, as though out of nothing, the WG just seemed to give up, and very slowly it went away.
I just let myself get really really really really angry with it. Stick with it Davey. Sending you positive vibe stuff,
Sarah x
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