Tapering angst

It’s been awhile since I joined and introduced myself. I began my PMR journey July 2022 taking 15mg daily. I thought I was doing a slow taper. Got down to 5mg on April 2023. I wasn’t feeling great at 7mg but figured I could tough it out. I was sedentary when this process began and since Feb 2023 I have been swimming 300 minutes a week. I also go to Physical Therapy weekly to have lymphatic work down. In April my ESR and CRP had gone up to my initial numbers when diagnosed. My Rheumatologist suggested going back up to 7mg which I did mid April. By July I started taper to 6.5mg and had labs done on the 20th. My ESR and CRP are even higher now and on the 26th the Dr. said he wanted to put me on methotrexate. Boy, the bargaining began in earnest on my part. I was shocked and freaked out at the prospect of that drug…for many reasons. I agreed to go back up to 10mg of prednisone and get more labs in a month. I really wasn’t feeling bad at 6.5 but I wonder if I am just used to the aches and stiffness. I have been so proud of myself with swimming and my exercises through Physical therapy, I am so shaken by this setback. If the numbers don’t go down with the next lab work, I think I will ask my Dr. to prescribe Naltrexone, which I have been researching. Has anyone tapered more than once then tried Naltrexone? Or Methotrexate?
Thank you for any feedback