How long were you taking prednisone? Some people have resilient adrenals. My adrenals weren't so resilient after being on prednisone for more than 12 years. I needed the assistance from Actemra to enable me to reduce my prednisone dose to 3 mg.

I didn't feel well on low dose prednisone and there were times I wanted to increase my prednisone dose. I just kept telling myself, PMR inflammation was being controlled with Actemra. I did have some pain-- more than niggles. However, I didn't think I would have a major flare of PMR.

After being on 3 mg of Prednisone for 6 months, my cortisol level rebounded and my endocrinologist said my cortisol level was adequate. With an adequate cortisol level, my endocrinologist said I didn't need to taper from 3 mg to zero and I could simply stop Prednisone. I was still on Actemra so I didn't have a flare of PMR when I stopped Prednisone the first time.

I had a flare of uveitis almost immediately after stopping Prednisone and had to go on 60 mg again. Fortunately, I was able to taper off Prednisone again in a couple of months. Actemra isn't ideal for the treatment of uveitis my ophthalmologist says.