How long are you staying on each reduction before moving onto the next? And was there some slight increased aches/pains at 8.5mg which may have been a clue to stay on that a bit longer rather than keep reducing? I'm asking because I had my first flare at 6mg, but new (tolerable) aches started at the 6.5mg reduction. That's the point at which I should have gone back to 7 for a bit, rather than optimistically reducing to 6mg.

As I get closer to reducing to that dose this time, I intend to sit on around 7mg/6.5mg for a while longer this time. You're right that once the inflammation settles in, the rise to fix it has to be more. That's no good.