The prednisone has righted more than it has wronged for me, but many days it was touch and go. I resisted going on steroids for an extended time. I believe I was close to remission when I had Covid. That shot my inflammatory markers sky high. I rolled over and started steroids. It did it's job and managed the PMR but it also did everything else you read about in terms of side effects. The fatigue was powerful but so was the insomnia and I had to be very careful to avoid getting mad. I gained weight, it fiddled with my thyroid levels, I was bloated, and on and on. I was delighted to be off of it - but it has taken months for things to become more normal. I'm still trying to find my new normal and it has been over 90 days. All I can say is hang in there, stay with this site - it offers real help and real peer support.

Go after symptoms as needed and do not assume they are all part of PMR. PMR can hide real problems, don't let it. Two years ago I had multiple abdominal tumors causing abdominal pain, it took two trips to an ER to identify these. I currently have a torn meniscus that needs surgery. I also had an accumulation of inflammation in my shoulder that required aspiration to relieve the pain - they initially wanted to do shoulder replacement. PMR gifted me with trochanter bursitis which required injections and therapy to control. Trust me not all systemic pains should be attributed to PMR.