Thank you so much for the well wishes and same to you. I don't take NSAIDS at all because I have CKD and I'm not on a blood thinner, so I feel that it must be the Prednisone causing such extreme bruising and tissue thin skin on my arms and hands. 50 years!!! Oh gosh, that's a long time to take Pred. I've had my PMR for about two years, too, but didn't manage to get it diagnosed until I did it myself. Went to doctor after doctor. Luckily for me I was a nurse for 42 years and know how to navigate and understand medical sites and jargon, so I finally found PMR and realized it was what I had. The doctor ran my inflammation markers and they were out the roof, plus I had the typical symptoms: locked up and couldn't even get out of bed in the mornings, couldn't raise my arms above my head, excruciating pain in my arms, shoulders, hips, flu-like symptoms, etc.

Prednisone worked for me within 3 hours of taking the first 10 mg pill. I stayed on that dosage until I got in with a rheumatologist who bumped it up to 15 for 6 weeks then back to 10. The 10 mg completely controlled my pain and other symptoms. I have a love-hate relationship with Prednisone. haha Best wishes to you, too!