When do you start the Actemra infusions?

I hope you have an excellent response to Actemra. I was diagnosed with inflammatory arthritis with associated uveitis in my early 30's. PMR was diagnosed when I was 52.

My rheumatologist said I have "a wide range of rheumatology problems" that caused systemic inflammation. I took Prednisone for a total of 30 years. For the first 15 years, I took intermittent (twice per year an average) high doses (60-100 mg) of prednisone followed by a fast taper (1-2 months). This was the treatment for flares of uveitis, reactive arthritis and trigeminal neuralgia. Remission was quickly achieved for all the above with a prednisone burst. I tried many different "flavors" of NSAIDs between these flares whenever I wasn't taking prednisone.

After PMR was diagnosed, I took prednisone continuously for 12 years. I started with 40 mg of prednisone. I was able to reduce this dose by approximately 10 mg every 5 years. I was still taking 10 mg of prednisone when Actemra was tried. I went from 10 mg to zero in one year but most of that year was to allow time for my adrenals to recover.

Now I only do a monthly infusion of Actemra. I have been completely off prednisone for the last 3.5 years. I don't seem to need any other medications to treat pain. My rheumatologist says Acterma is an "anti-inflammatory" medication not a pain medication so she offers me "something else" for pain if I need it. I don't seem to need anything else for pain. If I needed something for pain, I would take an NSAID but I don't seem to need those either.

I have severe arthritis but the pain isn't that severe. My spine doesn't look so good but the pain is tolerable. I guess the inflammation in my joints isn't a problem anymore.