I'm more partial to Actemra (tocilizumab) but Kevzara would likely be equally as effective for me.

I started Actemra on January 1st, 2019. I will never forget this day after 12 years on prednisone for refractory PMR. I was off prednisone one year later. I would have been off prednisone sooner except for having adrenal insufficiency as a result of long term Prednisone use.

Prednisone was okay for the first two years. After a couple of years, I was having classic signs of steroid toxicity. I would encourage people to explore other options to Prednisone after a year or two.

IL-6 inhibition wasn't an option for me 15 years ago. I'm very excited that this option currently exists. However, I'm getting somewhat nervous about being on Actemra for more than 5 years.

Since Prednisone was discontinued, at least 5 more medications were discontinued that were being used to treat Prednisone side effects. No other additional medications have been added for Actemra side effects.