There is an alternative to Prednisone now! It's Kevzara. Patients are initially put on Prednisone and a taper is attempted..if it fails, Kevzara ia added, the Pred is tapered off, and the patient can remain on Kevzara until remission is reached. While Kevzara does have side effects, they're detected by lab tests, so quality of life is maximized. My PMR responded like a dream to Kevzara - which acts on a different inflammation pathway than Prednisone. My stiffness and pain are reduced enough to allow me to return to walking as an exercise and my range of motion has gone from significant limitations in major joints to being able to do all the standard swim strokes. I'm currently on 4 mg Pred (from an initial dose of 15 mg) and decreasing 1 mg each month. Kevzara was approved by the US FDA in 2023. I'm not symptom free - recently realized my ability to use denial and distraction to moderate my perception of pain also comes with a cost - I have real pain. But I'm able to function better, much better, for a larger part of the day.