If Prednisone works for you ... I wouldn't tell you not to take prednisone. I try not to say Actemra will work for everyone because I know it won't be the best thing for everyone.

I was told NOT to try Actemra when it was first suggested to me by my rheumatologist. It was mostly a person who said she was "entitled" to know things about PMR and prednisone that nobody truly knows. She encouraged me to take more prednisone and routinely gave medical advice. She said prednisone was the best and only option for PMR. Her claim to fame was long term prednisone use and PMR for about the same period of time as me.

My rheumatologist countered her assertions by saying that I wouldn't know if Actemra works until I tried it to see and offered no guarantees that Actemra would work. I'm glad I tried Actemra to see if it works for me and I'm happy to have tapered off prednisone.

That was just my personal decision and currently how I feel. Prednisone is still an option in the future if Actemra stops working. I still have a prednisone prescription "as needed" that my rheumatologist wrote for me.