It took about 12 weeks for Actemra to start working assuming Kevzara works the same as Actemra. I didn't know what to expect. My rheumatologist said I needed to take Actemra at least 3 months in order to give it a chance to work and for me to "notice a difference."

I can't say I noticed any difference while I was still on Prednisone except I could taper prednisone by 1 mg a week. I only tapered that quickly to get the "inevitable flare" over with. I wasn't sure if Actemra was working or not.

To my surprise, I didn't have a flare tapering Prednisone so quickly. However, I was told to stay on 3 mg of Prednisone because my cortisol level was too low to taper any lower. I had to stay on 3 mg for 6 months before being told my cortisol level was safe to discontinue Prednisone.

The astonishing thing was what an endocrinologist told me. As long as my cortisol level was adequate and if I didn't need Prednisone for PMR anymore, it was okay to discontinue Prednisone by going from 3 mg to zero without tapering. I did a fast taper going from 3 mg to zero in a week.