"Prednisone was doing some serious damage to my body while I tried modifying my diet, eliminating sugar and alcohol and adding herbal remedies. Those things all helped marginally but did not let me reduce my Prednisone below 15 mg without a significant flare."
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I couldn't agree more. I was still on 10 mg of Prednisone more than 12 years after being diagnosed with PMR. I nearly conceded that I would take Prednisone for the rest of my life. There was a recommendation that I shouldn't try a biologic when Actemra was offered to me. The recommendation stated that prednisone was better because it was "the devil I knew" compared to Actemra being "the devil I didn't know." I thought that was stupid recommendation since the same people had never tried a biologic.

I mentioned the recommendation against Actemra to my rheumatologist who said, "I wouldn't know if Actemra was a devil if I didn't try it to see." He made a good point so I tried Actemra. In retrospect, Actemra was a game changer for me. I have been off Prednisone for 5 years and couldn't be more pleased. When I got off Prednisone and I was able to compare my "quality of life" relative to taking prednisone for the rest of my life---Actemra wasn't the devil it was purported to be. When I reported back to the same people who were against Actemra, they said my experience with Actemra wasn't pertinent to them.

I'm not advocating that everyone should try a biologic. Prednisone should work for many people. However, there comes a time when something new should be tried. In any case, it is a personal choice after consulting with your doctor who would have to agree.