Yes, I mostly agree with you on those points. All the instructions on taking prednisone say to get to the "minimum effective dose", so that was my earlier goal. It seems to be a thing. But then as someone said earlier, it's a moving target. And PMR patients are pushed to keep reducing prednisone and get off it, so the minimum effective dose goes out the window anyway. We'll get pushed to reduce till we have a flare, then someone will suggest we add more drugs with more side effects. No fair!

My minimum effective dose last year was 7mg before the flare at 6.5mg. Since the dose rise to control the flare, so far this reduction attempt, the minimum effective dose is 5.5mg with no problems at all. I suspect my PMR may have run its course and hopefully I can keep going lower, slowly to both avoid waking up the PMR, and to wake up my adrenal glands.

I've done a few things differently this time and have no idea if any of them have helped, but I suspect the PMR may be winding down because the inflammation has been controlled by prednisolone for a good while now. I'm not stressing as much about it all now either, just keeping busy and doing things day by day.