Welcome Terri @rocksology, You are not alone and from reading your story I'm thinking you may have a leg up on where most of us have started with this PMR game because you are your own advocate which is a big plus.

There are a lot of great discussions started by other members here in the PMR group that will help you get a jump start in learning more and hopefully provide some encouragement. Here are a few of them that I have found helpful:

-- Comprehensive Overview Of PMR:
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/comprehensive-overview-of-pmr/
-- How to Slowly and Safely Taper Off Prednisone but ... no set rules.
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/how-to-slowly-and-safely-taper-off-prednisone-but-no-set-rules/
-- History of PMR:
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/history-of-pmr-interesting-video-presentation-from-past-to-present/
One thing that helped me was keeping a daily log of my level of pain in the mornings and my dose of prednisone. Do you keep a log?