Hi John this is Roland it has been a while since I have been on but have been following all the post. Now to all who have PMR like you it is a struggle well not exactly. To all who follow the Mayo web site on PMR. first of all I have had it for 3.6 years. The symptoms are all the same along with my hips, shoulders, wrist & fingers. I started on 20 mg of prednisone down to 10 then 5 an then well it is how do you feel in decreasing the dosage. Well it is up to how one's feel's I am still on 2.5 mg. & depending on the weather it could be 5 mg. Now to all the DR's does not know how much discomfort you can tolerate so It is up to the individual on how much pred. you should take, now my pain threshold is moderate so I can tolerate some discomfort if not more. Now I am 78 yrs old I still bicycle, go to the gym, motorcycle & yes in the winter downhill ski. I refuse to let this this autoimmune disease put an end to my life. Folks with PMR don't let it get you down like it did me in my early stages. Give it hell & keep it going. OH by the way hips are ok but shoulders, wrist & 8 fingers & neck still an issue but I will over come it I hope. God bless everyone with the issue.