Hello @jules11, welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. I'm glad you found us. My PMR is currently in remission. I've had two occurrences of PMR. My first was in 2007 and it took me until 2010 to taper off of prednisone. I also started at 20 mg dosage. The last six months or so I was going back and forth between 1 mg and 1/2 mg dose until I was finally able to stop taking prednisone. The PMR stayed in remission for 6 years and when it came back I was able to taper off in about a year and a half. The key for me was to keep doing some form of exercise even if it hurt a little but not overdoing it. Also, being flexible with the tapering schedule - there's no magic formula. Each of us are a little different. I worked with my rheumatologist on a couple of different tapering schedules until I found out something that worked for me to taper off.

The biggest impact prednisone had on me the first time around was weight gain. I was prepared for this the second time around and made some lifestyle and diet changes to help with the weight gain. I was able to keep the gain under 5 to 10 pounds but it was a challenge. Prednisone really is the miracle drug for PMR but you don't want to be on it for a long time...lots of bad side effects.

It may be too early to tell but have you experienced any side effects?

John