Hello Julie, I agree with @fighter that needing prednisone is an indicator that the inflammation is not well controlled. And with @kozlo52 that tapers must be extremely slow to avoid complications.

In answer to your question about treatment changes being common, I can tell you "Yes!" Please don't be frightened by this path - medicine and science continue to advance, and the understanding of disease causes and processes improve, leading to better targeted treatments. Diseases and our bodies' responses to them change over time. Also our responses to medications can change. And as you get older, some drugs are no longer appropriate as the body's ability to metabolize them can decrease.

My husband, daughter, brother & a close friend are all using (different) biologics for their medical issues, and carefully chosen ones are definitely effective and give better control than many drugs, often with fewer side effects. Perhaps if the prednisone taper increases your symptoms, or your liver enzymes increased from the methotrexate, it is time to talk about alternatives.

What you will learn by reading here is that your best course of action is to be your own best advocate. Learn everything you can from informed sources like Mayo and other teaching/research institutions. Ignore miracle cures and instant fixes. Always make a list of questions for your docs, and get answers you can understand.

Come back and ask when you have questions, remembering that we can each describe our own journey, but not give medical advice.
Sue