@jeff97

"I think not being able to exercise hard was an indicator of adrenal insufficiency. It is like pressing hard on the gas pedal of your car and nothing happens."
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I think you are right. I don't think a year or two of prednisone at PMR doses does too much harm. I would consider a year or two to be relatively "short term." Maybe that time frame with relatively lower doses decreases the time needed for the adrenals to recover.

Adrenal insufficiency causes exercise intolerance because the body cannot produce enough cortisol to meet the physical stress of exercise. Muscles weaken very quickly and energy reserves rapidly decrease leading to severe fatigue during or after physical activity.

Exercise intolerance was my single biggest somatic complaint on a low dose of prednisone when I was trying to taper off. I would get exhausted with minimal exertion. The worst advice I received was to take more prednisone which didn't help my adrenals to recover. More prednisone would make me "feel more normal" but my endocrinologist told me "normal people don't take prednisone to feel normal" unless they have adrenal insufficiency.

Actemra had PMR well controlled so that wasn't the problem. It still took me a long time after I tapered off prednisone but I gradually felt more normal. I'm adjusting for being 20 years older and out of shape--big belly which I still need to overcome.

I told my physical therapist how much improvement there was in my "recovery time after exercise" as well as being able to exercise longer.