@stonewheel

All true ... but it hardly took me any time to taper off prednisone after Actemra was started. Only 12 months to taper off prednisone after Actemra was started. No comparison to the 12 years I tried to slowly taper off Prednisone without Actemra. Granted ... not everyone will have the same result but the percentage of people who do manage to taper off prednisone with a biologic represents a lot of people. Probably the same number of people who are said to need prednisone for more than 5 years to promote long term prednisone use.

It was more insulting when an endocrinologist told me 3 mg was such a small dose that I didn't need to taper as long as my cortisol level stayed within the normal range. She seemed to think as long as nothing too stressful happened I would not have an adrenal crisis. The only reassurance she provided was that I could restart prednisone for any reason if I felt the need.

The endocrinologist then asked me if I still needed prednisone for PMR. I didn't know so she checked with my rheumatolgist. All the while, the "experts" on another PMR forum were telling me it would be better if I stayed on prednisone for the rest of my life but they were clueless too.