Hello steelbh... I am so sorry that you have PMR.... I believe most people with PMR symptoms do go away in just a few years. There is lots of helpful information on this site about tapering very, very slowly. Read everything you can! Be your own advocate!

I was first diagnosed at age 44 with PMR... I've been dealing with it for 18 years. So yes, some people it lasts a good portion of their lifetime. The last flu vaccine I received in 2014 set it off again and I have felt it in my body ever since then.

I usually taper to 1 to 2 mg and stay there... which is fine with me to be able to live a full life with just a little pain. I'm very active ride Mountain Bikes, hike, chase grand kids!

Last September I got a virus in my chest, terrible cough that lasted almost 2 months. It set off the PMR again. Doc put me on a very quick prednisone taper 7mg to 0 in 6 weeks! I don't think he believed me when I said PMR had returned.

Once I came off the drug the pain came right back. I went in for labs last Thursday... blood works show inflammation on the rise, but SED rate is not over the "high" line. CRP is high, but not extremely yet. I know my body and if left unchecked without prednisone the inflammation will keep going up. So I am now waiting to see if the Rheumatologist will agree and prescribe Prednisone again, or if I have to suffer for a few more weeks to get higher inflammation markers. What a racket! So depressing... Quality of life is awful when dealing with this condition and having to prove you are in pain. 🙁