Hi all. I do think it is best to seek out a rheumatologist for treatment of this disease. My rheumatologist commented that many people are on high dosages of prednisone for way too long. PMR and GCA (Giant Cell Arteritis) are companion disorders. I've been diagnosed with both. GCA is more severe - so I was put on 40 mg. prednisone for two weeks, initially (given my size = about 100 lbs), then told to taper down by 5 mg. every two weeks, but if symptoms returned to go back up to the previous dosage. Luckily, I had no flareups while tapering down. I am now down to 10 mg. The doctor said to stay on this dosage for a month, then taper down by 2.5 mg for a month, etc. I do get a sense from reading posts that many people are left on their own to figure out tapering. Prednisone is such a powerful drug with so many side effects that it seems most doctors want to get patients down to the lowest dose possible to manage symptoms, and it is trial and error. We basically have to stay on prednisone until our immune systems calm down...and then it seems, they can get excited again. Cecil and Goldman's Textbook of Medicine states that "Steroid treated PMR + GCA are self-limited illnesses..." Eventually, they burn out, for some, sooner than later.

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