Hi @lorraine59, I'm sorry to hear you are still having a rough time with your PMR after close to 5 years. My longest time on prednisone with PMR was around 3 and half years and it was pretty rough. The last six months I was going back and forth between 1/2 mg daily and 1 mg daily for a week to 2 weeks at a time before changing doses until I was finally able to stop taking prednisone with a minimum amount of pain/aching. My rheumatologist told me he had a patient who took over a year on 1 mg dosage until he could stop taking it.

Have you tried any other lifestyle or diet changes to help with your PMR pain? I know that really helped me the second time around with PMR six years after it went into remission and came back again. Here's some information that might be helpful if you haven't already tried it

-- Diet and Lifestyle Changes That Can Aid in the Treatment of Polymyalgia Rheumatica: https://arthritissj.com/diet-and-lifestyle-changes-that-can-aid-in-the-treatment-of-polymyalgia-rheumatica/

Hi @lorraine59, I sympathize with you as the pain of PMR is like no other. I can't imagine suffering with it for five years. I am not an M.D, but I'll quote from Cecil and Goldman's Textbook of Medicine, "Both PMR and GCA are highly responsive to corticosteroids...This response is so characteristic that an immediate and dramatic improvement in PMR and GCA symptoms within 1-3 days after steroid institution supports the diagnosis..PMR usually responds to 15 mg of prednisone daily...Within 2-3 days of institution of steroids, most symptoms of ...PMR clear rapidly and patients describe a miraculous improvement.". Were you ever on a higher dosage of prednisone with good results? I initially went to my PCP, a family practitioner with my symptoms, after suffering for 4 months, he ordered blood tests, but did not refer me to a rheumatologist. I had slightly elevated inflammation markers at that time. Months later, symptoms of PMR went away, but I had different pains, anemia, and anorexia. A friend, an infectious disease doctor, got involved, reviewed some of my lab work, and told me to ask my PCP for more tests. He scoffed at everything, but I pushed him. He even laughed at me when I told him I probably had Giant Cell Arteritis (per my friend) and said, if I had it I'd be blind. Long story short, my inflammation markers were off the charts and I was referred to a rheumatologist, who has treated about 70 people with PMR and GCA. Later, the PCP told me he missed the diagnosis because my symptoms weren't textbook. So, after five years of suffering, it may be wise to get switch doctors and get under the care of a rheumatologist with expertise in this disorder, if you aren't already. Best wishes for less pain.

I'm going on 4 1/2 yrs and still at 3 mgs. when I go down at this stage I have to cut my tabs into quarters and go down to 2and 3/4 next so I dont have so much pain.