Hi @tinman2020 and @karinaph I sometimes wonder how bad my PMR and GCA would have been had I not exercised regularly, followed a plant-based organic diet, etc. From what I experienced, pain on a scale of 10 out of 10, it could not have been much worse. Cecil and Goldman's Textbook of Medicine Chapter on PMR and GCA notes, "These disorders...are propagated by antigen-driven, cell-mediated (TH1) immune mechanisms that may be associated with specific genetic markers, and they are highly responsive to corticosteroids." Imagine there was no treatment for these disorders before the mid-1950s. I guess people just languished and died, from GCA, especially, if they weren't fortunate enough to go into remission. So, bad, as it is, I'm thankful for the prednisone. And I hear you, tinman2020, I never felt old before the onslaught of these diseases. Take care.