Hi @cckelly, You're right, most people with PMR do respond to prednisone pretty quickly with a miraculous decrease in symptoms. I had PMR and GCA for a year before diagnosis. Initially, I tried Physical Therapy with no relief. I was first diagnosed with PMR and put on 10 mg of prednisone. The Rheumatologist asked me by what % my symptoms had decreased and I said about 50%. I still had a very stiff neck, with pain in my head and short stabbing pains in my face from ear to nose. He increased the prednisone to 40 mg. I had a temporal artery biopsy a few days later and was positive for Giant Cell Arteritis. The symptoms I was experiencing disappeared on the higher dosage of prednisone and I started to taper down by 5 mg every two weeks. Do you have any head, neck pains, tender scalp, difficulty seeing or chewing? If so, you could have Giant Cell Arteritis and need more prednisone, at least initially.
I also have osteoarthritis and tendonitis in my right shoulder, which has not been eliminated with prednisone - so I do PT, take tylenol and use an infrared heating pad to help with that. Wishing you the best, Teri