Hi Kathy @kmb181, My first thoughts are you shouldn't have high level of pain unless your prednisone or methylprednisone dose is too low (tapering too fast?). I always kept a daily pain scale log rating my PMR pain from 0 to 10. I could normally handle a 1 or 2 level pain when tapering but if it got much higher I upped my prednisone dose by half of the previous dose that I tapered down to.

That said, I think family events are important and if there's a way, I would go for it. I'm thinking less time on the plane equals less opportunity for the pain to get worse. Have you thought about asking your rheumatologist to see if they might have some thoughts on your pain or suggestions to help you make the trip?