Thank you so much. You're right about disability: it was the hardest thing I ever had to do. I loved my life and had to give up everything when I left my job. But I am fortunate in other ways and try to remind myself of that. As for Charlie Brown, I have long surpassed that, sadly. I call myself a Steroid Puffball. Like you, I had terrible PMR pain in my hips: at one point I had to use a walker and later couldn't walk at all. That's when they put me back to 40mg, and I finally accepted prednisone as the lesser of the evils. My doctor said that if you step down and still have pain it will aggravate the condition, so I'm following her guidance to take it slowly. I hope you get to a dosage where your back and hips are better. I make myself walk as much as I can (not much) to try to maintain some flexibility. I really hope you get some relief soon and appreciate your kind thoughts.