Hi Naezzo, this is a very new diagnosis for you. I'm glad you found the PMR group so early in your journey. The members here have a lot of experience and are very generous with their knowledge, including sharing their experiences with prednisone, what dosages work, when and how to taper or increases in dosages helped or were advised.

You'll notice that I moved your post about your current dosage and lack of relief from symptoms to this existing discussion:
- PMR, Prednisone Dosages and Managing Symptoms: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/pmr-dosages/

I did this so you can read previous posts and connect easily with members like @tsc @ncgal @maryft @sandiw77 @kmeikle1 @juneh @aspine and many others who understand.

You may also be interested in this related discussion:
- What is the goal when first diagnosed with PMR?: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/what-is-the-goal-when-first-diagnosed-with-pmr/

Naezzo, while you only recently diagnosed with PMR, have you been living with the symptoms for a while? Are you in the care of a rheumatologist?

Hi @naezzo, a lower dosage of prednisone (about 20 mg) is supposed to miraculously make symptoms of PMR disappear, but it's companion disorder, Giant Cell Arteritis (GCA) requires a higher doaage of prednisone. I'm small, 5 ft., about 100 lbs and was put on 40 mg. Did your doctor ask you about scalp tenderness, inability to chew, jaw pain, low energy, a dry cough, vision problems? My PMR kind of left me, but I advanced to symptoms of GCA which can cause blindness or stroke if left untreated.

Hi, Naezzo,
There isn't a whole lot of information to go on in your profile. Did you have bloodwork done? I would assume you did. Were your markers for inflammation quite high? Because your starting dose is a bit higher than the usual dose, unless your doctor was wary of GCA at the time. How long have you been on the 30 mg.? When were you diagnosed? What you do say is that activity you do causes flares. Well, yes, they might well be doing that. What you need to understand is that your lifestyle might have to change while you are dealing with this disease. If your renal glands have shut down (don't know if they have yet - maybe too soon) then your body is operating on 30 mg of prednisone - period. When you start using up that prednisone by over exercising - or whatever - then the inflammation (aka pain) is able to take over. Go to HealthUnlocked/PMRGCAuk and look for the FAQ's in the Pinned Posts. Then go to Renal Glands and read that. And while you're at it, read anything else that you want to know about.
It really helps to understand what is going on in your body, and it seems that is something the doctors don't seem to want to discuss it. Good luck! BTW You might even need a higher dose, because you are still getting pain. Or you can ask your doctor about splitting your dose to AM and PM so you get better coverage. Not the usual, but many people do this with good results. You'd want to take the lesser amount in the PM in order not to disturb your sleep too much.