I’m on 3mg a day now, down from 15mg a year ago. Pain levels seem pretty constant over this journey - moderate to severe before dawn, reducing to a continuously present nagging that is ignorable during the day when I’m moving about or exercising. It is, however, a continuing source of worry to me that the characteristic PMR pain has extended its reach over the year beyond the girdle joints of shoulders and hips, where it began, to hands, arms and legs. No signs of RA, fortunately; in my case the pain seems to be confined to the strings that pull the muscles. As I reflect on my tapering regime over the past year, I sometimes wonder if I went wrong, somewhere down the track. Perhaps there was some different combination of doses and reductions that would have provided a golden road of pain free progress to recovery. But there’s no going back. The prospect of a complete weaning from Prednisolone is now in sight when, at best, I expect to feel much as I do now - off Prednisolone with a PMR pain level that is manageable and consistent with a happy, rewarding and reasonably active life.
Best wishes to all of us in this strange community of PMR suffering with such a diversity of experiences and outcomes. May 2023 bring all of us renewed hope!