Hello @becky72, Welcome to Connect. Sorry to hear you have been dealing with the symptoms for so long without being able to see a rheumatologist. You will notice that we moved your post to the following discussion so that you can learn from other members with PMR -- Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR): Meet others & Share Your Story: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/polymyalgia-rheumatica-pmr-meet-others-share-your-story/.

If you click the link above it will take you to the start of the discussion where you can read through to learn what others have shared.

I've had 2 occurrences of PMR. My rheumatologist started me at 20 mg prednisone both times. We are all a little different but my starting dose relieved all of my pain within an hour or so of taking the dose. From what I've read that is basically how they diagnose PMR along with the ESR and CRP tests which for some members have been normal when they had PMR.

I don't think you can cold turkey quit taking prednisone if you take 20 mg for 10 days. I think the average time that it takes for PMR to run it's course from what I've read is 2 to 3 years. My first time took me 3 and half years to taper off and the second time 1 and half years to taper off.

I would definitely reach out to different doctor with more experience with older patients. Have you tried taking 20 mg prednisone to see if your symptoms go away?