Just my opinion but I feel that pain should be gone or nearly gone before starting to taper your prednisone dose. When you were first diagnosed you had a mountain of inflammation built up and typically it takes 15 to 20 mg to bring that inflammation under control, resulting in minimal or no pain. When I initially was put on pred I started at 15 mg and it was a miracle with the pain vanishing. However, my rheumy wanted me on an aggressive reduction schedule and within a month or 2 I had a massive flare up from taking too little pred. That time I had to move all the way up to 30 mg before the inflammation was knocked down and my pain was brought under control. Reduction should be a very slow path. If you suffer significant pain it means you're low on the prednisone dose. The one rule I learned early on is that the dose reduction should never be more than 10%. A bigger reduction invites a flare and after each flare you end up having to go to a much higher dose to get the inflammation under control again. Some rheumies (in my opinion) are hellbent to get a PMR sufferer off of pred too quickly. Yes, some of the side effect do suck but without pred I would have been an invalid. Do I miss what I used to be? You bet, but I've gained great appreciation that I can control this beast inside me and live a normal life - at a reduced level. PMR forum discussions are a very important source of information and support.