What happened to me was that prednisone was started initially to "manage my symptoms." Unfortunately, prednisone wasn't all that effective at putting PMR quickly into remission. I took prednisone for 12+ years for PMR alone. Prednisone never put PMR into remission. Being cured was never the goal.

I had prior experience with taking prednisone for other autoimmune conditions before PMR was diagnosed. Those other conditions were called "steroid responsive" and remission was achievable within a month or two. I could taper off prednisone quickly. PMR was different. I was never able to taper off prednisone after PMR was diagnosed.

A curious thing happened over time. The problem I had was my doctors rightfully got nervous about me taking prednisone for a long time. The focus of my rheumatology visits were less and less about PMR. My visits became more about how much prednisone was I taking and about how to get me off prednisone. The goal of "remission" and "tapering off prednisone" were one in the same goal. However, my ability to taper off prednisone became more elusive the longer I took prednisone.

My rheumatologist introduced me to "steroid sparing" medications. They were strictly used to get my prednisone dose lower. Prednisone was the "first line" treatment but apparently it needed reinforcements. I didn't do well when other medications were added to the mix.

Meanwhile, my GP was kept busy writing prescriptions for medications to control my BP and cholesterol. My weight seemed like a lost cause but my GP was good about "encouraging me" to lose weight. My GP also wrote referrals to other specialists for a never ending stream of new medical problems. It was never clear to me if prednisone, PMR or something else was causing all these other problems.

I don't think my problems were all age related but that was another possibility. I felt like I had aged rather suddenly. I would complain about feeling like I was 100 when I was only 60 years old and debilitated.

Happy ending though --- I'm off prednisone! I'm being treated with a different medication which works well for me. My rheumatologist had a hunch it would work for me. He said I was "too young" to take prednisone for the rest of my life. My rheumatologist wanted me to try something new and different and said there weren't many other options left. I was off prednisone a year later.

The possibility of remission now seems real to me. I feel like I'm recovering but I still have more to go. At least the gap between my actual age of 68 and how I feel is shrinking to something closer to 70. I hope to be better than I am now when I get to 70.

It is said that PMR will eventually "burn itself out." but the question that nobody can answer is "when."

Prednisone did a decent job at keeping my symptoms in check but I was never able to say "no pain." My rate the pain was a new normal average of a "5" -- some days better than other days.

Unfortunately, I relapsed whenever my prednisone dose was too low. Those setbacks were absolutely brutal and rated a "10." Those relapses only resembled my original PMR symptoms but I never could say symptoms were exactly the same as my original PMR symptoms.

I hope for everyone's sake that PMR burns itself out sooner than it did for me. I still don't know if remission will last. However, I seem to be doing much better being off prednisone.