Adia, Like you I have had tapering problems, though I have had PMR longer, over 2 years. Below 8 mg prednisone I kept having flare-ups. I think my doctor thought that I was just a wimp, so to prove to him and myself that that was not the case I followed the taper to 6.5 mg and not only was I in a lot of pain but my ESR spiked. Like you I did not want to take methotrexate due to all the listed side effects but I finally agreed to take it 3 months ago. I have dropped from 8 to 5 mgs prednisone and pain is not an issue. Sometimes I feel that I do not have the disease any more. The methotrexate side affects were horrible for about 3 weeks: nausea, diarrhea, headaches, fatigue, etc. Then they let up and all I really have is fatigue and occasional bouts of pain, but more like what I had before I got the disease. I see the doctor next week and I hope he runs more labs with liver tests to see how my body is tolerating the methotrexate. What worked for me with exercise has been to back off from what I did before but keep at it: biking and uphill hikes, just not as far or as much elevation gain.