I managed to reduce me Prednisone by small increments of 1/4 tablet. I would wait until I was feeling pretty good then take a week off from my life and reduce again. It wasn't easy or pain free but it worked, you just have to out wait it. If the pain is too intense, go back to the previous dose and wait to try again. Your experience mirrors my own. It's hard, and the hardest thing for me was getting used to an illness that took years to end, not the one or two weeks we are used to. I am almost there right now, after 4 years, and I bless every day when the stiffness wears off in a quarter of an hour instead of half a day.