Are you prescribing prednisone to yourself? Did you diagnose yourself?

When I was first diagnosed with PMR, I ignored what my rheumatologist told me because I thought I knew everything about tapering off prednisone. I had a 15 year history of recurring uveitis along with reactive arthritis. My ophthalmologist frequently prescribed 60 mg for uveitis. My ophthalmologist would adjust my dose upward if needed until the uveitis responded. I was then allowed to taper myself off with instructions to call if I had difficulty with tapering. I could always taper off quickly in a month or two so I rarely had a need to call.

In retrospect, I didn't know anything about PMR but I thought it would respond to prednisone the same way as reactive arthritis and uveitis did ... wrong! The treatment for PMR is "long term" as in years instead of months.

I got off to a bad start because I thought I knew everything. I got a "non compliant" label put on me because I kept increasing my dose. My rheumatologist started me on 20 mg but I increased it to 50 mg because it worked better than 20 mg.

My rheumatologist wanted me to find a "stable dose" of prednisone that worked to control my PMR symptoms. The stable dose I eventually found was 40 mg but my rheumatologist said it was too high a dose for PMR. My rheumatologist would have liked something less than 30 mg.

I refrain from giving medical advice due to my training as a nurse. However, I suspect something else is happening. It might be PMR and something else. In my case, it was a "full range" of things in addition to PMR according to my rheumatologist.

I had the same rheumatologist for 15 years after PMR was diagnosed. We found ways to work together. I eventually got off prednisone but it took a long time and an entirely different treatment plan.