How long does it take for you to move without pain and stiffness in a.

I would say it takes 3-4 hours for prednisone to start working. Yes ... it took me 3-4 hours to be able to function reasonably well. I had to be ready to work at 7 a.m. so it was necessary to take prednisone at 3 a.m. so I could go to work. It was always a tough call at 3 a.m if I would be able to work at 7 a.m or not. I didn't want to call in sick every day so I had faith that prednisone would be working by 7 a.m. if I took it at 3 a.m.

I don't think your inflammation is acting up except for having chronic inflammation and you aren't in remission yet. What you are experiencing is how long it takes for you to feel the effects of your daily dose of prednisone.

Hello @spedld88, I would like to add my welcome along with @dadcue and others. It does take some time as @dadcue mentioned but I'm also wondering if it might be due to the dosage amount you started. Are you still on the same dosage as when you were first diagnosed with PMR? Have you started tapering down on the dosage?

Thanks for your reply, John. I began with 40 mg of Prednisone in late Feb. and switched to 20 mg on March 9. This is my last week on 20 mg. On April 1, I am supposed to switch to 17 1/2 mg. for a month. I am worried that if 20 mg is still not knocking all the inflammation back, that 17 1/2 mg will not be enough for me.

I've journeyed (four month into PMR) from 15mg to starting 9mg yesterday. It's always been fairly consistent, I feel some relief after 2 hours and after 4 hours I'm feeling minimal, if any, discomfort.

I too had morning pain until I switched my dosage to the night instead of the morning. Once I switched I was able to wake up almost pain-free. I now split my dosage equally between morning and evening. I have also just started Kevzara (3 doses) and am holding steady on 5mg. Hopefully I will be able to taper off completely with the help of Kevzara.
I would suggest that you try the night time dosage to alleviate you morning aches and pains.

It took me that long to get going also. If I do my seated, gentle exercises, I loosen up faster. Four months into this dreaded disease, tapering Prednisone, I almost feel normal and can exercise and get going much faster.

Nancy, thanks so much for your reply. I am just 2 months into this, so it is good to hear from someone else who is new to it and feedback and advice. Will try to do some seated, gentle movements to see if I can shorten this dreaded time in the morning before I feel able to do anything. Thanks again

I am recommending to folks in this discussion thread to take advantage of the wealth of information in another thread…” Weaning off of prednisone & pain management.”
To be very concise…perhaps even abrupt…pain that might be accompanying PMR is not always PMR pain, and therefore should not automatically be treated by increasing or modifying the timing of or splitting your prednisone dose. Those solutions might make you feel better, but can lay the groundwork for serious problems that will emerge later as a result of unnecessarily prolonging the use of prednisone or modifying the dosage inappropriately without testing (SED, CRP) to determine if the pain issues are actually PMR.
Best of luck to everyone here. It is not easy, or simple.

Other posters have advised reading previous threads on tapering and doses. Some of us have a number of other underlying issues contributing to pain experience and some of us are able to clearly distinguish between PMR pain and osteoarthritis or other conditions. There are useful guidelines in the literature to discuss with your Rheumatologist or Doctor.
Im 7 months on Pred and have bad pain and stiffness in the morning for up to 5hrs when i try to get below 8.5mg. It has taken a few months of trial and painful error to find this sweet spot and i can only stay here for a few more weeks. I split my dose 5.5mg morning and 3mg afternoon due to terrible nights and mornings and it definitely helped but has its drawbacks when you are tapering. Most Rheumatologists seem to be ok with allowing their patients a degree of flexibility in Pred dosing as long as there is progression towards zero over time.

This is an interesting comment. Can you elaborate more about why you feel this way?

In general, I agree. However, CRP and ESR can't be relied upon to determine if pain issues are actually PMR. These labs might be a piece of the bigger puzzle but not much more than that.

Elevated CRP and ESR are not specific to anything. My CRP and ESR levels were consistent with my pain symptoms but not necessarily PMR pain. I was glad when these labs were elevated when I complained of pain. My rheumatologist would increase my prednisone dose after she checked my labs. I was glad she didn't rely entirely on my report of my symptoms.

It would be nice if you could explain your views more. I think I know where you are coming from but I'm not sure. Thank-you for posting this information.