Joint pain after going off prednisone?

My ortho told me that once I go off prednisone, my arthritis will come back and joints will "bark at me"....and they are barking.

I have been off prednisone for 3 years. I have joint pain but it isn't PMR. Sometimes my joint pain is more now than when I was taking prednisone for PMR. Prednisone relieves pain caused by arthralgia (joint pain) just as much as myalgia (muscle pain) if the pain is caused by inflammmation.

PMR can cause both myalgia and arthralgia. Usually arthralgia is caused by arthritis. Inflammatory arthritis is an autoimmune condition too. Inflammatory arthritis and PMR feel basically the same. When you have both conditions, as I do, your muscles and joints both hurt.

I'm currently taking a biologic that primarily treats the inflammatory pathway implicated in PMR. The biologic I take seems to control both PMR and inflammatory arthritis although a different kind of biologic usually treats inflammatory arthritis.

The biologic I take allowed me to taper off prednisone after more than 12 years. PMR seems to be in remission but my doctors are concerned that inflammatory could still flare up.

PMR seems to be in remission but my doctors are concerned that inflammatory "arthritis" could still flare up.

Thank you so very much for all of your information!!! I really appreciate it!!! my very best wishes to you!!!

What is a biologic? The name? The dose? Side effects? I wake up hurting at 40% of what PMR was. In remission (?) now. I am on Curcumin and glutathione, natural supplements. My lifestyle is becoming limited because of stiffness and pain and that is so not me! Any help is appreciated.

I have an appointment with my rheumatologist in a few weeks and the main topic will be the residual pain that I have. I feel great otherwise and getting more work done than before, but stiffness and pain is still there. Even though it's minor to what I have experienced it still makes me mad that I am still going through it. Some have recommended glucosamine but I have heard some negative opinions of it. Any thoughts anyone? The problem is muscle and tendon not joint. I have had to have one knee replaced so I know what joint pain feels like and this isn't it. I hang onto what ever plus I find and this weeks it's in the form of a Beyond the Grain gluten free pizza with no tomato sauce on it. Silly, but it really cheered me up.

A biologic is a medication derived from living things. These things can be human but not necessarily. The biologic I take is derived from mice. It took me time to get used to the idea that I would be injecting it into my body.

Most biologic medications are very expensive. The cost is hard to appreciate until you appreciate the research involved and what it takes to produce biologics.

I take Actemra (tocilizumab) for refractory PMR and it works for me. My rheumatologist was excited about Actemra being FDA approved for GCA. I was only diagnosed with PMR so my rheumatolgist submitted a request to get Actemra approved for me. He made sure I was willing to try Actemra before submitting the request.

Another biologic called Kevzara (sarilumab) was recently FDA approved for PMR. My rhematologist is excited about Kevzara too. He says it is good to have alternatives to prednisone.

I haven't had any serious side effects from Actemra but side effects are possible. My labs are monitored every 3 months to see if I have side effects. I was also screened for "latent conditions" before I ever received authorization to get Actemra.

Serious infections sometimes resulting in death scares people. I haven't had any serious infections ... not even covid.

People with a history of diverticulitis or other gastrointestinal conditions shouldn't be given Actemra. I didn't have that problem but people on prednisone frequently do.

I eat stuff that I shouldn't eat especially during holidays and football game days. I enjoy pizza with everything during halftime of a good football game!

I feel guilty but I get over it quickly. "Silly, but it really cheered me up." I think it is silly that I feel guilty about it.