PMR flare at a drop from 8 to 7 mg of prednisone?

I tend to stall out at 7.5 mg every time. I’m back at 8.5 mg at the moment

At or about the 7 mg dose of prednisone was a tricky dose for me. That prednisone dose trips up an amazing number of people. I would start to get "yellow flags" from my body at 10 mg warning me to slow down. If I persisted with lowering my dose, the yellow flags turned to "red flags" that demanded that I stop tapering.

When I got to 7 mg, the pain would be so bad it forced me to retreat. I usually went back to 10 or 15 mg of prednisone. It didn't seem to matter if I tapered slowly or quickly back to 7 mg because the same thing happened. I don't even think it was a flare of PMR because the pain was never the same as my original PMR symptoms.

Since cold weather hit I am in extreme pain from arthritis. Is this part of PMR or RA?

I am also trying to taper from 7.5 to 6.

I saw my doc yesterday, I am back up to 20mg of prednisone after being down to 7. My doc is now taking me off of methotrexate and putting me on Kevzara which is pretty new for pmr but he said “well you are just one of those people who don’t taper gracefully.” It looks like it might be a good fit for me.

you can confirm if it is PMR with blood work measuring your C-Reactive Protein levels

A wide variety of inflammatory conditions can cause elevated C-Reactive Protein levels. I was diagnosed with multiple inflammatory conditions including PMR. My rheumatologist called it "systemic inflammation" rather than PMR only.
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/322138#:~:text=A%20wide%20variety%20of%20inflammatory,the%20lining%20of%20the%20heart
I think C-Reactive Protein is "usually" elevated in PMR but it doesn't confirm PMR. However, you have to allow for some people who have PMR with a normal C-Reactive Protein level.

You can have PMR without high sedimentation and CRP levels.

anecdotal experience from my CRP testing, showed normal labs but three different MDs identified PMR after other extensive testing. A few years before had elevated CRP with "walking" pneumonia, no PMR symptoms at that time. In England and Australia and New Zealand PMR patients routinely are prescribed prednisone, or prednisolone, for more than five years to manage the debilitating pain and stiffness from PMR.

Treatment with prednisone for more than 5 years is common in the United States too. I think the majority of people diagnosed with only PMR are able to taper off in less time. At least I hope that is true. If there are additional things going on besides PMR it takes longer to taper off. My rheumatologist identified a "full range" of things but PMR was my primary diagnosis.

My rheumatologist had no qualms about me taking prednisone for 12 years but tried everything to get me off prednisone. It wasn't a failure on her part. She never suggested it was my fault that I needed prednisone that long.

I think treatment with a biologic is becoming more common. A biologic isn't the first treatment that is tried for PMR. I felt like a pioneer when Actemra was tried 4 years ago. My rheumatologist had to jump through some hoops to get it approved for me. The goal wasn't to get me off prednisone entirely. Before I tapered off prednisone, I stayed on 3 mg of prednisone for a long time.

An endocrinologist decided when it "might be safe" for me to go to zero prednisone. My endocrinologist wasn't that optimistic that I would ever be able to taper off. She said I may need a "maintenance dose" for the rest of my life. My endocrinologist thought 12 years was an extremely long time to be on prednisone especially at the dose I was taking.

If my dose was only 3 mg or less, neither my rheumatologist or endocrinologist would have cared that much. They said I was an overachiever to be able to get off prednisone after 12 years. I was probably an underachiever for taking prednisone for more than 12 years.

I'm still being prescribed prednisone on an "as needed" basis. However, I have not needed prednisone for a couple of years.