small red blotches on skin

Also, when I was in remission for 3+ years and off prednisone these red blotches pretty much stopped appearing.

You are correct that prednisone is most likely cause.
Our skin is also thinned by years of sun exposure .
Wear sunscreen and moisturize daily. Long sleeves are partially
protective. Minimal trauma can even cause tears.

Confirmed by my drs, yes prednisone. Also have had them in my face 🤦🏼

Yes i have them as well and its the Prednisone. Sometimes they just appear out of no where it's not that i bumped anything.

I have what seems like bleeds under the skin that look very much like this. It seems many have the same. It appears prednisone causes thin skin. Rheumatologist was unconcerned and said should improve when off prednisone.

I had some similar but mine was a reaction to a blood thinner. That was then stopped. I now can do a baby aspirin. It happened again after I was on hydroxychloroquine for 6 months. I stopped that also. Now on very low tapering dose of 2 mg prednisone and Actemra subq every other week and I am stable doing ok. I never did have these spots on prednisone. Check on this for sure. 👍🏻

Unbelievable. I had to check to see if I wrote this! I've got the same thing and been trying to sort it out for weeks. Do you think they will go away when I'm off steroid but still on Actemra infusions? I've noticed that if I do something like try to move a mattress they get worse. How do Rheumatologists not know this?? I am amazed by the lack of knowledge of doctors who specialize in an area, whether it is this area or another. I keep telling them they should check these groups, that would open their eyes!!
I will be off Methylprednisolone in 6 days and will keep up the Actemra infusions. I have good levels but just get so exhausted. I can do something, but then drag around like a zombie for 3 days. No one can say if that's the Actemra or the PMR. I felt better a year ago!

Well, once I stopped the prednisone/Actemra they pretty much disappeared - only every now and then.

Prednisone makes your skin so thin - so can easily be bruised and/or scraped.

Hang in there!! And wishing you these best of luck getting off these meds. As much as we hate them - they are miracle drugs until something better comes along.

I agree it is amazing doctors are unaware of this. Hopefully someone is reading these
comments and can pass info on for more to be researched.

These groups help, because I think I would lose my mind talking to my Drs I wish they would look at these chat groups.

"I will be off Methylprednisolone in 6 days and will keep up the Actemra infusions. I have good levels but just get so exhausted. I can do something, but then drag around like a zombie for 3 days. No one can say if that's the Actemra or the PMR. I felt better a year ago!"
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Whenever I read about fatigue being described like this ... I immediately think it might be related to a low cortisol level. It seems to happen when people are at low doses of Prednisone while trying to taper off.

It has been shown that cortisol levels should increase with moderate amounts of exercise. The adrenals are suppressed by long term prednisone use. I wonder if adrenal suppression is responsible for excessive fatigue and slow recovery times after exercise??

I recall feeling the same way when my cortisol levels were low. After my adrenal function improved so that more cortisol was being produced ... I could exercise longer and recover faster after exercise.
https://www.rupahealth.com/post/exercise-cortisol-how-exercise-affects-your-stress-hormone
My exercise tolerance didn't improve as soon as I tapered off Prednisone. It did improve with time as I exercised more. Also, my adrenals were capable of producing more cortisol with time after I tapered off Prednisone.