Hello everyone.
It has taken some time since arriving here, twelve days ago to sit down and update events. It took nearly 24 hours to get here with delays etc so It was about time to take my steroids early morning with my UK body clock and time to go to bed with Arizona time. Over two nights I did a cold turkey and moved my steroids around to this timeframe, sleeping when I could and cursing with the stiffness and pain. Four days in I started with a streaming cold and hacking cough which has now almost gone.
My doctor gave me a plan for my time here and said I should reduce to 10mg on Jan 24th which I have done and still battling on.
I honestly don't know where I would have been without you all. I felt like a scared newby, cast out into a foreign land with a plan and a bag of pills. I avidly read your posts every day and have learnt so much. When I dropped down to 10mg of Prednisolone I didn't panic when I awoke all stiff and in pain, I know from the info you so kindly shared that it would probably be steroid withdrawal and not inflammation. It is getting better day by day and I feel brighter. I have also taken on board the need to rest and don't feel guilty having a nap in the afternoon or asking for help with household chores.
My husband has moderate dementia and some days knows I am unwell but not what with despite me explaining the condition on numerous occasions, so I just go with the flow. On his good days he tells me he is now my carer and that he will look after me bless him. We muddle along and get by.
I still have to learn how to navigate the site and print stuff etc but will get there.
Thank you all again, wish some of you in cold wet climes could share some of this sun and warmth. Three of my sisters arrive here in five days time to stay for a month so hope my transition to 10mg is well under my belt by then.
Take care everyone and keep the information flowing.
I don't remember getting pain, per se, just some stiffness in my fingers, and some of the joints became enlarged (this is what led to the diagnosis). Since then x-rays have shown I have fairly serious arthritis in my spine, which explains my stiff neck and intermittent lower back problems, and OA is present in other joints, especially feet as well as hands, but these are not issues which really affect me all the time nor cause the type of pain which makes me reach for a pill bottle or anything. In fact somehow I learned really early on that aspirin (and its relatives) should not be taken on a regular basis for OA as it actually interferes with cartilage regeneration. So I've been medication-free for OA. When I first began to develop PMR symptoms I assumed it was the OA finally getting a grip on me, and went to doctor (a new person my own having retired) hoping she could prescribe something which would help. She prescribed Celebrex which scared me so I never filled the prescription. My highest dose of pred (15 mg) wiped out all my aches and pains. OA has returned somewhat but, you know, I must have been doing something right all these years because I'm now 70 and I don't think the OA has progressed much in the past thirty years. The thing I have to be careful of now is not to confuse OA with PMR, which I used to find easy, but since my flare last year things seem a bit more complicated. 
Is it a flare or something to do with adrenal insufficiency?
Sore throat - update
Steroid reduction
Dead Slow and Nearly Stop Spreadsheet
First consultation with GP after starting with Prednisolone.
