Russ
Hi, Chris. I've had polymyalgia rheumatica for almost 3 years. I've read a lot of the polymyalgia posts at this forum, and you're the first person I've seen who said the pain moves around so much from day to day. Like you, I have pain in my shoulders and upper arms and the palms of my hands and fingers. Sometimes gripping the steering wheel when driving is hard. Also have pain in my hips, lower back, knees, feet. Just lately, the bottoms of my feet are quite tender, which I assume is from the prednisone, which tends to make you bruise easily and increase touch sensitivity. Even turning off a lamp switch (twisting) hurts the skin on my fingers. I don't know the answer to your question about the increased pain/fatigue when prednisone dosage is reduced. If I had to guess, I would bet it's mostly that the polymyalgia needs more help, not withdrawal from prednisone. But I don't know. I assume you're seeing a rheumatologist, not just a general practitioner. It really takes a specialist to handle this disease. Good luck! --Russ