HI
has anyone managed to not put any weight on taking steriods? I think I am about to be prescribed them due to having PMR. Orer the last 2 years I have managed to loose 4 stones and would like to loose another 2 but not sure what my chances are :? I have asthma (greatly improvedsince the weight loss) and the most I have been on prednisalone is 3weeks at 40mg with this short amount of time you do not have to taper the dose off you just stop talking them. I am looking forwaed to any replies
Sheila.
Jancy
Some people put on weight, some people stay the same, some people actually lose weight.
Everybody re-acts differently as we are all different.
Me? I put it on. But after three years and still on steroids, its slowly coming down. Nothing to do with diet, exercise, just to do with metabolism I think.
I hope you are one of those who actually lose weight.
Hello Sheila
This is a difficult question to answer because everyone reacts so differently to steroids - some people gain a lot of weight whilst others gain nothing at all, and I think one of our friends on here has actually lost weight.
I started off on 40mgs 3 years ago and have put on about 5lbs. BUT, I have really watched my diet and I have found that if I keep the carbs down then that is a great help. Somehow, I think carbs together with steroids are a recipe for weight gain, well certainly in my experience anyway. I have very small amounts of bread, pasta, rice, etc but loads of veggies and fruit. When I go out for a meal then I have mostly what I want but at home I do try to be good!
I can imagine that after losing so much weight and benefiting from your asthma point of view, it would be so disappointing for you to regain it. Let's hope you will be one of the lucky ones if you are actually prescribed steroids.
Very best wishes,
MrsO
My daughter, who is a nurse and asthmatic, says the main reason for the weight gain is because of the increased appetite many people experience with steroids although she just goes off food altogether. I know some people disagree with that but when I started taking steroids for my PMR I realised after a couple of days that the craving I had had for carbohydrate every afternoon - any sort of carbohydrate but preferably sweet - disappeared as if by magic! As I am allergic to wheat and the only cakes and biscuits I could buy were the ones in the \"Free-from\" ranges, that was a mega calorie load. The use of \"wheat-free\" flours means the goodies are very dense and very high in calories. I had put on a lot of weight before diagnosis because of inactivity and this craving for something sweet. I've lost some of the spare tyres (on visual evidence) don't know about my weight as I haven't a scales!
Like PMR, taking steroids is a journey of discovery. But at least you generally in less pain whilst you are about it!
Eileen
Grrrrr! The horrendous weight gain is one of the things about steroids that has reduced me to tears and depression. Within 4 months of first taking them I had put on 3 stone....and I hated every pound. I'd never had a weight problem in my life before.
Last year when I managed to stablise the dose at 5mg I lost two of those stones and was over the moon. What happens? I have to go back on a high dose again and in just a month a stone has gone back on.......
3 stone might not sound all that much, but I'm only 5ft tall and lightly built. It always goes on round my middle and I look awful, like the Michelin man on matchsticks. The bloating doesn't help my breathing either as it all presses on the diaphragm (I'm asthmatic).
....and before anyone asks if I am eating more, the answer is no. I'm also diabetic and closely monitored.
Nefret
Hi nefret!
Didn't mean to suggest that all weight gain with steroids is from eating! However - I must be about the same height as you and my 3 stone extra has mostly come from the effects of the PMR! Inactivity and depressive mood leading to craving carbs = weight gain. I've stabilised on the steroids and my appetite is now what I would describe as normal but the spare tyres are only deflating rather slowly. I did get a tiny bit of the abdominal fat at 15mg/day but it has gone quite quickly at lower doses and the new bras I got in the early autumn (I've NEVER had a 34\" before, always 32\", horrid, but it was borderline) are now on the tightest fastening so something has gone!
Eileen
Hi All
of the 82 side effects listed, those printed on the sheet that comes with the tablets are the most common.
Guess what - weight gain is second on my latest sheet.
I have already had a run in with one young registrar at the A&E - who said and I quote 'you would not have this problem, if you were not obese'
I will not tell you what I said in reply - but I she quickly removed herself from the scene and the Consultant in A&E took over.
And No, if anything I eat less now than before, because I am just not hungry and could go all day with a slice of toast and tea and coffee. No problem at all. But weight gain, in spades. I look like a big straight tree trunk.
Yes Im with you Mrs K I decided to read again all the side effects of steroids the other day and weight gain and incresed appetite were two seperate mentions so its a bit of a double whammy !! I have certainly gained wieght on both my bouts of steroids and this time when I started on steroids and my Dr checked all my diabetes BP and weight etc I was spot on for my BMI NOT any more though !! Its a case of one problem at a time for me at the moment so that will be sorted out later WHEN I come off steroids