why am i losing weight on prednisone

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The Rise " Fall of Weight Gain On Prednisone by ← Apr 16, 2012 Silence , Silence 5 things we can do about weight gain by taking Prednisone1. Start with patient maintenance. This is very important. If your high dose of prednisone is not stressed trying to lose weight. You're taking things because you're sick, so pay attention to that. Look at your doctor, follow the instructions, take the damn tests, blah, blah, blah... and when you can, pamper yourself. Others, too. The best thing you can do when you're at the highest doses is to keep a food journal just to keep and keep the habit. Just writing what enters your mouth subconsciously reduces the amount you eat, even a little. In addition, you will need this habit later when you can and want to lose weight, so you can start now if you have never done it before. Be honest, it can be difficult when what you ate in one day could feed a whole colony of hungry hippopopotamus.2. Choose your food carefully. Avoid simple salt and carbohydrates. Open fruits and vegetables. Not only do these foods reduce the calories filled with mummy, they are filled with antioxidants, the very anti-inflammatory nature. When my appetite was in its worst evil I sang on things like French fries, of course, but there were also occasions when I sang on the fruit. Strange but true.3. Exercise. If you can, if your disease allows, try to move every day. Twenty minutes at half an hour of some kind of exercise will keep your metabolism coated and prevent your muscles from going to muscles. I find myself mixing activities, from walking, riding on my stationary bike, yoga, weight training, prevents me from getting bored. And I'm lucky; my body likes it. You may need to talk to your doctor about this. You may need a physical therapist to recommend a routine. Don't let this obstacle stop you, please. Don't exercise aerobics at night either. You need your rest.4. Plan meals, plan snacks, plan mini meals, whatever your style: Plan! The more you plan ahead, and you purchase accordingly, the less suitable you are to succumb to Gotcha! eat. You don't have a bag of fries sprinkled by the sea in the closet! I don't care how many teenagers are at home insisting they need this basic food group.5. Count calories Phase 2. As the dosage is recorded, you will begin to feel more in control of your appetite. Start lowering your calorie budget a little at a time. The app on my iPhone called "Perder It!" allows me to adjust my calorie budget so I don't stress by restricting my calories beyond what I can handle realistically. My Fitness Pal is another popular program.187 reviews I can sympathize, I felt this way when I took Paxil. I remember waking up at 2 a.m. to eat because it was VENIO. I also know what you mean by chips... I recently swore to stop buying food from fatty snacks because, if they're here, I'll eat them! Hang on there! I hope you're okay these days. I feel bad that it took me so long to answer your comment because I really appreciate it! Chips of any kind, brownies and ice cream... can't have them in the house if I'm in or out of the prednisone! 🙂All this weight gain makes you feel swollen and stiff. If I diet during this time, is it possible for the weight to come out or am I stuck with this I am out of medicine? Everybody's different. I advise you to ask these questions from your medical professional and/or a qualified registered dietitian. I don't know why you feel swollen and stiff. As for the second question, my experience is that weight loss while in significant doses of prednisone is not likely. The most reasonable thing is to do everything possible not to gain more weight, to maintain weight gain, pump rests in it, through good food options and continuous exercise if your condition and your doctor allows it. I look like a very depressing chipmunk .all, but now I've just started 7.5 mg steroids a day I'm waiting for the weight gain with a diet to start dating. Hey, Bev. Note that the effects of prednisone on your metabolism, even in small doses, will reduce any effort to weight loss. Be patient and kind to yourself. My 4-year-old son... he's suffering from nephrotic syndrome... we're using Prednisone 35 mg tablet... but he loses more weight.. I also feel very swollen and stiff in prednisone I too. I'm swollen. Almost impossible to bend and tie my own shoe! Hi, at most, I even woke up at night and now I'm fat, I was very sick and hospitalized for almost 3 weeks. Steroids were a blessing to my body despite increasing weight and my obsession to eat! I started recording 40 mg for each day and started 20 mg today. I've been eating like a hungry maniac until the last few days. I lost 10 pounds of fluid in the last 7 days. I hope the rest of you get out as soon as possible. The rest can come out more slowly, probably not "taken." I hope you feel better. I'm only in 5 mg of Prednisone daily for COPD exacerbations. I'm also on Atkins' diet. I've initially lost 12 pounds but now I've been in a position for 3 weeks. I'm never hungry and I don't add salt to my diet and I drink a lot of water. I can't walk too long or exercise. What else can I do? Hi, Joy. I honestly feel like you're doing everything right. If Atkins works for you, he's still with him. A weight loss plate is expected. Please don't let that discourage you. The most difficult thing about this medicine is the psychology of everything. That's my problem with getting COPD and prednisone all the time can't get out of it. I am 4' 11 and the weight is 172 I look like a balloon. Prednisone makes me eat makes me jittery and gain weight. I'm trying everything I can think of losing it but without succeeding and depressing. Hi, Kathy. That is a lot of weight for you 4'11" frame to carry. I don't know what you mean when you say you're "treating everything." I just know that if you are able to exercise in some way every day (walking, sweeping weights, yoga, bicycles, etc.), if you are eating as clean and reasonable as possible (maybe consulting with a nutritionist), staying hydrated (reducing coffee, other caffeine and alcohol), if you take care of yourself with meditation (Calm and Headspace are great applications for that) and healthy distractions, you are really doing everything. And if you're doing all that and maybe more, you're a lot, much healthier for it. It's frustrating because it doesn't show up the same way but you're definitely healthier, stronger and better for it. Remember that, please. Hi, I was in a high dose of pred. For a month and a 1/2 now they prevented me from going out slowly .5 a month, the less I drop the wet water that I hold and win, I'm not a salt dining room I only have sugar in my coffee once in the morning, I have a month more and I'm finished, but the more I let fall faster blond. I don't have any clothes. I'm not a crazy dining room, I have a swollen face. Oh, my God, this drug is terrible. My doctor shouldn't win any wieght. Ha! Elaine, if I read it right, your doctor said you shouldn't gain weight?! I don't know why doctors, good in many other aspects, sometimes basically lie to their patients. It reminds me of the first time I was in Prednisone and I was completely frightened when my skin felt like there were ants dragging me everywhere! It was as terrifying as being on a bad LSD trip! I called my doctor and said, "Oh yes, that can happen in prednisone." as if it wasn't anything important. Are you kidding me? Well... now that I have that out of my system... Please continue to take a lot of water. Ironically, water is a natural diuretic. Literally pull out your system and it's zero calories. You're eating reasonably, low/no salt. I would make sure to talk to your doctor about the continuous weight gain (yes, doctor, it happens) while lowering the dose, just to rule out anything else that may be the cause. I had been at 90 mg a day for about 4 weeks before my doctor started to reduce the amount I was taking. Before I took the steroids I had started to feel very good about myself. I had lowered my weight to where I was in the '30s (Now in the '50s) I could wear pants that I hadn't been able to wear for years. And the next minute I put almost 10% body weight on steroids. I've been out of steroids for weeks, but yet my weight has still remained high and I was still getting grains that I haven't had since my teenage years. I sympathize with someone who has had weight gain using steroids... feels so frustrating that you can't change the weight easily, and it just makes you feel swollen and feel like crap when you look at yourself. I seem to have a beer now and I don't even drink! I only drink water. Now I've started doing more exercise, and I'm eating less, and yet the weight continues to increase (although it has now stabilized after it's gone out of steroids for about 4 weeks) I hope that with our summer/Christmas break that can come out a little longer and continue working on lowering the weight I have also had a weight gain while it was blinded. I was in 4 mg of methylprednisolone for more than 7 years (sometimes up to 8 mg). I've dropped more than 3 months, but the weight's still rising. I'm suffering from skin lupus since I'm 15 yrs seven months old. I started taking 50 mg omnacortil. At first, he had 45 kilos. Now I'm 70 kg and I'm still taking 7.5mg omnacortil. I'm 16, please help me. How can I lose weight? Hi, I'm a new addition to Pred amd's family thinks it takes me a toll slowly but surely in the months ahead!!! I've grown my size from Grande to XXL in just two months! And because of COVID I can't have access to fashion stores!! Thank God I have some old things that I cover myself having said that, I decided that this is enough and I will resurrect the PRIDE lost for really getting hard on what I eat, and I understood the fact that Pred is such a better supplement to cut in limes and we will see the result! No salt, Sugar, Oil for me for a month and will be in fruits and eggs for a month along with salad! The excess that affects the whole body is the way forward for a month and so are the abs .... man vs side effects is the new challenge for me. It will keep you informed, the result for those who have committed to the pred effect! Hello, MNT, Since COVID crashes, we can certainly not go to the stores, but I have been grateful to the online purchase. I assure myself that the return policy is lenient and easy. Getting something new, even in size XXL, can sometimes provide a very necessary lift. I've been in prednisone for 9 months and up to 5 mg for two. But still very difficult to lose weight and like a low carbohydrate, low lime diet and walk 3-4 miles a day. I've lost 5 pounds from my height, but certainly it doesn't "switch" effortlessly... I have to fight for every lab. The waist and intestine are still huge compared to before. Advise during prednisone: eating healthy and exercise .. does not work. You will win anyway: (Hello, Natalie, There is no doubt that you will gain weight when in the prednisone regardless of exercise and healthy eating, however you will gain less and more slowly that way. That can make a big difference in our overall comfort and mental health. I hope you keep worrying about yourself with your exercise and diet regimen. I know it sucks that the stupid weight doesn't get off easily but you're healthier because of it. (This is what I say to myself so I'm hitting him!) Everyone says you won't, but you will. I'm sorry, it stinks. Iv has been out of jail for two months and still struggling to lose weight!! Good luck I'm fighting anorexia and this has been prescribed for respiratory problems. I'm very nervous about how this will affect me and I don't want to slip into old habits, and I'm not sure what to do. Hi, I've been to Prednisone. 90 mg. For interstitial lung disease. I am 5'6" and usually weighs 140. Now it's 158 pounds. And I've been miserable since I started this medication. Five months ago. I'm recording on my own. I can't handle this weight. Will it be your reality for a moment when it will come out forever? I'm so depressed by this. I'm not buying a new closet just for this weight! I'm not so old with this terminal disease! I'm very careful of what I eat, too. HelpDear Sherry, 90 mg is the highest dose I think I've ever heard of. Speaking from a very personal perspective, I cannot imagine tolerating a dose that rises for more than a month, much less five months! Have you ever talked to your doctor about recording? I hope you have a doctor to listen to you. That's the key. In addition, the weight will turn off but very slowly and with some discipline. Exercise, move your body, however your condition allows it. Even when we are taking prednisone it is important to eat as much as possible, not over-do carbohydrates, fats and sugars. Check with a good dietitian. You don't need to buy a new wardrobe. Maybe consider some pieces that have some of daring, fashion leggings and tops and tunic jackets can be found online. You'll feel better if you can put on something that doesn't tie up and even look nice. Accessories, jewellery, scarves, wrappers also go a lot. Hi, I'm coming out of a 9-week high-methylprednison 21lb dose and I'm broken my heart. Thank you for writing this, because in my absolute misery of only fixing pants I forgot that I am cured and much better. You made me see a priority, I'm better! And we remember that since I'm better I can concentrate on the smart points you're leading. Next time, I hope you don't soon go to treatment, I'll have this article close. You're so happy you're better! I believe the same as you as often as possible. I have 20 pounds heavier (I could actually be more since my last relapse but I'm not going on the scale no matter how many eclairs are offered!) My kidneys are acting! I'm not dying, at the moment, anyway. Thank you for your warrior spirit, Anette! Thank you so much for your article. I also had 135 pounds before the prednisone and won 25 pounds! It hurt my self-esteem but the worst thing is not being able to return to my true "me" for years. I'm still fighting and it's helpful to know that I'm not the only one. Thanks to all my heart. 🙂 I have been in prednisone for about 4 years now. Before the prednisone was about 140 pounds (a little overweight for my height age). Since then I have won around 65 pounds now at 205 pounds (I'm only 5'3′′′′′′ imagine. I look and I feel disgusting. I've tried all kinds of diet plans and exercises. A particular issue I have to deal with is limited funds (I am a graduate student right now). So I'm in a very upset situation right now. I'm looking for the web to see if something that helps me won't cost me an arm and a leg. The only thing I found should help is sugar and sodium. Hi, Maria. So this is what I understand. You're still in prednisone. You've been in prednisone for 4 years and at the moment you've earned 65 pounds. You have limited funds so you can't do anything fancy. When you say "sugar and sodium" I think you mean cut as much sugar and sodium from your food as you can. The answer to that would be yes. Cut as much sugar and sodium as you eat and drink as you can. I don't know why you're taking prednisone. There are some conditions that make us retain water. My kidney disease did that. Sometimes that makes the difference. But reducing fine sugar, complex carbohydrates and extra salts is something healthy that doesn't matter what's going on. I wonder if the postgraduate school you are going to have a health center that you can take advantage of where you can be able to talk to a licensed nutritionist, at no cost, for more personalized advice. And what about the doctor who describes it? Why shouldn't you worry about the extra weight? That would be my question to him/her. I've been at 10 mg doses of prednisone maintenance for PLC for 3 years. I've won 20 pounds and I'm staying in that range up to/down a few pounds but no loss. The weight is about my half and I'm 75 years old and I know it's dangerous. My dermatologist or my primary will not test any of the new biologics or offer help. I've tried to tear myself apart, but get rid of me. I'm so scared. I have 11 months after kidney transplants won 11kg I am depressive sooo. It was in 40 mg and now in 5. I train my tennis ass twice a week. The treadmill tape is running. This week after all this and eating as soooo little I have won another 1.1 kg. I'm very good at having a new kidney, but this is hardYes! I had about 105 kilos and once I started prednisone, I gained a lot of weight. Now I've got almost 140 pounds and I feel worse. Waiting on the edge of my seat to lower the dose! How are things going, Maria? Have you been able to reduce the dose yet? I feel the same. I won 20 pounds in a month! Literally I could feel that the stomach was expanding at night Hi I've been in preparation for 6 months and I've lost 15kg. An egg and spinach for breakfast... homemade chicken & coleslaw with natural yogurt teaspoon of homemade cheese... small handful of nuts & mandarin afternoon snack ... dinner half dish vegies 1/4 protein magra walking small before 7... non-soda alcohol... there is no added salt... free sugar except for the maximum 2 serving of hungry fruit and milk in the garden. Hi, Jo. Your food/beverage regimen sounds delicious, highly nutritious and non-toxic in a very reasonable way! Add the movement a little every day, enjoying the life of goodness has to bring rounds of things beautifully. For some of us, fighting that horrible hunger induced by prednisone is a constant battle. Congratulations and thanks for sharing. I am so upset when sites and/or doctors say Prednisone causes weight gain due to swelling and increased appetite, but not to mention slow metabolism and change in how your body metabolizes glucose. It feels like a way to subtly blame the patient for weight gain. Like, it's not that this drug is doing crazy, weird things to your body, it's that you don't have enough will to control your increased appetite! This drug is literally saving my life, so I'm also grateful for it, but I've earned almost 20 pounds since I started Prednisone. My diet is mainly fruits and vegetables and lean meats. I am not a saint and sometimes I have also eaten, like, a slice of cake or some cheese and cookies with wine, etc. I recently started Noom and I'm tracking my food and calories into it, and I've learned that I'm *maintaining* weight in 1050 calories a day!! I'm glad I started tracking so I can see how I have to eat the light to not win. I'm lucky I didn't have to deal with increased appetite. I had a few days when I didn't feel any salience and a period of time when I was tied the fruit, but above all, my appetite has been manageable. The metabolism slows down! Jesus! Helps to know that I can't even have a day when I put the precaution to the wind and share a dish of nachos with my partner or a night of pleasure when eating with friends. Those days will be in weight gain. I am posting this bc I want others who are also experiencing a deceleration of metabolism to know, you are not imagining it! Track your calories and check it out! He's completely insane. I totally agree with you! Metabolic changes are something I often point out in my writing about weight and prednisone. It is not "in your head." You're doing what you can and that's great. Noom is a good program, holistic and science-based. Best wishes. This is true of what they tell us. Thank you for solidifying that in my mind. Hi Jo, I'm starting with Pred because of a facial paralysis, I got a 60 mg wooping a day for a week... I'll follow your path in healthy food and excerption. You think I'll still gain weight this week? I wish it was so easy for me, the move. I have myasthenia gravis. I'm coming to where I can almost walk almost 30min daily without having to pay for it by sleeping in bed all day. I started a garden that I am not exactly attending as I should and wish I could, I can only move as much (that) is not enough. I've been in Prednisone 2yrs now the total weight gain was 60 pounds was easy with steroids and basically being a fucking close on, I know the depression also had a hand on it. I would never have seen myself like that in a million years. I'm upset. Before this disease and steroids I ran 3 thousand each morning before work and sometimes I would get extra training at night. Everything that looks like an old story, but I hope I'll get my health and my body back, I'll get out of this damn prednisone. Maybe you're dosage is not as high as a lot of us fighting, IDK but I'm sure you'll be happy to get where you are with him I agree with you, Kareena. In my life with chronic disease I have been up and down in the dose of prednisone. The highest dose I was in was 100 mg, but it was usually about 80 or 60. So, like many of us, the doctors would try to get me out just so the disease would come back up again, so the dose was. There have been some people in this community who have been at higher doses for longer, others shorter, others less doses for years. This is not a competition. Each of us has a story worth hearing because we find more than a little in the experience of each person to relate to. I hope you have a decent medical team that pushes to help you get more from yourself again. In the middle time, you're doing the best you can, moving everything you can. That's heroic. Hi, Dr. Aletta: I'm also a doctor and I'm trying to stay healthy by focusing on why and how prednisone works and the fact that if I didn't need the drug I wouldn't be on it. As Kareena I have faced the satisfaction of weight loss after cutting the medication only to experience another bengala that erases my progress. It's very frustrating. I've been in prednisone for 3 years with intermittent attempts to record for the serious asthma. All I've earned 60 pounds and had multiple complications including DM, HTN, a hip fracture and pelvis and swelling everywhere that sometimes causes bullae in my legs. My skin is so thin that it often tears when I remove a train-help. I have extreme difficulty with exercise and now I am considerably out of shape. I try to choose foods that have a low glycosmic index with reduced sodium, but as you mentioned this is very difficult. Complicating this is the fact that I am a fisherman (of my own choice) and many soy-based protein substitutes are very high in the sodium. Anyway, I'm willing to live with my buffalo hump, moon face and pendulum abdomen if you keep me out of the hospital. I'm recording now, but I'm afraid of another flare-up. Most men wear clothes because they are the only things that fit, but I try not to feel bad about it because it is casual and comfortable. LOL, I also have mountains of women's clothing "squid" in sizes 6 to 16 that I really must pass and donate but I keep hoping to lose enough weight to fit in some of them again. What I really need help is with the munchies at night. As with almost everyone in long-term steroid therapy, I have trouble keeping my sleep, and when this happens, I will inevitably go to the kitchen in a mental fog induced by medications. That's when he really blows it up and he's likely to eat everything in sight. Fortunately, as you mentioned earlier, I live alone so I am the only one responsible for the decision of which food enters the house. So, for all those who have been brave enough to share their stories on this blog, kudos for seeking an open forum in which to share their experiences with prednisone. You're not alone. You never know what battles others are fighting, and showing empathy can sometimes elevate self-esteem measurably recognizing that you can, at some level, understand when you listen to your stories. Dear Cat, Thank you for this. What you say is so true, "You never know what battles others are fighting, and show empathy can sometimes raise self-esteem measurably recognizing that you can, at some level, understand when you hear your stories." I have certainly earned much more than I imagined by posting these articles on my experience with prednisone. I sent many positive thoughts of her way of healing and health. Because of my palate pain, the inflammation doctor gave 10 mg of predinsone for 9 days. 10 mg 3 times a day during 10 mg 2 times a day three days and 10 mg 1 times a day for 3 days. Now I'm running in six days. After 9 days will it be possible to stop or not? My mother suffered from myasthenia gravis, the worst. It affected his whole body. It took two years to diagnose. She was on steroids at that time, but the neurologist who was amazing helped my mother get the right drugs for her. Then, overtime, he was able to work part-time and became some kind of remission. I'm telling you this to give you a hope of regaining control. You will come there, I understand how difficult it is to stay positive, do small things to help yourself and eventually with the help of the doctors will feel much better in time. Good luck. I am currently in 30 mg (from 40m per week) of prednisolone by pemphigus vulgaris, an unpleasant autoimmune disorder that attacks my own skin with severe oral ulcers to 2 massive injuries that have come in my legs (may be a fatal) I am obviously grateful that these are to save my life but that they are round anyway I have a big chin/ne and the terrible face of the moon. Now it is not clear where my face ends and my chin/neck starts because they just entered one and I have earned a massive amount of weight 30 pounds!!! I stress again that I should be grateful that these are saving me but I hate myself, I am so depressed with everything. None of my bras, clothes fit me so I'm living in leggings and long shirts without shape... I haven't been helping myself because I've been sitting in my **e since I was in them so that tomorrow I'm going to get into my machine the form of torsion & try to revive my metabolism and fight this. Now I am classified as obese  thanks for your blog. Hi. Shirley, the thing that is so psychologically caustical about prednisone, well, one of the things anyway, is that it gets into our mood and thought. So the natural resilience we have to bad things that happen, like weight gain and the face of the moon (which you describe very well- "Now it is not clear where my face ends and my chin/neck starts because they have just entered one..."), our natural resilience to such things is eroded by prednisone. Anxiety and depression are side effects of prednisone. Despite the good beneficial medical effect indicated on the drug, what happens to our bodies because of prednisone is depressing. And so goes the vicious circle. I love how you finish your comment! You put yourself in that spin-form machine! Go walk if you can. Move and eat in a way as healthy as it is available to you. The benefit is to help your metabolism, of course, and it feels good to do something positive for ourselves. Thank you for your comment. How long after I stop taking cortisone tablets, will I start losing weight? Hi, Maria. Prednisone has what is called a long half-life, which means it remains in the body tissues for a while even after it has stopped taking it. That's not to say you can't lose weight. Please be patient with yourself and your body. If you're gonna get out of the medication I hope it means you're healthier! I suggest you consult with an authorized nutritionist to develop a good plan to lose weight and remain as healthy as it may be. Thank you, Dr. Aletta. I appreciate your advice " will certainly seek the help of a nutritionist. At first, ovarium cancer (total torektomie) then a brain tumor (cancer) surgery. A little greeting Docter AlettaTake good care of yourselves, Mari. You're in my heart. Thanks for writing this. I've been alternating low- and high-dose steroids for years! I conquered cancer, but now I have re-occured adrenal gland failure and autonomic dysfunction. If I don't take steroids, I faint and I can't breathe. I had weight loss surgery after steroids during cancer, above arthritis and neuropathy. I lost a lot of weight. Everything's back. Like clean. I keep the food book. With my agitated health, I can only walk, and I do, despite the pain and swelling. I just don't know how to stop this weight gain. I'll never get out of steroids. The world is cruel, especially after people saw you lose and win. My self-esteem is at its worst. Tomorrow is my birthday and all I want to do is cry because I'm tired of being sick and being so big/heavy. I know, I really do, it's better to be alive. Trust me, I'm grateful to be alive. By sending all my love, strength, thoughts and prayers to anyone who fights the weight of steroids gains yoyo. Lol's still waiting for 5yrs. They put you in medicine and then put the weight in the end says obese gently. Are you kidding me then call my fucking face. I didn't want vegetables..sheet cakes. big mac and before this was petite. My bones become fragile. Toothache. You can't sleep, but you can't think either. Now when I want a fixed tooth insurance, it doesn't cover... the eyes got bad and the glasses are a luxury. The Price 4 Breathing Roundup has nothing on steroids I am in the 2nd week of prednisolone treatment, trying not to put much weight and walk an hour a day, I started with 60 mg now in 50 mg until I get 20 mg, so a little to go, how long after your off the medication you can see a little losing weight ? I have MG. I took Predinosone for 2 months. My blood sugar was / is to the ceiling. I gained weight and I can get rid of it. Hi, I'm 67 years old and I've been in Prednisilone for 8 months for Arteritis which is an inflamed artery in my temple causing terrible headaches! I had an initial dose of 60 mg and then drop to 30 mg a day. I've been slowing down and now I'm about to drop to mg. I've won 30 pounds and my belly is huge! I also have a fat face and dazzling eyes! I used to be a model and also a flight attendant. I wonder how long will I be rude? The plan is to reduce to 1 mg every 3 weeks. My name is Horace hungry while I'm atrocious and I'm still eating too much. I am also malhumorated and bleach and neurotic, which was not before steroids. Will I lose weight quickly when it stops? Is there a retirement period with horrible symptoms? Good luck to all, since this is horrible but probably saved my sight, this is worth it is not!!! Thinking of all the suffering companions. I live in the Scottish highlands and we have a heat wave! Now I have a bright red fat face too! Jacqueline Dear Jacqueline, I will try to answer all your questions. Not to say the answers are satisfactory, but I will give you the best I can. 1. I wonder how long will I be rude? You're not disgusting. You're a beautiful woman in prednisone. It's not useful to call you names. Things are pretty bad without that. 2. I am also malhumorated and bleach and neurotic, which was not before steroids So it is not a question, but I am inclined to point out that all these behaviors "not you" are known side effects of prednisone. And yet part of yourself that is still there that is able to observe the neurotic acting out and say, "Ah, I am not at all!" Despite everything we still have that healthy observation brain! 3. Will I lose weight quickly when it stops? No, not quickly, but the probability is, if you follow a reasonable regime, you will lose the prednisone weight eventually, which is better than ever. 4. Is there a retirement period with horrible symptoms? Only if you get rid of prednisone without medical guidance. Follow your doctor's prescribed tapestry and should be fine. This terrible/bad drug is worth holding up because it makes it possible to move again, breathe again, see again. Thank you for your good wishes. I'm sure we all wish you well back and I hope the heat will return to normal summer temperatures soon. Hi. I've just been diagnosed with fearful arthritis. Your first person I've heard has suffered this, too. I see your blog is 2019 and I wonder if you feel better now? I'm in the first four weeks of being diagnosed and it's all a crude and worrying tbh. I'm a 60-year-old woman. Hi. I've had asthma all my life and the last winters have been very hard to control. More episodes of Prednisone. This year I have been in Prednisone for seven months, oscillating between high doses, cutting up to 10 mg per day and having asthma is flashed... I feel tired and miserable, like too much and even dream of eating rather. Good health to all! Hi He lupus, diabete,s, arthritis, asthma, ibs, depression, I have been in prednisome 13 long years, yielded to 9 mg day, earned 100 pounds, and depressed, tested 3 antidpressants made it deeper and worse, I am trying to get out more need to use walker , I can't get out a lot of time, nor can I walk very far 1/4 block case, because Yeah, I stopped the meds. He got bad enough to hospitalize me twice. After taking Prednisone strangely enough I lost 12 pounds. I was also informed that you gain weight all the information I have received seems to be always wrong. I am usually a very healthy person and I take care of the right amount of physical exercise and diet. I hate drugs because of the adverse effects you get I feel like I've fucked again good luck to all of you Hey everyone! I came here because I also took prednisone and have not been stopped in weight gain for the last 3 months. He was in the treatment plan for allergy symptoms that ended up being a misdiagnosis. Either way I just did a 9-day treatment plan and my weight rose 10 pounds originally but it hasn't stopped and I'm hitting 30 soon (it's 2 months later). I'm not impressed and glad I came here to hear it's a universal problem. I am creating a new treatment plan for this problem based on two past experiences. 1) my mother went through menopause and was quite nut at a point. My father advised him to take the root of red Ginseng from China Town. 2 slices a day. It balances estrogen levels and basically corrects anything that happens in the body. Enough to balance everything and his mind was clear and the frankness was gone. 2.) My mother was prescribed Vioxx for her arthritis and she started having heart palpations. Later they found out that vioxx was bad and a class action demand was filed because of these leading people in heart attacks. My mother was lucky. He treated himself with ginseng again and everything came back to normal. The heart returned to health. 3.) I just read the book Metabolism Reset Diet of Allen Christiansen. He discovered a simple diet that is actually the cure for diabetes both type 1 and 2. He discovered that the liver is the key to what the pancreas does and does not. It was part of a study that cures 100 people of type 1 diabetes for a few years. They didn't market the book this way. The masses were marketed that we can heal our liver where decisions are made about what happens with glucose processing in our system. Or the pancreas takes care of it, we store it as fat to use for later or store it as fat to keep always and always. So I'm understanding these posts, our liver needs to be cured soon! You can rent the library audiobook to discover the diet. Another thing my father discovered was how to cut sugar cravings or cravings at night. He has a regiment where he fasts weekly for 1-3 days. She has recently discovered drinking baking soda mixed in water at night makes her sugar cravings disappear and has no appetite until she says so. That could be good advice for those who fight this. I will keep you informed how it goes for me and progress in the recovery time of weight/metabolism loss. I hope this is a solution for many sooo! I was taking a high dose of Prednisone (60 mg. ) along with suspension treatments that lasted one day a week for a month. The following months were a recording procedure. Depression was like being in hell. The weight gain was a constant battle. I had to constantly forgive myself for intermittent indulgences to deal with a little kindness. Vegetables and fruits were a beneficial gift. Hi, I really lose weight while raging due to inflation helps me reduce. However, when I leave if I normally raise 10-15 pounds! I hate it! This is an unusual pattern, but I believe you because prednisone is a horrible, weird drug. Please take care. I am also short stature (5'3′′′) and when I was first diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis I lost 30 pounds in 3 months because I was so fatigued and so much pain that I couldn't / didn't want to do anything. As soon as I started to take prednisone, my weight began to increase, but it wasn't so remarkable. That was three years ago... Until this day I've won the 30 pounds I lost and then some and I'm the most uncomfortable I've ever been. I wasn't in great shape when I lost the 30 pounds and was happy I lost it, but I would have lost it much more to diet and exercise and then kept it off! My RA symptoms are under control now and I have decreased the dose of 5 mg prednisone twice a day to 2.5 mg every 2 days, sometimes I can even go 3. I've started adding exercise to my routine but only twice a week and I've been eating gluten-free for the last 3 months, but I haven't lost weight yet. Do you have any recommendations? I know it's been a while and I'm sorry I haven't responded right away. If your situation is still ongoing, please give me an update. For the last two years the dose of prednisone I take has then dropped back and down as my condition gets better and then relapsed. As I write this I have been free of prednisone for a few weeks (notice in wood!). This is what I have done over the last year: I checked the services of a certified nutritionist. Checking with her now and then, even when I can't lose weight actively, it's been a way to stay honest when it comes to eating as responsible as I can give the situation. My nutritionist is compassionate and fully understanding of the challenges of keeping weight in prednisone. He didn't push me or yell at me if I needed to relax on everything. In fact, he encouraged me not to be so hard on myself. When the dose of prednisone was high and I was too depressed or my energy was limited and I had to prioritize other things like my work and my family, I did not delete it. If I really wanted seconds of ice cream, I realized and left it and enjoyed it! When I could resist, I let myself do that too. When the dose of prednisone got low enough, and was psychologically ready, I started publishing my food consumption. I use an iPhone app, lose it! to post what I eat. I find it very useful and even something fun, like a game. At first I realized only for the diary. Now that I am ready to keep within a calorie budget that is reasonable for responsible weight loss. It doesn't deprive me of anything. I understand why people want to go gluten-free and/or lower carbohydrates. If you can do it, my hat is out of you. I am more of a moderation is all kinds of girl, with emphasis on fruits and vegetables. With my nutritionist and my doctor's breath, I have also raised my activity. I walked a lot more, added yoga to the mixture with occasional free use of weight. This winter was particularly brutal on the side of the activity of things. I'm looking forward to walking out more. Until now, after doing this for four weeks, I've only lost one pound! That's frustrating, but my nutritionist and my husband, who is a microbiologist, say that my body is probably trying to cling to extra fat prednisone because he thinks it's the new normality, my current point of play. If I want to lose weight, it could mean a lot more weeks of clinging to my calorie budget and staying active despite the lack of breath on the scale. To be honest, even if the scale is a bitch, I feel better in my body. It's a little shift, but I can feel it and it feels good. I hope this will help you. I see many of these posts are from a few years ago, but I thought it might be helpful for some people. I have RA and have been in prednisone for almost 25 years (try to stay less than 10 mg.) Doctors killed my thyroid 11 years ago (it's not a good idea). I only weighed about 10-12 pounds more than I did when all this happened but I don't have muscle, or strength. So it looks and feels like I have a lot more weight on me. Now I'm about 120 pounds. I try to improve what I eat and have never been a big dining room but of course prednisone changed that for a while. The only thing that has helped in the last year or two is intermittent fasting. I usually do it on weekdays and take a break on weekends. Lo k up on the Mercola website to know how it works. That has helped enormously, also rarely as it was. Hi, Wendy, Living with the RA takes a lot of determination and courage. I'm so glad you're doing it as much as you are. Muscle mass and strength can be assisted even with a lightweight training program. You might want to check it out. Generally, I'm not crazy about fasting. If you have a program that works for you and you have been given the green light by your medical professionals (yes, I can be a broken check on the check with your doctors) then I will not pass judgment. Avoiding eating out is definitely something I can get behind! For people who should eat outside, these days menus are easily found on the web, sometimes with nutritional information! Choose your restaurant and what you'll order before you walk in the building. You'll keep a billion in bad, empty, earning calories. Thanks for the feedback and answers here. I have scleritis and was at 80 mg of Prednisone in December 2017. Now I'm at 17.5. Your time I work to lose the 15 pounds I won. I'm a LifeTime weight watcher so he gave him that support to eat better. However, they don't really have to be hungry all the time. Today I began to review my journal and become more aware. Have I heard that less than 10 mg, weight would be easier to lose? Is that fact-based? Besides, if my eyes shine while I'm recording Prednisone, then I have to take a high dose again as soon as possible. I am looking for a great result here! HI, MaryAnn, On weight losing in lower doses of prednisone you can see what I wrote in response to Penny in this thread. Your eye condition sounds a lot like my kidney condition that is prone to popping up (relapse) that are random. And a relapse always means returning to prednisone that emotionally is a blow in the intestine. As I told Penny, patience, determination and self-love are key to living with chronic disease. Doing what you can do build a solid health base between and during the appearance of bengalas is important for your body to better "return." In addition to the food magazine and the conscious food (are you sure?!!! ask your doctor what exercise is right for you to do and practice good sleep and rest habits as well as to manage your weight. Pray for the result you are looking for! Every once in a while I take Prednisone for migraines. I cut everything with sugar and added breads. I'm not a big dining room, so it helps too. I tell myself you're hungry, when you ate the last one, or it's the medicine. So far all that is useful to me. Good. I'm glad. There are new nonsteroidal drugs available for migraine that you might want to ask your neurologist about. I've heard good things. You sound exactly like me. I have PMR that ended up causing GCA. I've been in prednisone since Sept. It started to 60 mg reduced quite quickly to 20 mg. Playing from there. I'm 6 mg and my weight seems to be going in the wrong direction. I have always been very active as an adult, I exercise at least 5 days a week of cardio and weights. I started 140 jumped at 144 quickly and stayed. Even decreasing I'm winning. I'm in 152 now. I incorporated weights in my dip, but come on, it's been 2 months now that I should be on the initial gain and see results now. I also have a hashimoto disease, so there's that! I just started a very low carbohydrate diet. I think I need to cut dairy, too. You can't figure out why prednisone is decreasing and the weight is increasing... I have 58 next month 5'5 and my combat weight was 137. If I got to 140 it would be a happy and joyful shit! I have a loving relationship with this drug. Most hate! Totally from my experience, even when I was taking low doses of prednisone my weight didn't fall no matter what I did. The best thing I could do was not gain more weight, but losing what was put during the highest dose regimen didn't happen. My doctors and nutritionists told me that it was due to the long life of prednisone. That means even when I wasn't taking the medication at all I was still in my tissues and was slowly being released into my metabolism. That was another reason for me to hate prednisone. Your activity regimen sounds more than appropriate. It has strength (weights) and cardio. Even if your weight is lifted you are doing wonderful things for your body (and mind) for being active. Please don't hesitate! A higher protein, the lower carbohydrate diet is also what my nutrition coach recommended, so kudos there too! There's only two things I can recommend you don't mention. 1. If you can, with the blessing of your doctor, hire a professional and/or nutritionist coach. I learned that while I thought I was working and eating properly, I was able to find out more, finding my coach/nutritionist made a big difference. A coach who knows you knows how to train your best effort, (which, especially with chronic disease, changes from day to day and is extremely personal) without hurting you, is like gold. 2. If you have not yet done so, start a consciousness-based practice that has elements of gratitude, gentle meditation and acceptance. Accept, even grateful, for what our bodies do for us now, even when the pain, even when it is sick, even overweight, is not easy. Marianne Williamson, the spiritual writer, suggests praying for the person or something we believe has betrayed us for about 5 minutes every day for 30 days. I did this when I felt totally angry and betrayed, and many of us with chronic illness feel betrayed by our bodies. It was very difficult at first, but little by little it became easier and finally found some kind of peaceful acceptance. The energy needed to hate became a more loving energy that I could use to take care of myself. I'm at prednisone 4th maintenance dose. He won 65 and this last summer 17 pounds. In 2011 it was diagnosed with severe persistent ASTHMA and COPD and oxygen sleep apnea. In 2011 it weighed 179 now 256 pounds. I cry when I look in the mirror or try to do personal hygiene. Help what happened to the real me. serious multiple health conditions and take 40 medicines!!!! Dear Nancy, you have every reason to cry. I'm a great advocate of calling him as he is and sometimes he just sucks and that's honest and healthy to recognize. The thing is, if we get caught in the drowsiness of everything, we risk drifting into depression that is not healthy. Prednisone itself can cause mood problems. I have no idea what all the other drugs you're taking might be doing with your emotional stress. I wonder if you can talk to your doctor or nurse about the whole picture, your overall health and quality of life. Are the 40 medicines necessary? How much and what kind of exercise is right for you? Could you consult with a qualified nutritionist? I also strongly suggest talking to a health psychologist, a professional therapist who understands the intersection between self-esteem and the medical realities that are out of our control. Like almost all of us, I could really benefit from talking to someone who gets it. I've been in prednisone now for 3 months, with a dose as high as 60 mg. I'm at 40 mg right now. I'm doing two things that seem to help me get weight. First, I jumped a prednisone day every five days. Second, I'm eating low, under carbohydrate. If you do not provide glucose, your body cannot change how you process glucose. I am on the low carb website and others have had good results with this approach. I'm currently trying to keep my carbohydrates less than 10 a day. This is only temporary to persuade my body to cetosis. I lost 10 pounds. I won before I started this routine. I try to walk every day. Once my body has adjusted, I will climb my carbohydrates a little every week until I reach a point where my weight is stable. Look at the low-car friends forum. Hi, Teri. Is the low carbohydrate regime still working for you? I'd love to have an update. Hi. I have rheumatics of Malaga. In sept 2018 I started 20 mg of prednisone and I went to 3 2.5 mg daily more metotrexate once a week. The pain is gone, but my swelling is still 37. Where does the inflammation come from? Thank you for this publication. Although it's from a few years ago now it's what I needed to read. I'm on a daily dose of 75 mg for increased inflammation of severe allergies. I guess this is a reminder that I need to focus on improving and seeing what I eat. Do not look at my weight all the time – easier said than done yet! Thanks again. J.xxHi, Jenn,Yes, this article was written a long time ago but now I'm coming out of the prednisone after being in it for more than two years. By balancing being kind to myself, not sweating the weight thing too much, eating as responsibly as I could and not forget to move when I could, I could keep my weight gain to the 20 pounds I mentioned in the article. You are in a very high dose, so weight gain is just one of many challenges for you! Beware! I am so happy that the article was a help and I wish you the best! I just found his article on the net though it appeared some time ago, and he thought it was very interesting and humorous. I'm up to 2.5 for the next 3 months for my PMR. Finding the weight gain in this dose will be relieved a little. I've put around 10 pounds but because I'm just 5' really show! Best wishes. I just found this place today, so I wished I could like it. I was taking a daily dose of 120 mg for almost 10 years. I was 32 in prednisone for asthma. Weight gain was just one of the many side effects I've had. I still have to be on this drug every now and every time it's hard to see the changes my body is going through. I've never lost all the weight I've gained, but I work every day. I also use the Lose-it app and find it very useful in the struggle. Right now I'm going down to 10 mg tomorrow and I hope some of the side effects start disappearing. I'll say this about weight gain. I'm a living, I've become a good healthy cook. I work doing something every day. If I slip and have a little more than a new one should start next meal. I want good health I have an autoimmune hemolytic anemia and they put me 250 ml of prednisone for 3 years when I was 32 years old. I had a central line that was feeding me liquidally for 1 year and then I took it orally for 2 years. with another medication. I won 150 pounds in those three years. I had 5'7 and 160 pounds and now I'm 5'4 and 314 pounds. They had to take my spleen off, so now I don't have an immune system. I'm happy to be alive but it's very hard to lose all this weight. I'm not with any other medications I've been out for over 6 years, tested every diet there is but cannot lose weight. Not much to start. 3 small meals a day and plenty of water. I'll swim now that the weather is warmer. All I can do is accept that my body will never be what it used to be. Keep eating healthy and try to move as much as possible. If anyone knows how to get rid of all this fat that would be great! Wish everyone good health! Your poor dear. I've been so sick for over a year. Stiil I'll but better than me, as it was near death. However, prednisone has been a miraculous drug is also a curse. I have won 57lbs and 5'1′′ look like an absolute hippopopotamus.with moon face buffallo hump and big big stomachs. Wei's intents to titrate my dose 6 weeks ago or so I landed again in the hospital for five days with liver kidney failure. Then guess what dose higher than ever. I try not to be ungrateful or fussable about it, but it is of a massive hard look. I hope for everything best for everyone on the link. You're right, of course, to point out that it's difficult to "watch massively." And also correct in saying that as hard as it is, we all try hard to be grateful for this terrible but amazing drug that keeps us alive. I hope you feel better these days. They put me in Prednisone at 60 mg. One day for 7 days and I have to reduce it every week, now I'm taking 25 mg. one day and have about 5 more weeks. I've won about 25 pounds. I feel like I'm so big. They put me in it because I have the eye problem of Bird Shot's syndrome. After the Predisone my doctor has to try another one or I can be blind. The Predisone made my B/P stand up and step in my mouth. I don't like Predisone but my doctor said it was necessary to start with. I pray for someone with any kind of predisone problems. Jan Thank you for all the encouraging information I've been in and out for years. At first we weigh 117 The highest weight Weight 278 I started keto the last time my prednisone increased to 60 mg March this year I lost 30 pounds (248) And then I win 20 pounds back. The first week of October I won 12 pounds in a week My diet changed. How can a person earn 12 pounds in a week I'm taking 30 mg of prednisone. I'm a patient of myasthenia gravis. Respiratory Activities I recently found this article. My husband ended his treatment for nephrotic syndrome in March of last year. He got about 50-70 pounds of treatment and hasn't lost them yet. He'll lose 6 pounds a day and get it back to the next. It is a constant roller coaster without any real change. You are using the Lose it app and recording everything and eat 2200 calories or less a day (I would have to eat 3500 a day to keep your current weight). Even with this and walking, golf and strength training, it's not happening much. I'm in a loss like how to help, out of eating healthy. Any suggestion would be welcome. Thank you! Thank you for this! I stumbled upon this as I sought re-assurance and perhaps some advice on how to tame the prednisone beast! I started taking it March of this year for inflammation around my heart. I could finally get out of it in July, but I got sick again so I'm back on it now. The first round I was diligent in food intake and exercise, and I only managed to earn 5 pounds. This time, however, I have not been so lucky. I am no longer allowed to exercise, and it has been more difficult to control my appetite. I'm doing a slow ween and I'm finally down to 7.5mg, but they still have many months to go before I'm completely out. I've won around 20 pounds (I stopped regretting a month ago because it made me more depressed than I already am). I'm very grateful that he's alive and healthy. Sometimes I read the stories of the people and feel bad for feeling myself. I'm just trying to do it through this round of steroids without losing my mind or another pair of jeans. I was promised not to be returned if I got sick again so I'd be very grateful. Less than a year ago they told me that I was about an hour away from being dead, and if I did, I would need a heart transplant. I'm alive with my heart, so I have so much to thank for... But it's still so hard to try to throw my pants off every day. Anyway, thanks again for this! I'm going back to it for the advice and the good humor. I know it's an older article. I wanted to thank you for that and all the comments. They are very useful and reassuring. I have been in prednisone for 1 year on a continuous basis and several years before as 'bursts' to treat bengalas. Gain between 60 mg cleared 2.5 mg but settled in about 10 mg a day. I've put 30 pounds this past year. I'm happy that my symptoms of my illness are being more controlled, but I can't even recognize myself in the mirror now. I'm trying to be nice to myself and stay positive. It's a lot harder then I figured, I hate to see people who haven't seen me in a while. People who have seen my body become this round soft state, but don't know me well enough to know that I'm treating a disease, become my biggest obstacle. I want to scream "I've been in high doses of prednisone, it's not my fault that I'm fat and crazy." As summer comes, I'm afraid, none of my summer clothes are coming to fit with me, and my body is out of shape, swollen and mushy. I have no confidence in showing any part of my skin. I pray for rain and days in long shirts and hoods. It is easy to think that you can accept the way you look, as long as you are healthier, it is very difficult in practice. There's also good on my trip. I'm kinder and I have less judgment on others. I am stronger in my faith. I love my children, husband and family more! I didn't even know it was possible. My love for them helps me to accept the things I cannot change. I know my way could be worse. It is useful to read this and know that I am not simply superficial in losing my old body, but the loss is real. I am working to accept my new path and my new body, I will not give up being in a healthy weight, but understanding my body is different now. This year, as it has been terrible for me by the constant rises of my asthma, as a result back to the rear steroids all year that as a result made me gain a lot of weight especially a moon face. And it's really coming down. How can I lose this extra weight of time. I'm with you. Now I'm so paranoid about my asthma coming out of control! Although regularly controlled through the medication, this past year has been the worst! I've put a total of 23 pounds since February of having to take prednisone so often. It's like this weird catch 22. I'm trying to fix myself to take my weight off, but my lung capacity tires me. It's crazy! I have also gained a lot of weight from this meditification, I have been of it about 2 weeks of earned weight that I was from 124 pounds to now 150 & I don't know what to do I can get a tip thanks Hello. Alina, Please read this article carefully and all comments and answers. I think you'll find some useful things there. You want to stop the weight gain, that's for sure. Prednisone has a long average life, which in pharmaceutical terms means that it stays in your body for a long time before it is completely metabolized and out of your system. The good news: Sounds like you're prednisone OFF now! Hello I've just started taking prednisone 40ml for inflection, I'm 46 years old and I'm already on weight!!! I am so worried about the effects of this drug and I almost want to stop it before it started!! What could happen if I reduced the dose to 20 ml? Could you tell me too if taking water retention tablets will help? Tanya Don't reduce your prescription dose for prednisone on your own! Don't mess with that without talking to your doctor! Seriously, I'm not playing around here. Prednisone has to be carefully weaned. That's one thing. The other thing is: Many of us take what is called diuretic to decrease the water retention that can be caused by the condition we have or the medication we are in. Again, that's a good question for your medical professionals. Another possible way to reduce fluid retention is to cut salt from your diet as much as possible and, ironically, drink plenty of water. But again, ask your medical team first. Thank you for this article. I have polymyalgia and I'm in prednisone, and I've been for 8 months. I seem to have swallowed a balloon, and my stomach is as unattended as my cheekbones. I'm five feet one. I'll soon be like a walking pudding, unless my efforts to stop the appetite work. My report from my heart specialist mentions "obessive marks" and so I am mortified. I manage a mild exercise class twice a week, and walk (it's amazing how much shopping helps with that) even with pain. I hope to survive without further complications. Keep the good work all. Today I heard of someone who is out of prednisone and now is too thin!! Is there anything so thin? I also suffer from PMR and GCA Hold on there and keep moving help I know it's been a long time. I hope you feel better, Barbara. I wanted to approach the thing too thin because it can be misleading, as misleading as calling weight-enhancing medication "obesity" :(grrr!) What we tend to forget is that under water and fat retention that causes prednisone is muscle and bone. The weakening of the muscle and bone is listed as a "secondary effect" of the prednisone that may seem "very thin." Keeping the mild exercise routine will help keep you from going there. But I also understand, when we've been on the other side of the skin for so long it's hard to imagine being too thin! I just found this, I have ulcerative colitis, and the last three years have been hell. I've been in all kinds of medications, infusions, now in humira, petrified to gain weight is putting my stress on me. I'm on a low waste diet that includes only white carbohydrates. Veg, fruits are not allowed now. Dr. wants to put me in 40 mg of prednisone and wet me every week. One please help me. I'd love your thoughts. My email is how you doing, Judy? I have UC too. The low waste diet is what they tried to put me on too, but it's horrible. A terrible experience with prednisone brought me to this article in an attempt to prepare myself in case my UC decided to attack before my wedding. I've been in QOD prednisone 120 mg for a kidney disorder since May. I'm finally starting to record.(in 40mg QOD)I won 30 pounds and I'm afraid it won't come out. The pain of weight gain is making exercise difficult. Any suggestions? I'm still looking for stuff about weight loss in prednisone. I'm 5'0 and the last time I was weighed (in October) I had 157 pounds. I have arthritis (at 16!) and I am currently in 30 mg. He had lost 10 pounds of arthritis and then he had earned more than 20 pounds once in the medications. It probably weighs more now, I have the face of the moon and I hate it! I'm also taking actemra(injections) and my doctor told me to start taking 5 mg less prednisone once I've been in the injections for a month (because I had a bad reaction the last time I tried to support myself without injections, hopefully cancel it) that will be next week. I'm extremely impatient and I just want my old weight back. I look at the pictures 6 months ago and I'm so angry that I don't appreciate it anymore. All I read is that losing the weight of prednisone is impossible and people barely lose anything once they get down. I've even read that you don't lose facial fat until you have less than 10 mg. Did someone start at 30 mg and then lose weight once they started to slow down? Any pointer? Besides, it's even worse because I don't have an excessive appetite or I'm so hungry, but I'm still winning like crazy. That's absolutely the worst. And it's true. So often the best I could do when in prednisone was to keep weight gain on a trot instead of full in galp! Hi, Melissa, I'd like to hear what others have experienced. For me, once I started recording, at least I wasn't gaining weight anymore, but I had to be completely out of the prednisone and out for a few weeks before feeling that some weight collapses. It always took a lot more time to lose the weight he did to win it. It's not fair! Once I could get out of the prednisone. I've consulted with a nutritionist to help me lose weight. We made progress with a sensitive and balanced diet that (finally!) I could control. Hi, Dr. Aletta. I finished an 8-week prednisone course (about 40 mg) about 2 weeks ago and I haven't noticed any changes in my body yet. How long after she stopped she realized the difference? Hi. Sophia, I'm going to assume that what you mean by "making a difference" is "when I lose the extra weight of prednisone"? I'm not a doctor, so please understand that I can only talk about my own personal experience. The face of the moon and other changes that were brought by the prednisone took longer to resolve that they appeared first. I know that's not fair, but it's the way it is. You can help things along smart food, drink plenty of water, avoid salt and exercise a great dose of patience. At some point, you'll look in the mirror and see you again. I have a kidney transplant. And I've been on massive steroids. They gave me 1000 mg infusions. And it started at 200 and now I'm at 2.5 mg. It is very possible to lose weight on steroids. You just have to eat raw vegetables anf keeps you calories under 1000. That's still a lot of fog if your fresh vegetables. And don't drink liquid calories. Do some way to walk every day. You'll see results at no time, Melissa! Congratulations on your new kidney! That's wonderful! My sister had a kidney transplant in February and she's fine. I hope you're doing well too. I'm going to take a leap and assume that he consulted with a registered dietitian or nutritionist about his food and liquid consumption. If you haven't, please. You probably don't want to hear this: 1000 calories are considered very low and puts a person at risk for complications in metabolism, loss of muscle mass and other problems. Eating only vegetables, without important proteins, can also contribute to deficiency problems throughout the body. Please let your medical professionals know what you're doing so they can help you judge if you can be putting your new kidney, not to mention your other internal organs, under stress without knowing it. Losing weight can wait. Starting a dose of 60 mg prednisone for low platelets during pregnancy. I have 34 weeks so the longest I will be in it (if it works) is 6 weeks (my Dr will take me away after giving birth). Having already gained weight from pregnancy, I am terrified of packing in more pounds! With a sensitive diet and exercise (as I can do at this stage) what do you think should wait until weight gain for 6 weeks?! That nervous! Your doctor and I want you to relax for your good, as well as the baby :). And you have reason to relax. The best news is that you have a medical professional who's on top of what you and your baby need. Besides, you're taking that advice, despite your nerves. Good for you! The second good news is that you're not in the prednisone for a long time. For now we're talking about a few weeks, which can feel forever, but they'll happen. The weight you earn now is partly because your baby is growing and, yes, what prednisone contributes. But that will come out after you have delivered and recovered from the delivery. You're doing the best to eat and exercise in a sensible way. Give yourself a big pat on your back, time and patience. In other words, your mother as well as your son. Thank you so much for this post. I was in Prednisone for 2.5 years, from 60 mg a day, the last 9 months only 5 mg. Now I am completely shut down for 3 weeks and – more likely to have GAINED a pound. Tracking my calories with Lose it! already before the tape, with approximately 1500 calories. I can't eat much less, because I'm a kidney patient and we should eat. Also the low carbohydrate diet is impossible, because I must limit the protein in my food. In total I won around 26 pounds, I would be happy to lose at least half of it, but at this time it seems hopeless. One good thing: my moon face really goes away. Is it possible that weight loss is more difficult, if the prednisone has led me to menopause (very early, but my period stopped a month after beginning prednisone)? Best wishes for all who struggle with the same problems!!! Hey, Eva. Congratulations on having cut the tape and lost that moon face. Isn't it nice to see your beautiful smile in the mirror again? It's too early for you to feel hopeless, even if I have. When menopause is launched in the prednisone weight gain mix it may feel quite insurmountable. Despite this, your goal of losing half the prednisone weight sounds so reasonable! If you have not yet done so, consider a consultation with a registered and qualified dietitian. A good one could help find some creative ways to balance the type of nutrition you need to keep your kidneys happy and out of prednisone. And you don't mention exercise. Check with your doctor. If she/he gives you the green light, look at incorporating a bit of cardio (walk, run, bike) and cross-training (lift loads, using resistance machines), in your daily routine. Sudaring a little might be the magic that helps burn some of that extra weight of prednisone. Thank you so much! My physical activities include a lot of walking every day. When I left prednisone, I was very weak first 4 weeks, also a lot of pain in arms, shoulders, back, so I started walking much less, but now I try to get back to my usual 5-10 km pro day. My doctor also suggests pilates. For me to walk fast is what really makes me happy.:). But I'll try to include stacks on my schedule too. Thank you so much! Hi. Eva, I'm glad you're moving. Walking has been called the ideal exercise! Do what the happiest will do to you! Pilates can be a bonus to support your walk. Did you know that pilates was created by Dr. Joseph Pilates to help BWI soldiers get back? True story! When I was younger, between relapses, I used to be a runner. That was the exercise that made me happy. At the late middle age, after several long episodes in prednisone, I never thought I could run again. After two years of prednisone and dedicated work to strengthen my muscles (and bones) I always started so slowly, to walk for exercise and stress reduction. Then walk/run again. Then run. I'm not saying you should run, because walking is awesome. I'm saying we should, when we can, do more than it makes us happy. I've been in several doses of prednisone since I've developed mycoplasma pneumonia and was barely alive. This disease caused adult disease. Now my immune system is fried, but I take 10 mg daily, increasing to 60 mg with bengalas of all my autoimmune diseases and asthma. When my pancreas was attacked, I lost so much weight that it was a bag of bones. I had surgery back in December, and of course the doses of prednisone. I was eating NOHING! However, I could literally feel the weight that happens. I'm afraid to wake up every day, because my clothes stay tighter. My motto is: never quit, it is better to take prednisone and feel healthier, the weight we can work on. I didn't say it was fun! Keep a positive attitude to everyone, I also have dark days. Yeah, but I'm alive. Thank you. Barb. I would like to have read this article when I was first prescribed for pulmonary sarcoidosis. I've been taking Prednisone for 18 months and I've put 25 kg. For the last 3 months my weight has been slimming because of the careful calorie account and a lot of exercise. I hope that the sausage I take soon will be reduced, so I can start dealing with some weight. Hi. Thank you for publishing experiences and ur tips. It is very reassuring to see how others deal with our good bad and bad friend prednisone I have RA and started taking prednisone to stabilize outbreaks in explosion doses. I stopped using it when they prescribed metotrexate This worked well for about a year, but I continued to have a raised wbc. After s battery of tests it was determined that I have inlungs inflammation probably caused by the RA I only got 40 mg per prednisone day for the next 6 weeks. I did not experience any weight gains previously when using it. Since last July I have lost 105 pounds through diet and exercise. My goal is to lose other hundreds (I am 6 feet 4 and weighs 415 pounds. I am now still 6'4" but from today it weighs 310). I work 5 days a week mostly aerobics. I have read that a person can realize anywhere from a weight gain of 5 pounds to 7 pounds per 10 mg of prednisone or take. My question is: it can increase the weight to be controlled by strict dietary control ; decrease sodium intake: increase potassium; do not roast; exercise; and finally treat with the side effects that you cannot control. Am I being realistic? Some weight gain could be inevitable and how it is distributed I have no control over. I just started this regime a few days ago, so thank you for having this forum. Your humor and your wit are appreciated. Hello, Bob! Congratulations on weight loss of over 100 pounds in a healthy way despite RA and medications. You're amazing! To clarify, your question is: Am I realistic? What you are asking if you are realistic is: You can increase the weight being controlled by strict dietary control; decrease sodium intake: increase potassium; do not bind food; exercise; and finally treat with the side effects that you cannot control. Some weight gain could be inevitable and how it is distributed I have no control over. The key words here are "weight gain control" with this regime, while in the prednisone. I think weight gain control is realistic. I did something similar the last time I was in Prednisone for more than two years. I have still gained weight, but I know in my heart that it would have been much worse if I hadn't tried to eat well, exercise, drink a lot of water, lose salt, etc. There is something about prednisone, which is a steroid, after all, that changes metabolism and distributes fat on our face, the top of the back and the belly. So no matter how hard we try we're going to gain weight. It's human to be discouraged. We all have to remember to be proud and kind to ourselves for doing the best we can in these conditions. Thanks for publishing one of the few prednisone reviews that doesn't just blame the person who eats about weight gain... prednisone in high enough amounts will put fat. I was in a 250 mg prednisone rescue treatment a day, (I know it's a massive dose, I got too chemo) and then it was recorded. But I could tell you that it really didn't matter what I ate, I could barely eat the way it was. I never ate too much, it was impossible for me at the time, but I still won 30 pounds. Thanks to Prednidone's extremely long midlife — It took me years of strength training, strength training, cardio, to get that particular prednisone fat distribution. It was very difficult. The cancers are gone and I still have a small roll in my belly. It's almost off. Hi, Diane. You are a cancer/prednisone survivor superhero and role model! His recovery is an inspiring story of hard work and persistence. Thank you for sharing your story with us here. My head almost exploded imagining I was in 250 mg prednisone for any amount of time! That, and all you've been through, had to be a fire trial. Who cares about a "small roll in the belly"? You're a strong and resilient woman! He enjoyed finding some kind of comfort/understood. I've been in Prednisone for almost 5 years for fibromyalgia. It is a miraculous medicine, period, for intense pain. However, I have won 35 lbs-calling it my "prednisone baby" and I want to contact the manufacturers so that I can name the "baby" after them and tell them, "You know, when your batting a prednisone lot, just leave the "elements that cause fat" Out! I would like to pay much more for the drug, as everyone else I am sure!!! Although it works well for pain, spinning around the extra pounds. It leaves me breathless, so I do less. As incredibly never as it was, without processed food, without starch, without fatless milk. Snack in a pair of shrimps, scalp, tuna or oysters (all the plains). Meals are tilapia, salmon, chicken breast with frozen vegetables and edamanes. I love how it lets me feel... hate the belly, the face of the moon and the lump on the back. I guess if they wanted to specifically do a drug to do that, could they? We all know... they could. Hello, Sue, Fibromyalgia can be very painful. I'm glad you found some relief with the prednisone. It is so good that you are eating well, with a lot of protein and whole foods. That's wonderful. You might want to talk to your doctor about your inhalation when you move. Generally, for many of us with autoimmune disease, a vicious cycle can develop where we move less because we are in pain or feel literally regret. Do not move results in increased pain and reduction of cardiovascular health, which prevents us from moving. Research supports the movement for pain reduction, maintaining the range of movement and the health of the heart/ lung despite our inflammatory disease. I understand why you do less, I just ask you to register with your health professionals to see if there's anything you can do to move smoothly a little bit more. Putting that aside, I assure you that the pharmaceutical industry would only love to discover a prednisone without weight. I am not a fan of 'Big Pharma' but you are right: you, me and millions of others would pay a lot for that medication. That's why, if they could, they would. Not only would it make them rich[er], who discovered prednisone without weight would win the Nobel Prize! I was diagnosed with double pneumonia in August and was hospitalized for two weeks and treated with antibiotics. I went back to my doctor in November feeling I had pneumonia so I got another dose of antibiotics. Quick Advance until January 2, 2018 I woke up without feeling well that I had a lack of breath when the rescue team arrived there my oxygen level was 69 I was taken to the hospital running to surgery to have a part of my lung removed and a chest tube put in to drain the fluid. They put me in life support and ICU in high-flow oxygen at 6 liters. When I woke up 6 days later, I was informed that the pneumonia I had in August had never left and that it had become the pneumonia organization and had attacked my lungs so they would have to remove the part it damaged. Finally I was fired on January 28, 2018 just to be home two days before I started to have really bad chest pain so back to the hospital I went to know that I had a pulmonary embolism that was giving me heparin to prevent blood clots and was having terrible leg cramps coming to discover that I was allergic to heparin and had DVT in my right leg that the clots were breaking the pains. My team of doctors was afraid of having another pulmonary embolism and my body would not be able to handle it so I rushed to operate again so they would put an IVC filter on me. I've been through hell and back. I was at 240 mg of prednisone in the hospital, I was discharged to 40 mg for 3 weeks and then dropped to 20 mg, which is where I am now. I've earned 30 pounds in a month. I have the moon face, my stomach seems to be pregnant for 9 months and I can't fit into any of my clothes. I'm already pretty depressed with everything that's happened more to be in oxygen 24/7. I need help to lose this weight because I'll be in prednisone for at least another month until I see the doctor. I got my doctor to prescribe a liquid pill to help reduce the fluid retention I'm having. I am grateful to be alive though I am so miserable with all this extra weight that makes it harder to breathe. I can't exercise because my oxygen levels fall so quickly with effort plus a back injury that I have from a car accident in 2008. Amanda, you've been in hell and back, several times in fact. I'm so sorry about everything you've been through. There's a lot going on with your health, weight gain being one. Right now it's probably not time to be thinking about losing weight. From this distance, I am not qualified to give you direct advice. My approach while in prednisone is weight gain control, not weight loss. I hope you have doctors, or just a doctor, doctor, assistant, nurse, patient attorney, psychotherapist, any qualified medical professional, whom you can talk to, who listens to you, sees you and is willing to be creative about how to help you on all fronts. You need, and you deserve, to have that person, someone with boots on the floor with your best interest in the heart. Dr. Aletta, first of all, I would like to thank you for creating this website. I find the comments to be useful and enlightening for those who have to take prednisone for several reasons. Although it does not mean sound too critical, I would like to suggest that you clarify your title. From the only comment he posted on February 8, 2018, I understand he's not a "medical" Dr. I guess you're a doctor? I think that some people, (including myself) seeing first the title "Dr." in front of a name, mistakenly presume that the writer is a "medical" Dr. You have probably clarified this more than once, yet I only saw it once. I suggest it would be useful for readers if you were to clarify your title by addressing yourself as phD, instead of simply "Dr." I recently visited another medical forum where a moderator, also a doctorate, did not address himself as "Dr.", but simply his name, with doctorate after him. I think this is especially important when you're commenting on a medically related forum, so readers don't think they're getting medical advice. Thank you for not offending in this comment. Hi. It is really great to hear that you find the blog, articles and useful comments. Thank you. I love it when people contribute to conversation from their own place of experience and wisdom. About the "doctor": Psychologists have this a lot. We have a doctorate and education. I am a clinical psychologist that means that I have training, education and experience as a scientific researcher, as well as a clinic that provides clinical care, personal to person. The title "Dr" is appropriate and descriptive for people with a doctorate, but I understand where you come from. Doctors who are doctors rarely have to explain, which makes me entangle, I have to admit. I do my best, here in this blog, and in my other writing and presentations, to be clear about who I am and what I am qualified and unqualified to address. Doctors and doctors have something important to bring to the table respecting our professional fields of practice. I can't tell a person if it's okay to change his recipe, so I don't, and I'll explain why. As a psychologist, I can explain, among other things, why this medicine in particular at that dose can influence your mood and quality of life, how to deal with it not medically, tolerate it and decrease side effects. Doctors are often not trained or qualified to give advice on the psychological aspects of treating with the disease, as well as I am not trained or qualified to cut someone open to remove an aggressive tumor. A good professional knows and respects his limits; when to defer and/or refer to another specialty. I thought a lot and a lot about how to introduce myself to the public. I usually choose "Elvira G Aletta, PhD" for non-conversional situations, such as email signatures, bios or my online profiles, and "Dr. Aletta" when communication is more conversational, as in this blog and in these comments. I don't do Dr. Phil because, frankly, my name is a challenge. If I were Anne or Jennifer that would be one thing, but "Elvira" is often mis pronounced as the-VI-rah, when actually pronounced the-VEE-dah. Most people don't know and why should they? So it's Dr. It spells until we get to know each other better. Then please call me Elvira. Just, I beg you, to pronounce it "the-VEE-dah". What kind of doctor are you? Hi, James, I'm a clinical psychologist. It was at 60 mg. Prednisone tablets for giant cellular arthritis. I lost partial sight in one eye. I've had good results of reactive proteins c and thirst rate. They've finally fainted. My body parts are slowly releasing fat a little at a time. How long will it take to disappear the accumulated fat inside the knees? Prednesone caused many infections I was diagnosed with organising pneumonia recently after 2 weeks of hospital stay. I haven't really felt good for a few years, I've always been told that I had pneumonia. I've won 40 pounds the last two years and I've been in a lot of predinsone. I have a moon face and I am very swollen... I am 5'2" and my normal weight is 125. Reading about autoimmune diseases is the only post I've found that someone else has the organization of pneumonia. I feel so desperate, like I'm not gonna get better. I'm so tired I even thought I was sleeping all night. Is there any reason I haven't heard much about organizing pneumonia? I'm sorry, but organizing pneumonia is a condition that I have nothing now. Have you asked your doctor or nurse to diagnose a link with an article or chapter to help understand this? Be careful what you read on your own because your case is unique. When I was diagnosed with scleroderma, I had no idea what it was. I started doing an investigation that was a mistake because it was full of worse case scenarios. In addition to your medical team, if you have a good trusted friend, you are not prone to drama, you could do research for you, which could be helpful. Hi, it was in 30 mg and more for 9 months and recently yielded up to 5 mg per month. Everyone told me that the weight would "fall" once I was under 7 mg but I've been eating 1000-1100 calories a day and I can't lose a pound! Is it possible to lose weight at 5 mg? My doctor wants me to stay on it indefinitely! I hate to say this, Natalie, but if weight loss is possible at 5 mg daily, it won't be easy. Prednisone is one of those drugs that is absorbed by each cell in our bodies and has a long average life which means that even in low doses or even when we are completely out of the drug, there is an amount that is still slowly released into our bloodstream in addition to what we are taking. Losing weight can be possible. I admit I hope this is true to myself as that is what I am today. But I do know it's not going to "fall" and I don't want to go crazy with unrealistic expectations. Now, having said that, I'm worried you're not eating enough calories! That low calorie budget can work against you. What you eat is as important as calories counts. If you have not yet done so, I recommend that you consult a good dietitian, well qualified, registered to receive guidance. And, by the way, who said that the additional weight would "fall" once you were under a dose of 7 mg, should be tied and the power fed 30 mg of prednisone for 9 months and see how that goes for them. I'd lost 50 pounds and kept for over a year, so I just left all my "fat" clothes. I had to go with long-term steroids until I can get immunosuppressant for lupus and myasthenia. Since then I have won 40 pounds in a month of steroids, mainly water. I'm in two diuretics, he can barely breathe or move, and nothing fits. My daughter will graduate in 2 weeks and I'm already fearing the pictures. I have a moon face, jumping back and stomach as tight as if I were pregnant for 9 months. I just got to a happy weight. I know they're necessary to keep me out of the hospital and live, 7 hospitalizations from xmas, but his really takes a toll. I'm sorry, I think I need to ventilate. You sell everything you want, Chauncey. Most of us in these comments know exactly how horrible it is to work so hard by caring for our body, working for a healthy weight that we feel good, just so they take it off, which feels during the night. I'm not crazy about having my picture taken at any time, but when in prednisone, when I don't feel like myself at all, forget it. I'll say italics, because as cheesy as it is, it's true. Your daughter doesn't care how she looks. He cares desperately that you're there, alive, being a bad model of determination and love. Having said that, put something on the darkest side of the spectrum, put yourself at an angle, and smile! From January to July 2017, I lost 30 pounds with exercise and leaving out sugars and big aids. This left me at 131 pounds. In September, I had an episode that left my right eye blinded in the rush of a moment. No warning. I found it as GCA (white cell arthritis). The protocol is to pump 3000 mg Prednisone for a three-day period in the hospital; prevent vision loss in other eyes, as well as many other symptoms. Then they put me 100 mg a day decreasing monthly until today, May 10, 2018 I am in 5 mg a day. Now, in the meantime, Nov. 2017, I started another medication recently approved for the RA, 280 mg Actemra per month by IV. Between the two drugs, I've picked up exactly 20 pounds. I fought furiously, running, running, and watching diet (no salt, no sugar) The weight goes on. Then they diagnosed another disease, Polymyalgia Rumatica. This hurts every joint, every muscle, and avoids the exercise and functioning that depended on keeping the weight low. My daughter is a nutritionist and helps me as best she can. I could handle the craving before all this was introduced. I'm just trying to pray. I am 73 years old, while labs say that my arteries agree on everything, I will live and eat, as well as with health in mind. Please don't hit yourself. This site should help you understand that you are not alone and there are a lot of (normal?) young people who look much worse than me and are proud to use skinny jeans! Greetings about pride and asks for God's help. Your wisdom is priceless, Peggy. I thank you for sharing your story with us. You have such a young voice, I spent when you revealed your chronological age. You remind me of my older sister, who suffered a kidney transplant after years of dialysis and everything that comes with him. Pure spirit without age. "Calm on pride and ask for God's help." I'm gonna share that everywhere! I've been very fond of reading this today. I've also been fighting with a huge gain of prednisone and corticosteroid weight. Read stories of villages and Aletta's answers has made me feel more accepting my situation.. I need to be compassionate with myself, it's not my fault that I've won 50 pounds. I got a kidney transplant 39 years ago, after six years of hemodialysis at home. This miraculous gift was from my sister. I want to concentrate on the miracle, instead of the weight of my body. The positive more than the negative. God bless you, Kathryn. I pray that your new sister-chidney will keep doing this is a miraculous thing. My sister was in hemodialysis for two years until her husband became a party and she got her husband-chidney. Six years in dialysis! I can't even imagine. I applaud your wonderful attitude: "Keep focused on the positive rather than the negative" Four years ago I turned around. I lost more than 60 pounds in less than a year with the help of Loseit (healthy diet) and Fitbit (daily empty). Before April 2018, I was diagnosed with ITP. A rare disease of blood attacking. The first treatment is prednisone, which has not stabilized my problem. I'm currently recording prednisona. My doctor is treating other non-steroidal treatments for my disease. However, along with the stress of reaching terms with a disease that will never be cured I am dealing with the stress of weight gain. I've earned about 20 pounds since diagnosis. I have a lifelong membership with Loseit and plan to recheck me. My question is... what can I really expect to see until weight loss? I can lose weight. I've done it before. In fact, I've done it twice. Last winter I had bunion surgery on both feet and lost the few pounds of it. Is the prednisone gonna make me lose the pounds any longer and it'll take longer? What are your thoughts and/or experience with this? Dear Penny, In my experience and the stories I hear from others (in other words, not scientifically proven that I know) when we are taking prednisone at high doses (anything more than 15 mg a day) the best we can do is to focus on weight management. That's it, doing what we can to keep the weight gain and keep where we are. At the lower doses and, please God, when we are completely off, a very slow weight loss may be possible. Prednisone has what is called a long half life, which means it stays around in the body so there is a continuous release of prednisone for a while even after we have stopped taking it. That's a reason why weight loss is slow despite being out of it. I learned this the hard and frustrating way that is why I am sharing this with you. Patience and determination is the key. But being nice to you is also important. I admire, so much, that you turned your life four years ago. So for this rare blood disease to hit you, that's just horrible. You sound like a strong and resilient woman. If you keep doing the best you can, which sounds awesome, you'll be fine. Just please remember to be nice to you on the way. This article and comments have been very useful. Thank you! It's good to know that I'm not alone in this part of chronic disease. After having a bone marrow transplant to treat a rare blood disorder I started in prednisone for the treatment of the Verus tap host disease. I've been in prednisone for 9 months and I've earned 35 pounds. To be honest, at first I was happy to put some weight, as I was very thin. Now that I'm the heaviest I've ever been in my life, I feel so disgusting. I've always followed a fairly strict diet but this is something completely different. I'm always hungry! I'm also very active. I walk my dogs every day for an hour, I go to yoga 3 times a week. I'm skiing down, too. I'm so grateful to be able to do all these things, but I can't stop putting it in weight. I also feel I have no capacity to gain muscle. Or if it's there it's under a huge layer of fat. My dose was originally 55 mg a day. I'm currently 10 mg per day. I keep waiting to look in the mirror and see my face as it used to be. It's not a big mess. I'm going to take the advice of no sugar or salt and hope that helps with the swelling of my hands. I can't use my rings and I needed to replace every bra I owned with a bigger size. Oh and almost all the clothes on my closet. Believe me, I'm happy to be alive! Thank you every day. Imagine that after all the treatment I went through my chronic leukemia, this seems to be the hardest part. Thank you for sharing the article! Thank you so much for sharing your story, Sharla. I hope the dose has dropped even further. Keep the movement and the great attitude! Even though he can't show out he's making a difference. Yeah. Fight the monster of Prednisone's weight and feel the mood shift to despair. Contemplating the pros and cons... I take the prednisone and gain weight or go blind and be thin again. It's not a real question. I don't want to be blind. But. I don't want to be fat either. I'm frustrated and I feel like growing along with my waist size. Thanks for your article. I'm gonna try your suggestions. I am a great believer in the occasional feast of piety. Healthy people don't understand it when they say "you shouldn't feel sorry for yourself." Sometimes we just have to say "This sucks." That's it. Complete stop. We simply don't want to be 100% trapped there because there is a life to live, people who need us and love to be given and received, great waist and everything. I see the comments are years ago and I don't know if anyone will read this. But I wanted to say that I was in the prednisone for two and a half months and now I've been out of it for two months, but the face of the moon is still remarkable. I don't look like the person I was before. I still have fat on my cheeks. I haven't gained weight anywhere else except my face and I'm really underweight. I'm still in high school, so it's hard when all my colleagues notice the change and I'm constantly so sad. Is there anything I can do to help you? I feel so helpless that I don't know what to do. I'm here looking for peace, I guess. Thanks xxLana, First, there is a community here, there are more recent comments, it is only my fault for being a non-big moderator. I apologize. If I were more in this, I would have said it's always been a long time getting rid of the fat side effect of the prednisone of what he did to bring it. It is a biochemical thing that has to do with the long average life of prednisone, how long it takes to leave our body even after we have stopped taking it. I hope you'll start seeing your face back now. Please let us know. I am currently hacking this situation right now, and I have found that cutting the sodium completely is the best way to avoid weight gain. Literally, I've seen my moon face blow on weekends when sodium is a major ingredient in my food. It's not even funny how fast it happens too. I've been on a raw diet since I heard about it, and slowly, but surely, the weight is falling. There's nothing worse than the moon face prednisone, wow, I wasn't ready for that. Yay for you! Cutting sodium/salt can be difficult. Both food at restaurants, processed before entering the door, is loaded with salt. It's been a while to teach our taste buddies to live without her but it does happen! In fact, we eventually started to taste flavors that were masked by a layer of salt. Who knew the vegetables could be sweet? And the great variety of spices and non-sodium herbs! I don't have any saloteurs or grinders in my house anymore. When guests come, pour some loose salt into a bowl for them 🙂 And yes, the face of the moon is one of the most difficult side effects to live. It's our face! It's pretty horrible when we don't recognize the person in the mirror. But you're in there and it's great that you can handle it by managing your food and you drink. Hello, everyone. This forum is so supportive and good to share experiences. I was recently diagnosed with Vasculitis and started with a conical dose of 40 mg. It also started with a growing dose of Tacrolimus-immune drug suppression- It's been a 2-month diagnosis and having gone from medication to a chronic disease has been trying. But now I have accepted that without this medicine and steroids my vision is threatened. I also think you have to try the place first (hard I know) and be kind to your mind and body and take a day at once. I am a nurse and exercise regularly and I have always tried to eat healthy. What could be easier for one of us here, for example, exercise or access to healthy foods, etc. varies Also based on what disease we are fighting and what doses etc. But I'm a lawyer and I think the smallest things simple, with patience, help. I have completely eliminated the salt (complicated) by drinking plenty of water / herbal tea. Do not dairy or refined wheat or sugar and continue my exercises regularly. I've been monitoring my blood sugars and noticed that they are biting soon after my morning steroids. But settle later. I have the mentality that "body" is a car in the garage, arranged and needs time to adjust and focus on "basic" nutrition for example oat/ eggs/ fungi (very anti-inflammatory) Teddy fish / chick with herbs instead of salt. Broccoli and cauliflower rice instead of many star cards. Tortitas / hummus and carrots. Low fruit of carbohydrates, strips and strawberries and 1x of small banana a day. I haven't been hungry yet.. I miss not grabbing a sandwich / chips fries, burger .. but thinking outside the box really keeps my mind busy too and like a new hobby. Good luck to everyone, try something new.. Maybe do something you've never tried to avoid salt and well I think we all know that sugars are bad anyway. It could be a small difference... being that steroid warrior.. But one at peace with you has also XI the organization of pneumonia... I just found out. Does anyone know anything about it? I've been so sick and I feel so desperate. I wish I knew. It's a new term for me. Your diagnostic MD should sit with you and explain, to your satisfaction, what is and what the plan is for treatment. If they don't go to their superior. If you do not have a higher consideration get a second opinion. Hi, I'm watching this post. I'm looking for answers that none of my doctors have addressed. He had been in prednisone for 10 years at 12 mg per day. I won about 15 pounds initially that they left. Then I lost about 20 pounds for a period of 6 months six years ago. He was very low weight and had zero muscle tone. I've been out of prednisone for a year. I started gaining weight as soon as I got out of it. Now I'm up 25 pounds and I don't know when it'll stop. Has anyone gained weight coming out of prednisone? Is muscle loss a side effect of the drug? Is my body returning to your healthy state? I'm a dietitian so I understand calories in vs calories. I can't mathematically explain how I'm gaining so much weight with what I've been eating. If someone has experienced something like that, I would really appreciate some advice. It was more difficult for me to keep the weight loss that I managed to go under carbohydrates, without added sugar once I reached about 4 mg. But luckily staying on the diet has kept me within a desired range. So I feel like I've lost tone. Yeah. I described the feeling to my rheumatologist as years of sudden age. My skin always had a pretty good tone. Suddenly, while recording 2 mg, I found it crepey, and sensitive and thinner in a different way than I experienced in higher doses when I kept an antibiotic ointment and bandages in my car because they would cut me so easily. I also felt that my body had become a set of bones very tied. That has improved and moved is not accompanied by strange skeletal noises. But how to rebuild? I guess it's a matter of slowly starting and building. That's where I am these days. Dear Hilda, how have you been since you shared your story here a year ago? I'd really like to know. I recently had a kidney transplant. I went to the hospital 130 pounds and left 5 days later 158. I had 2 very high injections of prednisone and then I left the hospital taking 35 mg each day for 1 month, then decreased over time so far I am in 5 mg a day for the rest of my life along with the rest of my medications. 4 to 5 miles a day and train of strength with a coach 3 times a week, look what I eat. Now I'm more active than now 10 years ago. My question... how long do you think it'll take my weight to stabilize and start losing some of this weight? You may not want to hear this, but I'll say it anyway: I wouldn't worry about weight loss for a year after the transplant. You have a new kidney, no more dialysis! You're doing all right! So it's still honest about what you eat, stay within a reasonable calorie intake, move the way you are and get a lot of rest. Stronger. Your weight should be stable soon. Weight loss will take longer, but it will happen. Kill yourself and the miracle your body is doing, keeping your new kidney cutting. Hi doctor, I have an eye problem in which I have no vision in my left eyes doctors thought that because of a worm, so I took steroids wysolone high doses for 2 years and went to the end of 2018, do you think the weight I've earned is going to return to the normality I use to weigh 58 and now I have 68 and if yes how long I can take as football game I worry that I am in my way of playing professional Dear Tanmay, it takes so long. I have been dealing with my own health crisis that prevented me from writing and keeping track of all the wonderful comments here. I hope you've found a lawyer for your doctors and/or a good dietitian and been able to tear the extra weight. Thanks for this. I've been on steroids for 40 years for lupus and kidney transplants, and no one told me to slow the metabolism. Combine this now with menopause and I'm not surprised I can't lose weight. He's a god a long time to be in prednisone. I'm so sorry. If you're still in prednisone, and it sounds like you are, the best thing you can expect from yourself is a healthy lifestyle, whatever it means to you, whatever you're able to do. Your mental health is so important so to be nice and forgive ourselves help. I just got a four-week prednisone dose. From 20 mg a day and then 15, 10, etc. Is it considered a high dose? Should I anticipate many side effects at that level? He's the highest I've ever been prescribed, so I'm a little scared to take it. Thank you for your useful article! Hello, Mollie. Everyone is different because everyone has a different body. What is high dosage for one person may not be as high for another. However, since you have never taken as much as this would be good for you to be familiar with the most common side effects. This is not to make you paranoid and overvigilant, but it is to understand if you feel more restless, jittery, or hyper than usual or if your heart beats feels fast for no reason you can blame the prednisone. It's been a long time since you wrote your comment so I hope you're completely over it and completely recovered! I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder called PMR in December 2016, and I started at 20 mg. On the day of my first dose, I had an appointment with an acupuncturist I had known for many years. At the time I weighed, 146, my highest weight out of pregnancy. This was the advice they gave me: Follow a diet NOT SUGGGAR and NOT GRAINS. This would be an anti-inflammatory diet and would help avoid the weight gain of Prednisone. Prednisone really ruins carbohydrate metabolism. Practically their recommendations meant cutting fruit, without bread, without rice, without white potatoes, without night shadows. Sweet potatoes in moderation and berries also in moderation. I was told not to worry about fat intake, but to emphasize meat/poultry sources not fat. Grass fed of meat, free-range chicken eggs. I was afraid of winning another 20 pounds. I followed his advice, as I could, cheating a little with the appetizer that was scheduled to take at ten o'clock in the PM as it was in a delayed release form of Prednisone. (My trap was a Costco biscotti. Carbohydrates at night did not leave me in a feeding cycle as I was usually asleep before the cravings were put on.) He helped the first few weeks that the Prednisone made me a little nauseous. Within five months I lost almost 25 pounds. I wasn't hungry. I write this 8/18/19. I'm up to 1 mg. The PMR is gone, but I've been following a very slow tapestry for my Rheumatologist. It's been a slow but stable recovery. I have the hair loss that turned, and the skin thin. I got the energy changes and suffered through weak wobblies in the evenings, as my own adrenals had to relearn to function in moderation. (The HPA axis)I think 2 factors helped my recovery more: I was diagnosed and started treatment very quickly. With weight loss, and lower carbohydrates, my A1C descended from a border area to 5.6./ . My blood pressure fell on me and I'm out of blood pressure medications. My cholesterol was fine for a while and then it went up. I started in the middle of Crestor's lowest dose and dropped 100 points. I had to stop because my shoulders got painful. Hard to know if it was the disease or the statin. Two weeks after stopping the Crestor, the shoulders were better. Cholesterol hasn't gotten so high. I tolerated weekly Fosamax for two years, and it seems to have increased bone density more than expected. However, I never felt comfortable with that medication and stopped when I got to 4 mg. of Pred. I'll try again when I'm completely out of Pred and see what makes sense at that point. I don't think my experience is unique. I've been reading and publishing in a health forum since I was first diagnosed. In the last two years, the dietary changes I made have become standard recommendations because many people seemed to have had similar experience. They put me in the prednisone, after waking up one morning with severe joint pain, and I couldn't get up from bed without help. This happened right after my mother died, and a few days before her funeral. My doctor seemed to think he's polymyalgia, and he prescribed steroids. But I'm at the end of my wit. He took 6 mg of prednisone, and one day he managed to forget to take it, massive relapse " much pain. I've raised the dose again for 1mg, which has helped a little, and I plan to record it again. What's driving me crazy is weight gain. I was big to start, and I was weighing tonight. Since January I have won around 25 pounds. I've planned a healthy diet, and I just hope I can change some of this weight, which is all usual, (moon face, back if neck, and stomach). I don't know if it's possible to lose weight while still on the steroid, as I can't find anything on it. I'd love to have some hope if someone can give you, because I'm powerfully depressed right now. I was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. During the chemotherapy I fought to breathe and went out in hives. My oncologist determined that I was allergic to one of the chemo drugs. I got heavy doses of prednisone. I won 9 pounds in a week. My appetite has been minimal because of nausea. When my oncologist asked why I won 9 pounds in a week and still had nausea. How can you gain weight without putting extra food in your mouth? My face is round, I've lost my hair, my chest, my self-esteem. The only positive side — no longer bites me from the hives. Prednisone's partner suffers here. It's a love affair of hate. People just don't understand the suck of being on a high dose for a long period unless they've experienced it. I have Crohn's disease and now prednisone seems to be one of the few things that will keep me above the water. I can be empathy with everything you said. It happened that I was underweight before I started, so the weight gain could be considered a good thing if not ALL turns out it is in my middle section, face, spine and neck. And if the pred didn't work against me having strong bones and muscles. So now I have this fat (breaking – usually has clear skin) face, neck, middle section, and then these little chicken legs and arms. If that doesn't make someone feel sexy, I don't know what it will be. Not to mention that I feel irritable/jittery/wired all the time and as you have said, crazy appetite is out of order. As soon as I'm "making" eating, even if I fill, I'm thinking about what I can eat later. Constantly thinking about food. And when I can't eat fast enough or eat enough time until I'm miserable. I don't feel at all. Personality or appearance. So I have renal sarcoidosis and have been in prednisolone for 2 years. It brought me osteoporosis. High blood pressure and I've earned 10 kg (25 pounds). Every time the doctors try to shut me off, I relapse, so they decided that I need to be at least a small dose ( 5 mg draw) forever. The thing is even though I lose some weight on it doesn't matter how hard I try – I train like a 4x a week athlete and a significant food deficit all the time – my weight doesn't move and in fact sometimes it keeps coming up. I saw a renal dietitian for help and said I needed to accept my new body and there was no way to lose weight on the drug. I know it sounds vain but I liked how I looked at a 6-8 pencil skirt. Fat is not even where it normally goes. It's a shop in places where I didn't realize that I could fatten – I usually gained weight in my loot, hips, thighs (which I would take any day of the week on the face of the moon, abdomen, and back)! I really expected prednisolone and could coexist but now I feel defeated and deflated! I have read through all this blog in an effort to discover how to stop this weight gain. Cutting salt and sugar seems to be the key. However, it is not a foolish test! I've been recording from 30 mg to 10 mg with many setbacks. Originally I had Mild Guillaine Barre, so I couldn't walk well, then I lost 25 pounds to treat very hard, then recovered everything in Tamoxifeno after breast cancer. He stopped Tamoxifeno when the oncologist said he gave him a 2 percent protection at my age. I'm 80 years old. So, I have PMR and I suspect GCA, so I started prednisilone. Now I've won 25 pounds, I have nothing to put and look at a lock-up disaster. I can barely walk and I can't read for a long time. I have not found solutions except to keep interested in other people and to keep sewing! Here's something happy. My mother also had all these problems, and lived up to 103. You're amazing, Nancy Berg! Your solutions are very important and your mother inspires us all! By switching to bike work two hours a day, five days a week, rain or shine, I managed to limit my weight gain to about 3 kg – I think now maybe this is muscle. Then I cycled on Saturdays. My life of Prednisone began at 80mg a day a year ago and only two months ago it was below 30mg a day, and will continue for another year. You must be ruthlessly committed to cleaning up the food, the cleanest you've eaten in your life – no mess. I left the processed foods, baked everything again. For me – there is no coffee or milk sugar, no fries, limited dairy intake, I had to leave the bread. Anything processed caused terrible swelling and weight gain. Breakfast is the oatmeal usually without milk – you get used to it somehow. No matter how zombified, fatigued, indifferent and depressed I felt, I went up to that motorcycle with three hours of sleep, my skin horribly sensitive, swollen gut, nausea and cycles to work. If anything, one's sanity was just about staying in control, and the released endorphins kept the rabies of steroids away, if only a little. This drug is horrible, but a necessary evil. The feeling of hunger always, and the comfort gained from eating because of the messy I felt in it – keeping that in control with exercise and clean food saved me from more hell. He would have gone out of control without focus and exit. Thank you so much for your story, Alex! Many of us can relate to him. How long will the knees so swollen to take high doses of prednisone for more than two years? My breasts and stomach are finally normal. Hi, Lynn. If I were you, I'd confirm there's nothing else going on to cause swelling on your knees. There are a number of things that might be coming up with the knees that have little to do with prednisone, something that another much less toxic drug can address. I would check with my medical professional to get a good answer to this question" Why are my knees still swollen? " I was in Prednisone for Vasculitis. My whole body felt tight. I've been out of Prednisone for a month and now I'm starting to be able to bend and move normally. I used to have such bad muscle cramps in my hands, legs and feet. Horrible pain, twisted. It was horrible. And I could eat an entire elephant myself. I couldn't stop eating. The good thing is, I longed for boiled eggs and fresh fruit. I won around 20 pounds, but he's dating while my appetite is back to normal now. Thank God. I thought I was never gonna put my clothes back on and just bought some very nice items before I got sick. I'm glad you feel better! Stories like yours are an inspiration. Trackbacks/PingbacksSend a comment Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *Comment Name * Email * Website Recent PublicationsCategories Archives

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