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2003/04/06, 12:35 AM
Hello. For the past two yrs, I have been fighting a losing batle against fatique and weight gain due to a daliy dose of Prednisone (a steroid). I have altered my eating habbits (which were not poor to begin with), and I work out regularly. I have always been active and physically fit, but since beginning taking the prednisone I have gained nearly 30lbs., and cannot seem to lose the weight. Is there any one out there who has delt with this situation successfully? At the very least, I would like to "sculpt" my new body. Thank you for any advice you may be able to offer, as I have become somewhat desperate for answers.
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2003/04/07, 01:27 PM
Before giving you any advice, what are you taking Prednisone for (if you dont mind me asking)?? Is it for COPD, or joint disease, etc.? Is it a long or short turn therapy?
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Michael
"Trample the weak; hurdle the dead!"
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2003/04/11, 08:06 AM
I know this is the men's forum, but I had to open this thread. I also had to take Prednisone. I had Bell's Palsy in the right side of my face. I had to take Prenisone for almost a year. I gained about 50lbs in 6 months. Then after the prednisone, I gained another 20 - 30 lbs over the next several years. I am also overly tired a lot of the time when I used to have a lot of energy. My menstrual cycle completely stopped, and I'm only 32 (it will be a year in May since the last one). I also lost my sex drive when I used to be a very sexual person (this could be partly due to the weight gain I guess).
My husband had to take it for Chron's Disease. He was on it almost two years. He also gained weight. That seems to be the only effect it had on him.
The only difference is, he had lost roughly 70lbs due to his illness, so he needed to gain weight. I was at a decently healthy weight and did NOT need to gain.
Since then, I have been completely unable to lose it. My current doctor (who is not the one that prescribed the prednisone) says there is nothing to prevent me from losing, and there is no medical reason for the stoppage of menstruation or my sex drive. And he insists that, even though the Prednisone caused the weight gain, there is no reason I can't take the weight off. My doctor is not harsh or unthorough. He is very good. We must have done a good 30 blood tests along with physical exams, CAT scans and an MRI.
I have tried weight watchers, ediets, nutrisystem, and jenny craig. I always lose about 10 lbs and just stop losing. I have been following my plan from freetrainers religiously since March 10. I don't use the nutrition plan from here because it is way too many calories. I use a plan that I made up with the advice of bbfit, philia, carivan, and asimmer...and I follow it fairly strictly. I've lost 2 lbs and no inches so far.
To me that is a good thing. I plan to stay on track with what I've found here for at least a year. Then I'll reevaluate where I am.
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~Jennifer
http://www.gwindalyn.com
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2003/04/11, 04:14 PM
I dont know if you got the mail highside but as I said I was on pred for about 4 years, I went from being 13 stone to 16 1/2 so gained about 50lbs. I was in and out of hospital and as I had gained the weight I always felt lathargic, I had a drip that I had to change every day, ontop of the at was on a total of 15 different medication. In November I started a new medication and since then I have been cutting down from 60mg or 12 pred to now being totally off them, I have lost about 46lbs and went from a 38in waist to a 32in, I am going to the gym average of 6 times a week alternate cardio weights and I feel like a different person, you can lose it but it really is a case of dedication and a will to suceed, it is not easy but the results in the end are, hope this is helpfull to you and good luck with achieving your goal
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2004/04/30, 12:30 AM
well i am 14 years old and i have been on prednisone on and off since i was in 6th grade for asthma i had a heck of a time i was so depressed in about the end of seventh grade i went down from 115 to 102 after getting off of prednisone but i am back on it and i have gained almost 40lbs i feel so disgusting because iam also short it gives me mood swings makes me crave food all the time and im always missing school because i have really bad asthma the doctor told me even if i starved my self it wouldnt help me loose weight and i cant exercise because of my asthma if any one can help please tell me my mom said weight lifting might help!She was on prednisone too when she was younger and weight lifted and got really buff!
thank
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2004/05/01, 06:49 AM
as you might know prednisone is a catabolic steroid and therefore promotes muscle wasting. The logical way to counteract it is to concentrate on keeping your muscle mass as high as it can be by weight training.
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2004/05/01, 07:27 AM
Barbie I did a little research for you on predinisone and you are right. Prednisone increases your appetite and also contributes to fluid retention and mood swings. I didn't find any information on it's being catabolic, only that it is a corticosteroid, in your case used to combat airway inflamation.
One of the recommendations I found was to schedule meals and of course eat a clean diet. Because the prednisone makes your brain think you are hungry all the time, scheduling may help. Also, a diet high in protein may help. Your mom sounds pretty cool and lifting weights will definetely help.
Are you by any chance taking Singulair for your asthma?
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Anni
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Have you hugged your EFAs today?
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2004/05/03, 10:32 AM
hello I have been on an 2 medications and prednisone for the past 51/2 yrs for a kidney and pancreas transplant Im doing great but there is one thing that i hate very much and thats that i can seem to lose weight. every time I see my doctors they always tell me that i have to loss weight. that i must do it. some tell me just to accept it others tell me to get up and do something move around and another has told me to stop eating so much. i just dont know what to do by the way i do eat pretty healthy but i guess tooo mush sometimes
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2004/09/09, 04:46 PM
I've been on prednisone for about 5 months now and I have gained 25 pounds. I feel so disgusting and I do not even recognize myself when I look in the mirror. I am also starting to become really sad and I dont like goin out because of how I look. (before I would go out like every night) Has anyone successfully lost weight while one this evil drug?? I would really like to know. I try by eating healthy, but it is hard for me to do alot of exercises because I have nerve damage in my spine, which leaves me with pretty much no feeling from the chest down and it is hard for me to walk....anyone have any sugestions?
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2004/09/12, 01:42 PM
I am 62 years old, have severe asthma, steroid induced diabetis, sleep apnea. I have taken predisone for over 10 years and recently found out that my cortisol level does not register. Dr increased my predisone and for past several months have been on 10 mg per day. I have gained 35 pounds in just a few months and want to lose the weight. I try and walk 60 min a day 5 days a week. Dr has indicated that it is hard to lose weight from taking predisone. Anyone suggest how I can lose weight. It really bothers me. I have gone from 40/42 pant size to a 48
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2004/10/01, 09:20 PM
hi, my name is kathy. I am 47 yo & have been taking prednisone for R.A. & Lupus. I also found out that i have a underactive thyroid, so between the prednisone & bum thyroid i could have gained a lot of weight, but i didn't. i have actually went from 211 lbs. to 160 lbs. i am a female and have been overweight since my pregnancy at 19. My dr. (i love her!) put me on zenical. it is a fat flusher and it really works. i have tried all the diets out there and thery are boring, or taste terrible, or expensive. i am thinner today than i have been for 27 years. my knees, feet, hips and legs all feel 100 % better. i look much better and feel like i love myself again. maybe you should check with your dr. about some celexa. because like me a lot of your depression may be a lack of serotonin. it is non addicting, unlike zanex . good luck.
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2004/10/06, 09:11 PM
I also am on and off Prednisone because of my asthma. (Actually I haven't been on it for about a year) but when I was on it.. I think I went from 143 in sixth to about 163 starting seventh. My parents are both doctors and thats why I was never on it for more than a week at a time, but I would contribute a good 10 lbs of the weight I gained over the year due to prednisone. I hate that drug, I always tell myself.. "Take the inhaler, take the inhaled steroids, don't take the prednisone." I haven't had asthma for awhile now though..
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2006/09/28, 11:27 AM
i have crohn and i've been takin prednisone. has anyone sucessfully lost weight:surprised:
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2007/11/14, 10:49 PM
I have been on large doses of prednisone since last September due to Lupus. My doses have been as high as 200mg and as low as 15mg. Since last September I have gained and then lost about 40lbs. I am now on a gain of more than 50 lbs since the last time I was in the hospital for a flare. One line I read from above is that a person doesn't even recognize the person in the mirror anymore. That is me. I have a closet full of clothes that don't fit anymore and three pairs of pants that fit in my whole wardrobe. Any suggestions.
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2008/12/16, 03:46 PM
I know I may be young but I to have had a bad experience with this so called good drug. Yes in a short term this can help you. I had a friend who was allergic to bees and he got stung and they gave him prednisone in order to elevate his heart rate( that?s the artificial adrenalin) 2 years ago, I started getting major rashes on my hands and feet. I couldn?t go to school (im about 2 turn 18 in 2 months) and I couldn?t work. I was prescribe cram after cream, many many allergic reaction tests done. My skin was diteriating on my hands, I was unable to move them, excruciating pain as well in hands and feet. I found out im allergic to many many things, but they decided to put me on 6 pills a day at 10mg a pill. I find it funny no one mentioned the terrible taste of thies pills. I got major heart burn as well. After a hole month on them my hands cleared up. I was taken off them abruptly, no weening of them. In 3 days my hands were back to how they were ,painful and diteriating. So I put back on them at the same amount....for 5 months! They just kept renewing it, instead of doing more tests on my hands and feet. Before I started using prednisone I was 130, average weight for a 17 year old girl 5'5....5 months later I was 205 pounds. I was having heart problems beyond belief, I am experiencing bad knee problems, almost feels like im squeezing a nerve when I bend it. Yes I did find an increase in my appetite but I never really embraced it, I ignored it. Also because im not really someone who has food around all the time. I gained so much weight, nothing fit and lets face it, do any of us women really want to gain weight? I didn?t eat my self this way, I tried water pills (to get rid of water retainment) and nothing, didn?t loose a pound. They sent me to a diet clinic and im treated like im a 17year old person who sits in front of a tv/computer and eats and eats and eats. When I know im not like that. Im very active., but the weight kept coming on and wont go of. Iv asked for diet pills and was refused, I took it into my own hands and spent my money on diet pills over the internet and guess what, they didn?t work...big surprise eh? So im asking now, what do I do? How do I loose the weight that wont go off? Is this a problem that the doctors caused? I was never told of side effects of this pill, just renewed and renewed....anyone else ever experience this? Did u win your battle and loose the weight? How? I couldn?t even go to a pool party with my friends last summer, even in a full piece bathing suit the stretch marks are everywhere. Please if someone has answers...please share them....:(
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2009/06/08, 10:46 AM
I know i am dragging up a old thread..I apologize.. i have been on high dose steriods for Lupus for many years. I gained alot of weight on the drug. My doctor said it was either that or death. I started weight training w/ a trainer in Feb. I have lost 35lbs. It has not been easy, when you are so tired you can't get out of bed..I head to the gym..when I am in pain..I take a pain pill and go to the gym. When I was in the hospital..I took the minimum time off and went back to the gym..It is taking me longer to lose the weight and the set backs from my infusions..they are hard but.. I FEEL BETTER.. I have more energy, my pain levels have dropped, I am mentally doing 100% better. What ever your challenge in life, you have to find a way around or over. I have undertaken this with all my Dr.s consent.
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2009/09/18, 10:17 PM
I have been on Prednisone for 11 years due to two kidney transplants. I gained a lot of weight after the first transplant and years later became very ill and lost a lot of weight due to illness. After my second transplant, I gained weight back and have kept it down to 15 pounds over my ideal weight. I am 54 and have to keep my calorie intake to 1200 a day. I do this by buying and cooking my own food and knowing how to order if I do eat out. My frustration is my extra 15 pounds. I exercise, eat right, watch my calorie intake and cannot budge one pound or one inch. It is very frustrating as is any weight gain. I feel like I have done well keeping my weight gain down as much as I have but would sure like to lose this extra weight. I hate to think we must just "resign" ourselves to being overweight. I have to take this drug the rest of my life (5 mg daily) and do have to keep in mind that the drugs I take keep my kidney functioning and keep me off that horrible dialysis machine. I understand everyone's frustraton here and hope for someone to post a solution one day. I guess until we figure out what it is, we have to keep things in perspective and keep in mind that in some cases, these drugs are life altering not only in a negative way, but also a positive one. I wish everyone luck and belive me, if I stumble across a way to shed these pounds,I will post it and will check back frequently to see if anyone else has found success in shedding these extra pounds. Good Luck to all! :)
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2010/05/05, 05:47 PM
Hi i took prednisone for colitis for 4 months, starting at 40mg a day. I gained 9 pounds. many months after stopping prednisone and after keeping this weight, I decided to try to lose it. Basically I've just been eating less and i HAVE seen a difference. So far, in about 3 days I've lost a pound and a half. It's hard to eat less though because for my whole life before prednisone I was able to eat as much as I could without worrying about my weight.
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