Prednisone/Dexamethasone

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jimthix10
jimthix10 Posts: 30
in Health and Weight Loss
I recently put on about 50 lbs in 3 months due to being on a heavy dose of dexamethasone. I have finally tapered of of the steroid, but the weight is not coming off. I should be losing according to my calorie intake. Has anyone else ever been on these meds and gained a lot of weight? Any successful tips to getting the weight off?

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  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
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    My husband gained a bunch of weight on prednisone. That crap also turned him into a crazy person with paranoid hallucinations. It took him a very long time before he was normal again, and the weight didn't come off for months.
  • jimthix10
    jimthix10 Posts: 30
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    bump
  • cramernh
    cramernh Posts: 3,335 Member
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    I recently put on about 50 lbs in 3 months due to being on a heavy dose of dexamethasone. I have finally tapered of of the steroid, but the weight is not coming off. I should be losing according to my calorie intake. Has anyone else ever been on these meds and gained a lot of weight? Any successful tips to getting the weight off?

    Steroid treatments require the patient's body to receive a 'level' - an adequate amount to saturate the body to help treat the affected area/malady.

    Once said patient has completed taking the entire prescription/treatment, the body will maintain that level and gradually taper off.

    It takes time for the body to get rid of these types of drugs and..... of course, that differs from patient-to-patient, the dosage, and for what its treating.

    You will have to keep doing what you are doing - and keep the prescribing physician(s) involved for that is the best way to address status-post steroid/drug treatment(s)


    I work in healthcare so, this is pretty much all she wrote, regarding steroids...

    good luck!
  • josyjozy
    josyjozy Posts: 117 Member
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    I recently put on about 50 lbs in 3 months due to being on a heavy dose of dexamethasone. I have finally tapered of of the steroid, but the weight is not coming off. I should be losing according to my calorie intake. Has anyone else ever been on these meds and gained a lot of weight? Any successful tips to getting the weight off?

    Steroid treatments require the patient's body to receive a 'level' - an adequate amount to saturate the body to help treat the affected area/malady.

    Once said patient has completed taking the entire prescription/treatment, the body will maintain that level and gradually taper off.

    It takes time for the body to get rid of these types of drugs and..... of course, that differs from patient-to-patient, the dosage, and for what its treating.

    You will have to keep doing what you are doing - and keep the prescribing physician(s) involved for that is the best way to address status-post steroid/drug treatment(s)


    I work in healthcare so, this is pretty much all she wrote, regarding steroids...

    good luck!


    what she said!!
  • khl84
    khl84 Posts: 11 Member
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    I feel your pain as I have asthma and I usually am on Prednisone twice a year. It's a nightmare. The weight just sits on you and you feel so bloated by it.......it makes you feel awful. You were on it a long period of time. I once gained 11 lbs. in 5 days on it while in the hospital. I don't know why, but this weight takes some time to get off. Just start exercising. The weight from this medicine makes you feel awful as you put it on so quickly. Be patient because you are going to need to be; it doesn't come off quickly and I have yet to find a quick fix. Hang in there!
  • gimpygramma
    gimpygramma Posts: 383 Member
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    My prednisone weight went on in a hurry but there's been nothing speedy about getting rid of it.I was on the drug for 20 months, starting with 20mg per day and then tapering so that for the last few months I was only on two, then one and a half, then one mg per day. I don't think I lost an ounce that can just be attributed to coming off the prednisone. It was about six weeks after I quit taking it that I joined MFP and started restricting myself to 1,200 calorie a day. I have been losing about a pound a week since then...the prednisone weight is gone along with a few more pounds.

    I don't know about it lingering in your system. Maybe I didn't have much of that since I was taking so little for those last six months.
  • cramernh
    cramernh Posts: 3,335 Member
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    I don't know about it lingering in your system. Maybe I didn't have much of that since I was taking so little for those last six months.

    No one said lingering... it is a level that the prescribing physician needs to have 'built up' for whatever they are trying to treat the patient with.

    Steroidal Injections - on average can still be detected in a patient's system as long as four months from the last dosage taken.
    Oral steroid treatments - on average can still be detected up to a month from the last dosage taken.

    This is not a straight-across-the-board measurement. Each patient is different, taking different doses, different steroids and also takes into consideration any predisposed conditions, and prescription medications already taken.

    This is a true known fact which is easily found within the US Library of Medicine, New England Journal of Medicine and a number of other medical resources.
  • TinyChestnut
    TinyChestnut Posts: 26
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    I just finished a medrol pack about three weeks ago, which isn't too awful compared to the nightmare of the prednisone. My doctor (this is used to get the swelling in my sinuses under control before a surgery) wrote it out to be taken like so: 50 mg for 2 days, 40 mgs for 2 days, 30mg for 2 days, 20 mg for two days and 10 mg for 2 days. I am on day number three and have put on 7 pounds. I have been staying in (actually under my caloric limit) and still, gaining. I am guessing that since I am puffy that most of it will go down as my dosages get smaller, but it really is discouraging to see after all of your hard work that you are unable to be successful. I know that this is what is causing this, but I won't let it get to me.
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
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    I have a family member that went through the same thing with prednisone for severe asthma. 60 pound gain in a very short time frame. She has very serious health problems (not just the asthma). But, soon she is going to be ready to start losing the weight. I'm bumping this thread for more ideas and so I can read what everyone posts.

    For her, she has a very puffy face and belly. Her arms and legs are still slender. Any advice for that?
  • george29223
    george29223 Posts: 556 Member
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    is the weight gain due to fluid? i know taking it increases hunger is it because you eat alot more? iam not real clear on why it makes you gain weight fast
  • arewethereyet
    arewethereyet Posts: 18,702 Member
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    I don't know about it lingering in your system. Maybe I didn't have much of that since I was taking so little for those last six months.

    No one said lingering... it is a level that the prescribing physician needs to have 'built up' for whatever they are trying to treat the patient with.

    Steroidal Injections - on average can still be detected in a patient's system as long as four months from the last dosage taken.
    Oral steroid treatments - on average can still be detected up to a month from the last dosage taken.

    This is not a straight-across-the-board measurement. Each patient is different, taking different doses, different steroids and also takes into consideration any predisposed conditions, and prescription medications already taken.

    This is a true known fact which is easily found within the US Library of Medicine, New England Journal of Medicine and a number of other medical resources.

    After researching this type of drug after they gave it to my dog, I was amazed we are not given more info before we choose to take it! Needless to say when my dr offered it to me for my chronic neck pain flare up, I declined and went to PT (luckily it was an option)

    The fact that it is built up in the system to a certain degree, then kept in the body at that level for so long is amazing really.

    OP........just stay the course. By eating good healthy food you will do no harm to your body! You may be surprised to go a few months with no weight loss, only to drop quite a bit quickly when everything evens out!

    A regular user on here once said to me "Don't give up now, what if tomorrow is THE day!"

    And it was! :flowerforyou:
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
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    is the weight gain due to fluid? i know taking it increases hunger is it because you eat alot more? iam not real clear on why it makes you gain weight fast

    It is a steroid. I don't know that much about it, but it increases weight gain, severe fluid retention swelling, and it also increases hunger and causes serious and difficult to manage agitation for a lot of people. People are not really supposed to take it long term, but sometimes need to. And it can also have a bad interaction with some other medications that a person is taking, making everything worse. It's really an awful experience, but often needed for people that have severe inflammatory diseases, lung diseases and many other similar things. My family member went from 105 to 165, in a very rapid time and all the weight is in the face and belly (still skinny legs). Her face is swollen in a way that is not normal weight gain.

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