Asthma/Corticosteroids/Weight Gain?

laurenz2501
laurenz2501 Posts: 839 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Does anyone else on here take Advair, Prednisone or other corticosteroids for asthma/COPD and find it difficult to lose weight? Has anyone stopped taking them and had significant weight loss or tried another drug? When I think back I didn't gain a large amount of weight until college (I know, I know, beer, pizza, ramen and late nights didn't help either) and that's when I started taking Advair. I've googled it and there are a lot of forums on this topic. Just wondering if anyone in this community has had a similar experience.

Replies

  • potluck965
    potluck965 Posts: 529 Member
    Oral steroids, yes, inhaled steroids, no.

    Are you on regular doses of oral prednisone? That can be a problem. If you just take bursts then you should be able to fight off the temporary effects of weight gain after the burst is over.

    I took pred for a year and a half and it did terrible things to me. After I tapered off a lot of the bloat went away on it's own.
  • kellyjamespro2012
    kellyjamespro2012 Posts: 29 Member
    Yes when I stopped taking advair I dropped like 20lbs. I haven't needed honestly. It was rough in the beginning but I was eventually able to leave it forever .
  • fShaw86
    fShaw86 Posts: 878 Member
    I'm not sure if it has a correlation, but I do take corticosteroids for when my asthma gets out of control. Been noticing that my weight has just stayed constant. Maybe if I get off of that? But I depend so much on it during an attack. :/
  • laurenz2501
    laurenz2501 Posts: 839 Member
    fShaw: I know prednisone has horrible side effects so I steer clear of that, but no, I take Advair. One puff inhaled twice a day.

    kellyjames: Was your asthma really bad growing up? Mine was/is. I'm afraid to stop taking it altogether...though I've noticed if I skip a dose or two I"m okay but after a day I need tot ake it again. 20 lbs?!?! That's ridiculous!!! I'd be 10lbs away from my goal if I dropped 20 lbs because of Advair!!! Haha!

    Edit: With Advair, I've read that not rinsing your mouth out enough after inhaling could cause yeast to grow (gross!) or add to the weight gain as well. I ALWAYS rinse my mouth out afterwards. Ugh, I'm definitely going to ask my doctor for an alternative or maybe just taper myself off and see how I feel...
  • GiveMeCoffee
    GiveMeCoffee Posts: 3,556 Member
    I've been on varying doses of prednisone for years, and that causes the puffy bloated feeling and weight gain but, I was also not tracking anything I ate, wasn't moving much, and using the fact that I was on steroids as an excuse for all my weight gain.

    I used to take advair but my doctor switched me to symbicort, neither of these caused weight gain for me. I will probably always have to take some corticosteroid but what I have found is the more exercise I do, the better my eating is, has truly helped my breathing.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    I take advair too. I have no idea if it causes weight gain, I've read that it's a possible side effect but hard to tell for me because I wasn't eating well anyway, but I can imagine that if you don't rinse your mouth (I don't always do it), you might swallow some... and that could make you gain. Hmm I'll make sure to rinse from now on (I usually just drink some water half the time, which I thought was what we are supposed to do?).

    Steroids suck though. I had to have some in December, and that's when I reached my all time high of 213lbs. Then I lost 5 lbs over the Holidays... and I really ate horribly. I still put my starting weight as 213 though as I started trying to lose weight just after anyway.
  • laurenz2501
    laurenz2501 Posts: 839 Member
    I was also not tracking anything I ate, wasn't moving much, and using the fact that I was on steroids as an excuse for all my weight gain.

    I will probably always have to take some corticosteroid but what I have found is the more exercise I do, the better my eating is, has truly helped my breathing.

    I definitely agree! Exercise in the long run helps my breathing, but I have an on again-off again relationship with it. So when I "start up" again it's always hard in the beggining. Every time. :sad:
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Mine is allergy related unfortunately so it's not going away. Every time I've made the mistake of stopping advair I've ended up in the hospital.
  • laurenz2501
    laurenz2501 Posts: 839 Member
    Mine is allergy related unfortunately so it's not going away. Every time I've made the mistake of stopping advair I've ended up in the hospital.

    Ugh...sheesh....that's what I'm afraid of...they say Advair isn't fast-acting, but I SWEAR I've had multiple times where I've had to fly to the pharmacy to pick it up because I let it go for too long and felt better within about 15 mins of taking it.
  • GiveMeCoffee
    GiveMeCoffee Posts: 3,556 Member
    I wouldn't recommend stopping it, especially without talking to your doctor. Remember breathing is overrated until you can't do it!

    I will stick with taking my symbicort, and eating better while working out.
  • fShaw86
    fShaw86 Posts: 878 Member
    I definitely agree! Exercise in the long run helps my breathing, but I have an on again-off again relationship with it. So when I "start up" again it's always hard in the beggining. Every time. :sad:

    I've noticed regular exercise helps keep my asthma at bay. Aw, I know that feeling, and it sucks! I usually run at around 6-7mph, and if I try anything higher, I get short of breath and have to reach for those darned inhalers! How do you guys slowly increase your stamina? My asthma attacks are far and few between now, though!
  • Cupcakehippiemommy
    Cupcakehippiemommy Posts: 457 Member
    I used to take Albuterol and Advair for my asthma but after losing weight it's been like almost a year since I have touched any of them. I also have PCOS and supposedly that also makes it difficult to lose weight.

    I think it all depends on your determination and being honest with yourself. Even when I had setbacks I just kept trying something different and kept pushing forward. A year and a half later and 100lbs gone I am still pushing and will continue to push for the rest of my life to not let my hard work go to waste.

    Good luck doll !
  • EmilyTwist1
    EmilyTwist1 Posts: 206 Member
    I took Prednisone for about a week and a half last year for bronchitis, and I gained about 10 pounds in that time. It made me so ravenously hungry that I spent about 10 hours a day just eating. I was netting around 4000 calories a day. I don't know of anything that would help though, as I've only been on it for short periods of time.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    It's one of the reasons I don't run to be honest. I had to go to the ER twice in 2 years because of it and I'd rather not have steroids now!
  • Willbenchforcupcakes
    Willbenchforcupcakes Posts: 4,955 Member
    For me personally, never noticed a correlation between my inhaled corticosteriods and weight gain. I'm in such great control now that I have to rarely if ever take it.

    My eldest daughter, if anything, hers makes it harder for her to put on weight - she is so much more active when she can actually breathe that it can be a challenge getting enough food into her, and she eats all day long.
  • Tookcouto
    Tookcouto Posts: 1 Member
    I have been on Prednisone most of the time for the past two months. I'm hoping to be well again when this series of meds is over. I also put on at least 9 lbs when on it which is very discouraging. I just joined myfitnesspal today and look forward to communicating with people who are dealing with the same issues as I.

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