Trying to lose weight on Prednisone
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katherynklouse
Posts: 5
I have Lupus & Fibromyalgia. I have extreme pain in my abdomen an all over body pain. Exercise seems impossible and am struggling to lose weight on Prednisone because of sugar cravings and fat storage symptoms.
Any thoughts or advice (other than discontinuing Prednisone)?
Any thoughts or advice (other than discontinuing Prednisone)?
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Replies
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I am not on prednisone but have dealt with other meds that cause cravings. I'm not sure there is anything you can do about the fat storage symptoms and increased pain is not what you want.
Weight lose is certainly possible but more challenging. Due to health issues I was not able to do any exercise when I started with MFP. I excepted that this was going to be a very long journey and the weight would not come off quickly. Obviously I sent my activity levels to sedentary. To deal with the cravings from the medication, the first thing is to make sure my hands are busy most of the time. For me this means being on the iPad a great deal of the day. Secondly, sugar, unlike other cravings, gets worse when I give into it. If I have one sweet thing I know that I will be craving it for at least another 24 to 48 hours. So I try to stay off sugar as much as possible. As long as I'm not eating it I do not crave it.
I wish you well.0 -
Thank you bvifun
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I have rheumatoid (or psoriatic, who knows!) arthritis and fibromyalgia. I'm supposed to take 2.5mg of prednisone every other day, but I only really take it if I've been getting exercise which tends to leave me in bed for a day or two. I'm a knitter, which has really helped with stiffness in my hands, but also I don't want to get my hands dirty or foodstuff on my yarn, which really helps me avoid cravings. Doesn't work at work, because I can't knit and work most of the time. And I work at a university, so all the unhealthy food is so close. Have you tried talking to your doctor about changing it? I found that seroquel made me eat everything, so we've experimented with a few things and now I'm on a combination of seroquel and trepiline. Maybe you could do something similar with the prednisone?0
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RA sucks. Prednisone is a mixed blessing am I right? Just listen to your body. Slow and steady may not win the race these days but I can say surviving to the finish line is my top priority.0
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Hi I am on 10 mg of Prednisone a day for lupus, Addissions Dieases, Chronic Lyme/chronic pain and the list goes on. Like everyone exercise is very hard to do. But I do agree keeping your hands busy especially when watching TV really helps me not snack. I also gave up Sweets for lent and the first 48 -72 hours were the hardest. Now it is easier except when my pain level is high, it seems when I am in paint sugar cravings are stronger. Does anyone else have that problem?0
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I can agree about craving sugar. I avoid giving in by keeping a healthy go to snack of fresh strawberries and Dannon Greek 100 yogurt. I mix a cup or so of the fruit with the yogurt and I can say it helps.0
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I feel so hungry over the last few days!!! Argh! Waiting for biologic approval from insurance. I don't know if it's the prednisone or just me. Maybe just anxious. Idk. Not losing but not gaining either. I guess I should count my blessings huh?0
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I was on Prednisone for RA until this past fall. I packed on the weight at first. The only way I was able to slow down the weight gain was low carb/palio. From what I understand, prednisone changes the way your body metabolizes glucose, so trying to keep glucose as low as possible seemed like the most reasonable thing to try. But I will say that restricting your diet like that and not losing weight was frustrating. On the other hand, I gained 15 pounds in the first 6 weeks on it. I only gained around 5 pounds during the six months of low carb/palio.
It is a trade off for sure. I am off prednisone now (SO thankful!) and never plan to do a low carb diet again. I hope you will find another medication that works for you and allows you to get off prednisone. I was nonresponsive to a lot of the RA meds and finally found one that works. I wish the same for you!!!0 -
Flowergypsy,
What finally worked? I start Enbrel next week. Just got steroid injection Tuesday. I've been going into a flare about 2 weeks ago and it hit hard Monday. Also take Plaquenil. Doc says it's not enough for me. I haven't gained any weight. Lost the 5lbs of prednisone weight the first month. It's hard but resist the sugar I must! It's hard to believe that i withstood the intense pain for 3 years. It came on insidiously, creeping in more every day till I just couldn't hang. Could barely walk. I lived in tunnel vision. So I love and hate steroids. Mostly just resigned myself to the fact that I need them.
Evette0 -
At the moment I am not on prednisone, but I am on Plaquinol for undifferentiated connective tissue disorder. I'm also on synthroid for hypothyroidism after RAI treatment. I also struggle with losing weight and fighting cravings. What has been working for me is plenty of lean protein and vegetables. I limit fruit to a couple servings a day. I've also stopped using salt in preparing foods. I use a stress ball to help exercise my hands. I try hard to get carbs from vegetables over grains except for oatmeal and quinoa and the occasional brown rice serving.
Smaller meals also seems to help curb cravings as I'm eating something with protein every few hours.0
