A Weighty Issue

[freakyschizogirl]

Well today i saw my Chest Consultant.

He told me i CAN lose weight whilst still on Prednisolone(5mg) and that cutting out breakfast and carbs was his way of going about it.
Even though i've not lost any weight i havent put any significant on.

He gave me a 20 min lecture even though i agreed, yeah i could do with losing weight, but that i had only put on 5lbs since 6 months ago, thats pretty good! He disagreed and said that joining a weight loss programme by weight watchers or similar would help. I told him i was doing Zumba but had to give it up as when i dropped the pred i had no energy for it, he said i should carry on as being fit has its benefits.

He kept saying over and over again that i had his sympathies. I really cannot get across the relentlessness of his lecture. It got so bad i said enough is enough, everytime i see him he bangs on about my weight and that he had said my lung function was good and hadn't changed in 6 months was very encouraging. So i jumped in and said so why are you banging on about my weight, if my lungs are fine it has nothing to do with my weight, he said it did and then i got up and walked out. I've never walked out of a doctors appointment before, but i'm fed up of them always blaming things on my weight. I havent stopped crying since i walked out or since i got home.

[Sangye]

Oh Sam, that is AWFUL. Shame on him for treating you so disrespectfully. I'm proud of you for standing up for yourself and for leaving. You deserve to be treated with compassion, kindness and respect.

He is also completely wrong about breakfast and carbs. What a foolish way to lose weight. Doesn't he know there are vital nutrients in carbs? Maybe he flunked biochemistry. And telling you to continue with an exercise program that is clearly too much for you....Grrrr. This man has no sense.

Let yourself have a good cry and then make a new plan based on your own goals and desires. Hugs to you, my friend.

[pberggren1]

Oh Sam, I am so sorry you had to go through this with your doc. This is obviously not a good Pulmy. Like Sangye said he must have flunked biochemistry. Even I know one should not skip breakfast and carbs. You will find the right exercise program on your own time when you are ready and fit. It takes time so don't put too much pressure on yourself.

[NicShaf]

That is horrible, I'm sorry your doc was so rude. I think only putting on 5 lbs in 6 months while on Preds is pretty impressive...maybe your doc should go on Preds for 6 months and see how he does. We all understand, i'm sorry to hear that your doctor doesn't have enough compassion to listen to you.
Glad to hear your lungs are doing good. I hope your week starts getting better.

[Chris G]

Only 5 pounds in 6 months?!? Amazing! Consider yourself my hero!! And excuse my french, but screw him. Good for you for standing up for yourself.

[LilyPony]

What a jerk! I gained 80 lbs with my last pregnancy and was unable to lose the last 40 lbs or so. I tried several diets after no luck with simple calorie/fat counting and exercise. Weight Watchers did best for me and I lost all the pregnancy weight and got down to my high school weight and maintained it until recently (the pred). You've obviously got to be responsible for yourself and budget your eating for the day. It's like having a wad of cash in your pocket. You can either spend all your money on breakfast, or you can spend just a little all day and save the rest for a nicer dinner. There's a ton of things that you can eat that are very low value, even zero value. Their system helps you look at things and really decide if it's worth eating it. The big one for me was hot dogs. I LOVE hot dogs, nasty greasy messy hot dogs slathered in chili and cheese. So I could eat one like that, and pretty much nothing other than plain veggies all day. Or, I could eat 2 fat free hot dogs (which taste fine) on slices of whole wheat bread which used up less 1/6 of my daily budget. It's kind of an "eat this, not that" way of looking at it, where many other diets are "no no no". Weight Watchers is "yes yes yes... but are you SURE you really want to?". And it's not just for weight loss, it's a maintenance lifestyle.

And I also think 5 lbs is fantastic!

[greenjanet]

hi, i have a weight problem also im just over 101kgs and my dr said to try and lose or not put any more on, i feel for you as i know how you feel. i bought a pedometer which tracks how many steps the most ive done per day is 5000 should be 10000 and i find i lose when i have a very SMALL dinner anyway
fitbit.com where i bought pedometer and scale which wifi talk to each other im on 7.5mg pred we could do it together, janet

[RudiK]

Janet, weight gain is a problem for anyone on Preds. I have gained 20 lbs during the last 15 months, no matter how much I have tried to control my foot intake. I'm now at 200 lbs, 5'10" tall and 69 years old. Each of my docs have told me that weight control would be very difficult as long as I'm on Preds (5mg). So, I'm blaming it all on the medicine.

[KathyB]

Join the club! I was doing fine for the entire first year on prednisone, but in the last few months the weight is starting to come on -- 15 lbs! Yuck! I'd love to blame it ALL on the meds, but I know better!!

KB

[drz]

I lost 20 pounds before hospital admission and diagnosis and then lost another 10 pounds during initial hospital treatment so i was considered malnourished when I went to nursing home to convalesce and do rehab work. I was encouraged to eat a lot and had many pred induced snack attacks plus I often had to eat a lot of snacks to restore falling blood glucose levels. After three months there I had gained all of my lost weight back and was 25 plus pounds over my highest weight ever. I am still at that weight two years later even though I have got down to 5 mg of pred meds for past several months. I can't lose any of the extra weight and had to replace most of my clothes but am happy that I haven'[t gained any more. I was extremely thin before I was diagnosed with diabetes about 15 years ago and started on insulin so people thought I looked much better when I gained considerable weight from the insulin and other diabetic meds. But now i am considered mildly obese and would really love to lose about 30 pounds of fat. My doctors tell me the same thing as Rudy's and also say my blood glucose levels will also be very hard to control even with 5 mg of pred meds. My A1C levels have recently jumped two points to highest levels I have ever had too. The extra weight is also bad for my BG levels and diabetic problems. But I am still alive and walking around so its not all bad.