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Thread: weight gain :(

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    Default weight gain :(

    So I am still new here and I'm sure the subject has been raised, but I am really struggling with the Prednisone weight gain. More than anything it's a major blow to the ol' self esteem. Any tips on how to cope?

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    Hi AmyA. I have been on pred. for 4 mths. now & am down to 10mg. They told me i would stack on the weight but so far i have not.
    I get so hungry, so when i feel like eating everything in sight i drink a glass of water. I have to drink lots of water so it works for me .The only draw back is
    always going to the toilet, especially when you go out. Also keep active if you can . Cheers Rita.

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    Amy, what I've learned from being on high-dose pred more than once: You will most likely crave salty, sweet and fatty foods like nobody's business. Don't even take a bite of them. Pred makes them taste WAY better than normal and you won't be able to stop if you start. Chips, sweets, dairy foods like cottage cheese-- just don't do it.

    When I first went on pred I didn't know it would increase my appetite. I was ravenous, eating everything in sight, even foods I never really liked before. I also began eating in the middle of the night--something that has always repulsed me. I thought my increased appetite was due to being extremely anemic, depleted and due to the chemo. I gained 40 lbs in 4 months!

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    Sorry, Amy--I am not really the right guy to talk about this, since I am in the minority who has lost weight on pred. I do not know why this is so. On high pred doses, my appetite was giant, and my calorie intake was prodigious (and, yes, I sometimes raided the refrigerator in the middle of those sleepless nights; no chips, though, or anything salty, and very little sweet stuff). True, I did keep active--even in the hospital I would do hundreds of laps a day. Yet, other Weggies have been as or more active without avoiding the "moonface". I suspect something different is going on with metabolism. Another anomaly: I have never had problems controlling glucose. (I don't avoid sweets; neither do I crave them.)

    i am afraid my example does not add much oo he discussion. "i hope others will chime in....

    Al

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    Hi Al, Like you I lost weight when I was on high dose pred, the doctors said it was probably due to my metabolism as I was super active, not sleeping & not able to sit and relax.
    Now that I'm down to 10mg my weight is back to normal. I got so hungry & still have days when I could eat all day so I dont buy chocolate(my addiction).I will be glad when I'm off the stuff but really scared my joint pain will
    come back.
    Rita.

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    Quote Originally Posted by RitaM View Post
    I got so hungry & still have days when I could eat all day so I dont buy chocolate(my addiction).Rita.
    How do you do that, surely it is against the law? When I go in a shop where there is chocolate (in the uk that includes petrol stations) I can hear it talking to me, saying "buy me, eat me". I was taught to do what I was told, so I do.

    AmyA, my advice is to live on an island that only has plenty of fruit and vegetables and none of the really nice food like chips, chocolate, cheese, crisps and good healthy fatty meats.

    Jim
    You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give. Kahil Gibran

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    Coping well depends more on your attitude and not your weight. I lost 25 pounds before diagnosis and during early treatment (intubation) and not being allowed to eat afterward for several days. Like Sangye said though with the help of PRENANTZONE (the med that makes you look pregnant) I gained 50 pounds in short order. I was very malnourished, anemic, with messed up body chemistry, and the pregnantzone jerked my blood glucose levels around from high of 400 in morning to low of 50 most nights. They checked my BG levels every hour or two. At night I often had to eat every two hours or take a injection of glucose to avoid hypoglycemic episodes which make you more ravenous than even the high doses of pregnantzone. i got extremely sick of eating many kinds of high carb snacks but the nurses who were creative always found something I could tolerate eating and usually enjoyed. Lots of sweets still make me gag but after I left inpatient care and pred meds were slowly tapered down I didn't gain any more weight. Unfortunately my weight is same now as it was 1 1/2 years ago so losing it is hard. I coped by buying some extra large clothes that are too big for me. I gave away my skinny person clothes after a year since they looked unlikely to get any more use. I was always very thin so my clothes were usually large for me but now I can't get into my old clothes. This does hurt ones self esteem but the larger clothes help me forget my big gut and six month pregnant look. Most people think I look healthier now than the gaunt pre diagnosis look so that also helps my self esteem.

    I think some people can minimize the pred weight gain by eating lots of high fiber and low calorie food like salads and vegetables. Many people with mild diabetes can also control their diabetes the same way. Also try to stay as active as your health allows. It is hard when you are fatigued much of the time. Best wishes for better health and weight control.

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    When I started I was on 50mg of preds,I'm now down to 10mg. I weighed 102 lbs before I got this grud now I am at 116 lbs. But I used to smoke before also and I quit that almost a year ago so between the two I don't think its that bad even though I can't fit into my skinny jeans anymore or alot of other things for that fact. I too love to eat but I have been trying to eat the rights things, oatmeal and yogart in the am and fish,turkey or chicken at lunch.. dinner and afterwards is another story almost anything goes. There is water I drink alot,its from Sobe called life water,its comes in different flavors and loaded with vitamins..really good.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Dryhill View Post
    How do you do that, surely it is against the law? When I go in a shop where there is chocolate (in the uk that includes petrol stations) I can hear it talking to me, saying "buy me, eat me". I was taught to do what I was told, so I do.

    AmyA, my advice is to live on an island that only has plenty of fruit and vegetables and none of the really nice food like chips, chocolate, cheese, crisps and good healthy fatty meats. Jim
    This is so true, and Easter is coming up.
    Chocolate is a big downfall for my whole family even though I try to limit myself to a couple of squares a day, sometimes none at all........but then there are also chocolate biscuits (you need to be congratulated Rita)

    MMMmmmmmm Chocolate


    Jim, I'm thinking that this so called Island should be avoided.
    Sanitation may not be very good and with all that fruit and vegies and no cheese to block one up.............let's just say, I will stay where I am...Thankyou.
    We just can't afford to take that risk with our poor immune system.
    Keep Smiling
    Michelle


    Live your life in a way that you wouldn't be ashamed to sell the family parrot to the town gossip - WILL ROGERS

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    When I was first ill I came on and asked the same question! I found that no matter how much I ate I was never full, so in the end I kind of tried to accept it and realise that I could eat a ton and it wouldnt satisfy me so there was no 'point' to eating so much, so I kept round a stash of carrot sticks and other healthy food when I felt compelled to eat. But I admit it wasnt that simple and I still put on lots of weight.

    Just remember, although it is not nice seeing yourself putting on weight, it isnt forever, and actually your health is more important right now than a bit of weight gain. (I know easy to say and harder to accept when it's you). I have lost weight now since being off medication and am now almost back to pre illness weight, sure you will be too.

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