Post prednisone expectations for general health and weight loss

[Bobby Fraker]

I have just come off of prednisone after about 15 months. I gained 40 pounds and everyone says it will come off when you get off the drug. I have been cold, sleepy and a little depressed. Is this to be expected? Will the weight come off without strict dieting?

[kathy]

Hopefully, you decreased the dosage very gradually. I am on a maintenance dose of 10mg daily, have taken it for almost 20 yrs for lupus. When I go to high doses I have difficulties adjusting down - the same that you note. If you can make yourself get out and exercise, walk, and cut out the snacking that resulted from the ravenous appetite the large doses caused, you will lose the weight. The exercise really helps the depression, the weight, and the energy level - they are related. The hardest part is making yourself move! And yes, I am dieting once again for the last weight gain.

[Carolynn]

Prednisone Weight Loss in Chicago -- I've tried almost everything (fad diets, prescribed & unprescribed pills, etc.) I've been off Prednisone (for Asthma) for over 15 years and I've finally found something that is working for me. Here it is: no salt/sugar (if it's not already in the food I don't add it); Counting calories (1500-2000) a day; lots of water (no pop/easy on the juice); and cardio (5-6 days a week). The best cardio that's working for me is hitting the 500 plus calorie burn on the treadmill, elliptical and outdoors doing interval training (5 mins steady walk, 2-3 mins run, race walking or power walk, and repeat). You have to build up until you can hit 500 doing this but it working - I read about this strategy for burning fat in a men's magazine back in January and it has been tremendously successful for me & my workout buddy. I'm not necessarily seeing the pounds drop but I am seeing inches melt away which works for me as well. My clothes & underwear began to fit differently within a month. I hope this works for you too, my struggle has been long, discouraging, arduous, frustrating and tearful!!! I'm elated something is finally and noticeably working for me. Best to you!([e-mail])

[Darcy]

I have questions about prednisone prescribed for Lupus and I'm hoping you can help me. My new doctor prescribed a low dose in addition to Plaquenil (already taking) and Methotrexate. The side effects of both sound horrible and I'm trying to weigh the risks and benefits, any input?
Thank you, Darcy

kathy wrote:

Hopefully, you decreased the dosage very gradually. I am on a maintenance dose of 10mg daily, have taken it for almost 20 yrs for lupus. When I go to high doses I have difficulties adjusting down - the same that you note. If you can make yourself get out and exercise, walk, and cut out the snacking that resulted from the ravenous appetite the large doses caused, you will lose the weight. The exercise really helps the depression, the weight, and the energy level - they are related. The hardest part is making yourself move! And yes, I am dieting once again for the last weight gain.

[Constance]

I have been on prednisone for 14 years. Needless to say I have experienced several side effects from it. I have the bloated stomach, chipmunk cheeks, easy bruising, etc. It has helped the pain and inflammation tremendously so I really can't complain about the side effects. It has given me a great deal of both comfort and pain.

[Jackie]

I have been on prednisone for 2 1/2 years and have had a lot of side effects, also. I was told I'd get a moon face and camel's hump on the back of my shoulders which I now have.. but no one told me I'd get a kangaroo pouch and hippopotamus hips to go along with it! Ugh. Also, due to the depletion of calcium from the bone, I fractured my ankle this summer. I will be so glad to get off this stuff and get my life back again.

[Tina]

I am just coming off three-month Prednisone started out at 30mg, tapered to 20mg and so on, now completely off for stage IV sarcoidosis. I have gained 20 pounds and 5" to bust, waist, and hips. With the sarcoidosis, I have fatigue. Can't seem to get motivated to move. I am only 5'0" tall. The tapers to me are the worst. I was breathing fine before the Prednisone, with the weight gain, I breathe like a yak.

[Erika]

I've been on prednisone for 10 months now. I'm down to 4mg a day and I can't wait to get off of it completely. I gained 20 pounds, even when trying not ot eat that much. I'm 17 years old and this is my senior year of high school, so you can imagine what my moon face has done to my self-esteem. I have never worked out in my life so I'm worried that the weight won't go away. Can anyone give me some advice, or hope...?

[Lee]

I thought I was the only one out there feeling this way… about the weight gain. It was so nice to come across this site. I have been on and off prednisone for 10yrs now. I gained about 75lbs and when I was initially put on the stuff I was working out with a trainer 3 times a week and still gaining weight. I have tried everything to loose it. I think the best one is where you go to a doctor about loosing the weight and they say eat less and exercise more… or sure as though I don’t already do that. It is a complicated thing and I am still looking for the answer. I have recently been back in the gym 3hrs a day and wouldn’t you know… I had to go back on the stuff but, I am not going to let that deter me. I finally got a doctor to listen to me and he thinks that my hormones are messed up from the prednisone and finding which one may be the key to loosing the weight. By the way… from my research I have done about prednisone… it messes with your triglycerides, a part of your cholesterol that controls the ability for your body to break down sugar. Decreasing your sugar intake is an important factor to stay healthy.

[Ryan]

I have been on predinsone constantly for the last 4 years to treat a kidney condition. I have just recently had a relapse which has caused the increase of my dosage from 10mg a day to 50mg a day. I have had many relapses over the last 4 years and many high dose periods. I have found the best way to combat the majority of side effects including the weight gain, mood swings, increased energy levels, increase appetite etc is to keep fit and healthy. I am at the gym or running 5 and 6 days a week. I found that it provides a release for being snappy and mean for no reason, being moody towards my partner and work colleagues, and it is also a good way to chew up those excessive energy leves that you get when on high doses. If you watch your diet, eat healthy when your appetite is up this will help with all of the common side affects that you encounter. It is extremely important that if you have a partner, that they understand the side affects of the drug and that you talk to them about how you are feeling. Prednisone is a necessary evil in most cases to treat sometimes fatal disease. It can cause many side effects and has the potential to ruin your life, and relationships within your life. As hard as it is, i find that being aware of the side affects and how they influence your body and mind, and figuring out ways to combat them is the best tool you will have in getting through periods of high dose. Prednisone! The necessary evil!

[Becky]

I was on prednisone for 18 months for a brain lession. I have been off for around 8 months now. I still cannot lose a single ounce! I gained 80 lbs in a year and a half! I have tried diet and excercise and even over the counter weight loss pills----no success. I am at a loss as to what i can do. I am miserable so fat. I just got married and have a 5 yr old son (previous marriage) i need energy and a body that i can function in. I am at my wits end!

[Roberta]

Becky,
I am so sorry and know how you feel..after being over 210 in high school after 5 kids I got down to 118 and kept it off for 7 years! 3 years ago I gave away all my heavy clothes...after all kept it off 3 years..last year put on IV prednisone went from 118 to 195...they said loose it the old fashioned way...I had already had a gastric bypass after high school and was still heavfy. I got down to between 135 and 145 then in feb and march of 2008 IV prednisone again from collapsed lung and double pnuemonia! went up to 180..then down to 166 and now no matter if I go without eating for 5 days I am still at 170!!! I cry daily..pants won't go up..nothing to wear..even to the doctors..wearing maternity dresses! I have resolved to go to walmart and buy fat shorts and xxL tank tops for the summer.....exercise does not help..I had thyroid cancer when I was 23 and they keep lowering it! I am tempted to get it off internet...I was on same dose for 30 years and now all of a sudden it is wrong and need to be cut in half? BS Any ideas? I live near springfield mall
Roberta [e-mail]

Becky wrote:

I was on prednisone for 18 months for a brain lession. I have been off for around 8 months now. I still cannot lose a single ounce! I gained 80 lbs in a year and a half! I have tried diet and excercise and even over the counter weight loss pills----no success. I am at a loss as to what i can do. I am miserable so fat. I just got married and have a 5 yr old son (previous marriage) i need energy and a body that i can function in. I am at my wits end!

[Tom]

I was on prednisone for 1 year going from 60mg to 1mg over the course of a year(IGA Nephropathy). I have slowly been losing weight, I am a 6 ft male with a medium large build. My highest weight was 267(I eating salads and still getting huge.), I'm down to 225 two years later but when I go below 225 I feel like I'm on prednisone again. I get aggressive, nervous, shaky, achy and super hungry. I lost a bunch of weight after high school (about 40 pounds) and never felt like this during that ordeal. I'm I crazy? Does this have something to do with the prednisone I was on?

[april h]

I have just come off of prednisone after about 15 months. I gained 40 pounds and everyone says it will come off when you get off the drug. I have been cold, sleepy and a little depressed. Is this to be expected? Will the weight come off without strict dieting?[Mr Fraker, what is happening is that the adrenals are having to slowly go back to their normal funtction. Sometimes this can take a while. The cold sleepy tiredness you can blame on your adrenals. In the meantime, try to exercise as much as possible and eating plenty of fruits will also help. I too have been in your shoes and if you keep having symptoms after a couple of months call your doctor. hope this helps/QUOTE]

[april h]

I have questions about prednisone prescribed for Lupus and I'm hoping you can help me. My new doctor prescribed a low dose in addition to Plaquenil (already taking) and Methotrexate. The side effects of both sound horrible and I'm trying to weigh the risks and benefits, any input?
Thank you, Darcy
<quoted text>I too have lupus. Im 32 yrs old and have been diagnosed since age 19. I started on plaquenil about 5yrs ago after a long bout on high dose prednisone. Everytime I would taper to around 5mg I would flare. Plaquenil takes time to work. I also tried the Methotrexate and it made me feel terrible. I had no energy (worse than the flare) and my body ached. It also loweres your immune function to infection and I later found out that I have an IGG deficit which only made matters worse. But as for the plaquenil- great medicine. You must keep a check on your eyes every 3 months. Best of Luck

[Jessys girl]

Bobby Fraker wrote:

I have just come off of prednisone after about 15 months. I gained 40 pounds and everyone says it will come off when you get off the drug. I have been cold, sleepy and a little depressed. Is this to be expected? Will the weight come off without strict dieting?

Yes it should unless your still binge eating. After 7 months I started to lose mostly water weight at first and boy did that feel good--lost 12 pounds in 2 weeks. Gradually after that about 2 pounds a week. I have 15 pounds to go to get to my normal weight so I am really thrilled. I do not diet and eat what I want..but I never was a pastry type eater either--just went back to the way I used to normally eat before the predisone. But I had periods where I slept a lot and had chills but that passed. I take multiple vitamin tab daily and Vitamin C and D and Calcium for bones.

It takes a long time to come back but you do--I had a friend that it was 8 months later she started to be her old self again.

While I feel this is a horrible drug I also know without it I would be dead But a note here--the younger you are..the quicker you bounce back. Good luck.

[Becky]

Tom wrote:

I was on prednisone for 1 year going from 60mg to 1mg over the course of a year(IGA Nephropathy). I have slowly been losing weight, I am a 6 ft male with a medium large build. My highest weight was 267(I eating salads and still getting huge.), I'm down to 225 two years later but when I go below 225 I feel like I'm on prednisone again. I get aggressive, nervous, shaky, achy and super hungry. I lost a bunch of weight after high school (about 40 pounds) and never felt like this during that ordeal. I'm I crazy? Does this have something to do with the prednisone I was on?

Roberta-I am not sure about the lowering of your prednisone dose---but I would say a lower dose is a good thing! I HATE prednisone and wish I would have known what it was going to do to my body! But it probably did save my life...

I have had my adrenals tested and they say they are functioning just fine. I have been off prednisone for 8-9 months and am still exhausted all the time (but that could have to do with my brain lession) I cannot lose a single pound. Counting calories-watching fat grams-doing psyical activities...nothing works. I hope that something will kick in soon!

I am so sick of people looking at me and assuming I am just a fat slob who eats all the time! I hope I will regain my body at some point!!! I am up 80 lbs since I started prednisone-I am not longer gaining...but not loosing either...

[Dani]

Tina wrote:

I am just coming off three-month Prednisone started out at 30mg, tapered to 20mg and so on, now completely off for stage IV sarcoidosis. I have gained 20 pounds and 5" to bust, waist, and hips. With the sarcoidosis, I have fatigue. Can't seem to get motivated to move. I am only 5'0" tall. The tapers to me are the worst. I was breathing fine before the Prednisone, with the weight gain, I breathe like a yak.

Oh wow, I was on prednisone for 3 months at the same amount! It's been a month and a half and the facial swelling is gone, fat under my neck is still there, and I lost a lot of inches and shirts fit again. My pants don't still, as my hips didn't change. My stretch marks are the same. I'm exercising a lot and eating right, and I think all that will make me 110 lbs again (from 130lbs) is time and living normally. Good luck to you all. Prednisone should be taken off the market.

[Ben]

Hi eveyone. Im 26 and have been on Prednisilone for 17 months to help treat my reactive arthritis. I got the red scabby face and my stomach grew quite considerably. Trouble is I came off of morphein and I quit smoking about the same time so i think my body is on a massive purge, shedding all the water i gained, ive had a bad stomach for two weeks now and although im glad to be shedding the weight ive not been able to leave the house and have to stay close to the toilet!!
I know its embarrassing to talk about but im getting so sore and now bleeding, ive tried imodien and all that but nothing helps. How long is this gonna last?

[Ben]

I came off the prednisilone about a month ago. I still have bad RA in my ankle, i can walk (just) but i am unable to do any exercise