Prednisolone ,pre diabetes and weight watchers

[ninelives]

Have been on prednisolone for 17 years ,have COPD ,severe asthma bone lesion and recent bloods show pre diabetes.

GP has referred me to weight watchers .

Does anyone have experience of this?

Am unsure if will lose weight due to meds and inability to excercise.

Thanks!

[LuvJadeBloomEOS]

Hi 👋 I have Asthma/COPD has to take #Prednisone as My go to RX when Nothing Else really worked! Now I’m finding out ALL the #PrednisoneProblems on Instagram I follow #PrednisonePharmacist she has a lot of good info there & this #NutranizeZone Nutranize.com

I’m thinking 🤔 about trying cause it helps w/Side Effects of #Steroids

I’m currently on #BREO Ellipta but had to get #NarrowAngles Laser Eye 👁 Surgery #Iridotomy & My Glaucoma Specialist Dr. gave Me #Prednisolone Eye 👁 Drops 💧 to put in for a week post surgery!

Since My Last #AsthmaAttack @ 2019 being Hospitalized for the FLU 😷 after Driving Myself to My Asthma Dr. Appointment 45 minutes away from My House 🏡 cause I Needed Help was outta Prednisone & Needed to get a New Nebulizer something basically was wrong w/ME Having Breathing Difficulties & My #ProAirRespiclick Inhaler wasn’t working much! My Lungs has soo much #CarbonDioxide in them that Never leaves 😫 so I’m ok driving but walking took time & Needed more breath but I made it there also stopped to pick up My Friends Daughter lol 😂 My Foster Daughter from School 🏫 & took her w/ME so she carried My Purse inside & made sure I was OK! My Asthma Dr. Didn’t Even think 🤔 about doing a PFT Test that day, cause Yes! I was really that Bad! He gave ME 60 Mg of #Presnisone & a Neb Treatment while Checking My Pulse Oximeter which was Extremely low so he gave ME another Neb Treatment w/Oxygen this time & couldn’t get My Pulse Ox above 96% so he called the Ambulance 🚑 & I spent about a week in the Hospital 🏥 they thought 💭 @ 1st I had Pneumonia but that Didn’t show up on Any CT Scan/X-Ray! I had NO Fever 🤒 just couldn’t Breathe! They did the Nasal Swab Flu Test & it showed I had somehow Breathed it in! That Week My Husband had Hip Surgery so WE were @ NYC for the weekend I was fine & the Hospital was an Orthopedic Hospital 🏥 nobody I had contact with & he had a Private Room he’s Legally Blind so he Needed ME there & I had a really Comfy Lounger Chair & WE had this Huge TV 📺 like you’d see @ a Fancy Hotel 🏨 Suite was Exactly what his Room was like & Gourmet Nutritious Food WE both ate I had NOT NO Breathing Problems w/My Asthma I Even took a walk to #Walgreens cause My Husband wanted a Deck of Cards 🎴 & the Lobby Gift shop was Closed on Weekends & Starbucks the next block or 2 away next to Walgreens I walked to & back I was fine! It wasn’t until My Husband got Transferred to a Nursing Home for Rehab & I had a lot of walking to do from the Parking Lot to his Room dealing w/Sick people in the hallways & Elevator! I Decided to use My Inhaler so I would’ve have any issues walking in the parking lot cause NO Handicapped spaces were Available I had to park on the other side of the Building & walk around to the Main Entrance! So while waiting in the Germy hallway for the Elevator I used My Inhaler (Bad Mistake I’ll Never do Again) The Dr. had figured out how I Acerbated (probably not the right spelling) the Flu 🤒 but @ this time I Didn’t Even have Any Nose 👃 issues Either like My usual Allergies! Now thinking 🤔 what COVID is like when I read some patient stories online it’s how I felt! But they said it was the Flu 😷 so I was on a lot of Steroids & got #HighBloodPressure & #PreDiabetes from it!

Went to an Endocrinologist this year cause My Friend’s Daughter had an Appointment there w/the #Nutritionist & I had gone to one years ago trying to find a Great Healthy way of Eating a #MucusFreeDiet & fight My Inflammation pineapple 🍍 I always ate! But I wanted to have a Listing of more foods! My Insurance would Only Pay IF you were a Certain % of BMI & weight limit, which @ 1st I fit into it but I lost weight probably from Not taking Prednisone so I found out the Endocrinologist lists the Nutritionist under Medical 🏥 so I’ve only been to 1 Appointment so far! He did Lab 🧪 Work 🩸 My WBC Tests showed up a lil Elevated so he ordered another set of Lab Work & also found Protein in My Urine so I had to do a 24 Hour Urine collection which wasn’t Easy to do on the go w/that Huge Container in a Public Restroom 😫 Everyone Didn’t need to know! So I used an Extra Large McDonald’s Cup which I used for Water 💦 so it was Clean then I’d transferred it to the jug when I got back to My 🚙 in private! Lol 😂 Found out that Test was OK I saw My Results in Follow My Health App & No more Protein in it 👍 but he found out My Vitamin D Level was 17 so he Sent a RX to My Pharmacy for 50,000 iu for just once a week for 12 Weeks! But since My WBC is still High he wanted ME to see a Hematology Dr. & I told him My PCP has already Referred ME to one which I just went to last Friday & I had to wait @ least 10 Days for those Lab 🧪 Blood 🩸 Tests he did! Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate so he said I can message him through our NYU Langone App I saw My Test Results there but I’m Not sure 🤔 IF that was the special test he was talking about?? Or there’s another one! I have another Appointment in a Month! He thinks 🤔 My Inflammations My Body is going through a lot right now having an Inflamed bone in My Right Foot 🦶 Nasal Polyps in My Nose 👃 & Small Maxillary Sinus Cavity on Right Side that’s pulling My Right Eye 👁 downward #Ptosis Surgery I Need to have to fix that drooping & Asthma/COPD! I try to Eat a lot of #Vegetables @ Every Meal & ❤️ #Avocados I Drink a lot of Water 💦 so I gotta pee a lot & this has happened after taking Prednisone!

🤔Did your Dr. prescribe you Anything for PreDiabetes?? My Friend found out after her Lab 🧪 work 🩸 Test she’s got that too & High Cholesterol Luckily mine is OK!

[ninelives in reply to LuvJadeBloomEOS]

Thank you for your response.Bless you

[Bevvy]

Having been diabetic for a number of years I am not convinced there is such a thing as prediabetic. I think you are or not. Therefore it is important your gp keeps an eye on you and doesn’t just “fob you off” with a referral to weight watchers! If you need to loose weight there are many different options out there not just weight watchers. One thing I suggest you look at is the Keto eating plan. One thing that is becoming clearer is the harm too many carbohydrates can do especially if diabetic.

Just a thought and wish you well.

[ninelives in reply to Bevvy]

Thank you for your reply -had an inkling blood sugars were up as failing eyesight ,always thirsty ,scratches take forever to heal ,thrush infections and frequent boils.At the moment our gp care is quite rightly focusing on covid patients.

I don't think the "diabetic liaison " person has twigged that it is hard being on high doses of prednisolone and at the same time lose weight.

Neither can I exercise as very breathless.

Will take your advice onboard thank you so much.

[Bevvy in reply to ninelives]

Ask to speak to the diabetic nurse at the practice. Diabetes complications can be extremely serious. Covid or not you need to be able to access the correct care. Could even refer you to community diabetic team.

[ninelives in reply to Bevvy]

Bless you will do that

[twinkly29]

If the leader has some understanding of chronic conditions and not being able to exercise and the effect of pred then it might be useful/ok.

But if they don't then it might well not!

[ninelives in reply to twinkly29]

Thank you so much for that, as a bit bewildered as to being referred to weight watchers -will take your advice bless you

[Poobah]

Dr Moseley (TV dr) was diagnosed pre-diabetic and after some research did a specific weight loss program in order to get his condition into remission - he refused to start meds as his father had gone down that route and his condition just continued to decline, something Dr Moseley wanted to avoid. You can look this up and there are various YouTube vids of him and the scientists discussing why the method works. Obviously, you don't need to understand the science in order to try it! 😁 But no doubt it's a motivation.

[ninelives in reply to Poobah]

Bless you Poobah.Am reading his book the fast diet at the moment.

What I don't want to do is get enrolled on a weight watchers programme with a leader who has no knowledge of being on long term steroids ,having naff lungs and a large bone tumour and being exhorted to excercise when physically it's an impossibility!

On a positive note though how lucky we are to have access to tests /treatments etc especially during the lockdown and pressure on the NHS.

[Poobah in reply to ninelives]

I think WW have a deal with the NHS to refer patients to them. I declined. I totally understand what you're saying about the challenges of losing weight. Good luck in your endeavours.

[peege]

Hi, I'm borderline diabetic too. I found the Dr Michael Mosely's programmes incredibly useful. There's a later programme: How to lose a stone in 3 (or 4?) weeks, these 3 programme are great - not regarding the fast weight loss but the explanations of the importance of losing it. He's very easy to understand - I still eat his amazing portobello pizzas, z couple of huge mushrooms filled with tasty minced onion & garlic, tomatoes mozzarella. Delicious and extremely low calorie. On this programme there's input from his GP wife an expert on nutrition. Really worth searching out but I cant remember which channel, try bbc first. My sis lost 3 stone with weight watchers, she went for the camaraderie & discipline although that must be tricky now with online meetings. My niece lost 2 stone with Slimming World. Theyre both businesses though and make money on selling their products. The leaders are rarely nutritionists or medically trained.

Already you've made a start with Moseley's book, the fast way is tricky though when you've low blood sugar. I find having a longer period of fasting overnight suits me. For ie I ate supper at 7pm last night and brunch at 11am so 16 hours without food then my breakfast of oatbran, low sugar granola (no high sugar dry fruit in it. Lizzi's is my go to & Lidl do one), a heap of ground flaxseed for fibre & oil in a bowl of plain yogurt, I use Yeo Valley. I always add to that a couple of teaspoons of a fruity yog each day. Then no carbs for the rest of the day as in spuds rice or pasta.

Dr Moseley has an on line group where you can ask for advice re being a steroid user.

There's an American website, Meal plans for Diabetes (I think that's what its called). That's excellent, in their news letter there are always interesting comparisons & easy to understand.

As for exercise the BLF has a dvd. It's brilliant, with exercises especially for breathlessness and shown sitting down or standing. Plenty on YouTube too. Even 10 steps while sitting is exercise as is some arm raises. Just put i n 'Exercise from Sitting' & see what comes up. Baby steps and small, achievable goals.

Good luck to you ninelives! Peege

ps since August I've lost the stone I put on in the 1st lock down so dead chuffed and feel so much better after the whole summer of not fitting my clothes 🙃 (not to mention a fall when I hurt my back on August 5th which prompted me).

[ninelives in reply to peege]

Well done for losing that stone -fabulous and I do hope that your back is better now.Bless you , so grateful for your post and to hear of the successes of your sister and niece.

I will certainly look at the exercise programme from blf(didn't know they did one) and your breakfast recommendations sound very doable.

Will let you know how it goes.!