Increased Appetite on Prednisolone

[buzzards]

Hi,

I’ve been on Prednisolone since mid-July and I have found that my appetite has increased so much that I want to eat all of the time. It’s getting me down. I was told it would only be for a couple of months but my next appointment at Guy’s Hospital is in December and I am down to 15 mg daily from 25 mg until then so it’s going to be a lot longer than I was led to believe because I’ll be tapered slowly off the drug. I’ve gained about half a stone but I’m terrified that unless I do something drastic it will be more. I am tempted to try intermittent fasting to get the weight off. What strategies do you recommend for losing the weight and keeping it off while on this steroid? Will my appetite decrease as I taper off the drug?

[Treetop33]

I went low carb and no sugar. It's not absolutely foolproof since I've had periods of weight gain (because of the menopause I think). But it has helped to keep the weight off. Once you go down to a much lower dose it doesn't have such an impact.

[buzzards in reply to Treetop33]

Thanks for this, I agree with you about going low carb and reducing refined sugar. I've started 16:8 intermittent fasting this week as well. I'm determined not to gain weight as I worked so hard to lose it.

[suzannah16]

I had many years on prednisolone both as a tablet and as an enema for colitis. I went from 13 stone [sorry can't weigh myself in kilos] to over 20 stone in about a year. I don't know how much over 20 stone I went as my scales didn't go any higher. eventually when I came off the tablets and enema I managed to get down to 15 stone but nothing would shift the rest. I then had surgery to remove my colon and woohoo I went down to 10 stone which is the right weight for my height. unfortunately I have been on blood pressure tablets since Christmas and they seem to have the same effect as prednisolone and despite cutting 500 calories a day from my diet I have gone back to 13 stone. sometimes it doesn't seem to matter whether you eat normally or starve yourself the various medications will put weight on you and all you can do is try to minimise it. don't starve yourself just accept that you will lose the weight and try not to eat that extra slice

[buzzards in reply to suzannah16]

You have really been through the mill with the side effects of these medications. I hope things are better for you now. I will take your advice and work on minimising the weight gain. I will just have to be resolute in refusing the endless cake, chocolates and biscuits people bring to work from now on.

[PMRpro]

Low carb - removing all white/simple/processed carbs really does make a big difference. I lost 35 lbs while still on pred. Pred changes the way your body processes carbs so removing them helps. I eat loads of above ground vegetables, some below-ground veggies and very little fruit - lots of sugar, maybe it is healthy but it is still carbs.

[buzzards in reply to PMRpro]

Thanks, it's great to hear that it's possible to lose weight on Prednisolone. Low carb seems to be the way to go. I cannot give up fruit but will cut back on refined sugar. I also read that eating foods rich in potassium helps to get rid of excess fluid and sodium so I'll try this too.