Fluid retention and prednisolone

Hi All. Bet this isn't the first time this question's been asked but does anyone out there suffer from unpredictable bloating and fluid retention on prednisolone? I know corticosteroids are famous for making you retain salt and i've been on pred at 7.5 for donkey's but I still suddenly suffer thighs that blow up and wobble like jellies, a waist that disappears and a face that mostly has cheekbones looking like Hammy Hamster! Lovely. I'm post menopausal so it isn't the horrible hormones getting their own back. After a bit it all goes away and I'm back to normal shape again (a slim 9st 4lbs). So help - let me know if anyone else feels like a blimp on the steroids.....

[Hidden]

Hello

I used to pile on the pounds, kilos now. Personally I feel the whole lot of the medications we take make us feel the same way, mind that is my opinion.

Yes I feel like a hamster, mind I would never manage the exercise wheel now I am to big for that. I hope you manage to keep the weight you want and if so I am jealous of you.

All the best

BOB

[zibiba]

Yes I was suffering from fluid retention but I was on the wrong dosage of Prednisolone. The Rhuematologist put me on a highter dose and told me to stop taking salt in my food. That goes for any supermarket bought foods containing salt so try it. No salt is a definite must when on steroids.

[julie_warwick]

I know the feeling , don't know if it's fluid or fat but I have gone up at least a dress size if not more and feel like I look awful , I am on 20mg daily and trying to reduce it , I am trying to loose weight but nothing seems to be happening , I am getting married in December and desperate to get back to normal weight , any tips appreciated. keep catching site of miss piggy in the mirror , not good for the self esteem is it ?!

[Angela123]

Hi there. Yes I am the same. I'm also on 7.5mgs. When I get up in the morning I look OK but as the day goes on I look 6 months pregnant and my clothes get tighter and tighter. In the evening when I undress I notice my upper legs and knees look very bloated and wibbly wobbly. The same goes for the face. Ok first thing but hamster cheeks soon follow. When I first went on pred I gained half a stone within days. This has to be mostly water retention as I wasn't overrating. Angela x

[Angela123]

That's overeating not overrating !

[Hidden]

I knew I wasn't the only one! Thanks to all of you who've replied. If the disease doesn't get you the drugs do. I suppose having wobbly bits is a small price to pay for being able to move at all but appearance is so important 'specially when you're battling a disease. I'm too bloomin' vain to want to be blobby but the steroids are the only things that keep me going as everything else has poisoned me over the years. Hey ho. X

[Hoping4GoodHealth]

Hi all,

It's interesting to hear you say, you feel like you look pregnant.

I have felt the same way. It seems like my weight or bloating increases each day.

I'm on 5mg of Prednisone daily for about 5 months now. Thank goodness for elastic stretchy waistband on jeans. It is very frustrating .

After reading your comments, I don't feel so alone on this issue.

Sometimes I feel I'm the only one that can look bigger each day. I look at people that seem to be the same weight for years at a time.

I'm hoping one day to get off Prednisone, until then I will try to be kinder to myself & realize that I can't feel so bad about the bloating & accept that it is the medicine causing this problem. We all have to deal with side effects from our medicines.