Steroid Jabs?

[tazman3]

I have tried a number of meds for my RA and none of them have made any positive difference. If anything, I felt worse. I am now having a break from MTX too and have stopped Amgevita on Consultant's advice, due to changes in blood cells.

In about a month I am going to be put on Tocilizumab and can stop taking MTX! Whilst I am RA meds free, I have had steroid injections and they are amazing. I have felt semi normal. I wish I could have them on a permanent basis, but nothing will be fighting the inflammation then.

The thing I am worried about is weight gain. I have been trying to lose weight and it is going slowly. If I start piling it back on again I will be really unhappy as my weight has been one of the problems that exacerbate my mental health problems. When the RA nurse warned me that it could be a problem, I knew it would be more probable. They usually deny it!

I've read a lot of stories about 20 to 30lbs increase on this drug and I'm panicking already. Can anyone give me any advice, good or bad.

Thanks for any answers in advance.

I

[Mmrr]

Eat healthy and be careful what you consume, diet foods create weight gain. I put on 5 and a half stone in the early days of having RA, I took it all off whilst on 20 mgs prednisolone a day. I'm now back to my pre RA weight and still take prednisolone.

Weight gain is not inevitable.

[tazman3 in reply to Mmrr]

Thank you for your reply. I do know what is good and bad and have been watching my weight for around 40 years. I was a proper weight gym bunny in my thirties and had a good muscle to fat ratio. I've learned a lot about nutrition and how things have changed over the years. Diet foods have never been in my fridge! They are a big con and just encourage the vicious cycle of diet/weight gain.

Having said that, I took pred for a short time before I was diagnosed with RA and I felt my body bloating and changing almost immediately. If a drug is going to cause weight gain in some, it will get me!

Food is a mental fight for me. I grew up with a dad who used to call me dustbin and jumbo. He was just teasing because I was never a fussy eater and ate all my dinner, unlike my brother who was very fussy. He didn't mean to, but it did make me conscious and I think about food all the time.

Maybe I will be lucky this time and have a drug that actually works and doesn't cause the weight to creep up. Then I can do some proper exercise.

[Mmrr in reply to tazman3]

Best wishes with the steroids.For me it was methotrexate that created the weight issues rather than prednisolone. When I raised the issue with my rheumatologist she suggested that I eat bananas...🙃

Anyway weight all off back off now.

[kas99]

Hey, I also had no luck with any RA medications. They actually flared me up a lot more. The medication I've been put on instead is Plaquenil also known as Hydroxychloroquine. It's often used for Lupus. It doesn't make me feel worse and I've actually felt a boost of my energy since starting them.

I hope you find the right treatment.

When it comes to weight gain I am sorry to hear about your problems with it. I see how difficult it would be as most drugs cause some kind of weight gain.

I wonder if you could incorporate gentle exercise? What is your RA like?

Wishing you all the best

[tazman3 in reply to kas99]

The only drugs in pill form to increase my weight are steroids. The jabs are great! I have tried lots of RA meds including hydroxychloroquine and they have made me ill. I have read posts on this site about how Tocs has piled on the pounds and with the nurse mentioning weight gain, it set alarm bells ringing. They usually deny any weight gain claims.

[oldtimer]

I find that whenever I'm on a higher dose of steroids my weight increases. Some of this is fluid retention, but most of it is fat. For me it seems as if the full feeling that usually finishes a meal is switched off and I just want to keep on eating. I have to keep a detailed record of everything that I consume and restrict the amounts.

And if you are feeling better on the steroids, then exercise while you can!

[tazman3 in reply to oldtimer]

Thanks, I have only been given steroid jabs in between different RA meds. I won't take steroid pills as I know for sure they increase my weight very quickly.

[Hidden]

This is something I am very aware of with Medicines. When given the choice between 3 biologic RA drugs recently I did my research and chose Abatacept partly owing to the lack of weight increase reported with it. I didn't choose Toxcilizumab because it was indicated as being probable to increase weight.

[tazman3 in reply to Hidden]

That's my point exactly!

[Retirednhs]

I have been on Toczilimub for 9 yrs now and l have not increased in weight it, does not suit everyone Iike all meds but l have been very happy on it l started it on the trials for it, sadly l am reaching the end life of it for me now so will be changing to another in a few weeks which l hope will continue to enable me to live a pain free life .Good luck

[Sarmita50]

how many steroid injections they have given you ? I had one in my last appointment my sugar level went high. I am supposed to have one ultrasound assisted on my wrist.But I feel much better after the steroid injection.They have stopped all RA medication apart from 20mg MTX.Follow a good diet chart your weight will go down. I know they say steroid is not good for us in the long run but if they help we got to take them.

[Pedz]

I have been on toc for 3 years no real weight gain at all but the benefits are excellent more or less symptoms free