Over eating

[morrison]

Just spent the last half hour writing a message only to lose it. 😈 never mind . Can't stop eating after my main evening meal. Fine in the day but not good at night. Now down to 6mg per day and feeling OK. Touch wood. Any idea PMR Pro or Dorset Lady why. Or has anyone else experienced this? We are all a bit like that drama thing on TV over Christmas where all the play went wrong. What was it called? Uncle Mark Benjiman you would be so good at doing that meaning writing a play for all us poor old PMR Sufferer's. Ha ha. Something to think about.??? Could do with an interest in playwriting. Anyway off to have Stilton and oatcakes. Healthy option. Ha ha. X

[Rimmy]

Oh dear -I know how you feel - I've lost more than a few messages typed on here - and I've comforted myself with after dinner snacks too !

I did have a laugh the other day when a TV News announcer described the typical 'Australian' predeliction to :

"have the 'occasional' muffin - every day !"

yes and I also like the 'occasional' after dinner snack (almost) every day ... and trying hard to change that as well - what more can we do !?

Best wishes

[Hindags]

One reason I like taking Rayos Pred at night is that I must have a snack with the medication. 😜

I’m just about to 7mg, feeling all sorts of new aches and pains, or maybe just the old ones coming back. Really don’t feel like a flare, it my body feels and sounds like a loose bag of bones, weak legs, stiff lower back, and easy to injure.

I’m also hungrier. I think I’m eating to control the fatigue. Not my usual get up and go. I’ve been lucky on that account until now. I sometimes think that Pred might be my drug of choice.

I wish the Matteson study tracked the long term muscular/skeletal effects of steroids as well as BP, cardiovascular, cholesterol, etc. At 76, keeping this old body moving and fit is very important.

Today I spent hours writing long documents that I’d been avoiding. Woke with the intention to get them done before I pooped out. I think I was successful. Tomw I start taxes. Now that will be a challenge.

[Rimmy in reply to Hindags]

I think your point about sometimes eating to 'control fatigue' is a very valid one. When you think about it PMR/GCA style 'fatigue' has the same kind of flavour quite often as a sugar low and it feels quite a reasonable or even an intuitive thing to give yourself a boost with anything that helps. i realised this recently when I came to the conclusion the several cups of coffee and some sweets I had taken to munching that day just weren't producing the bounce-back I was hoping for - trouble is I keep trying the same 'method' - and we all know that saying about doing the same stuff over & over and expecting a different result . But I am working on it - and decaf is becoming a new 'favourite'.

[Hindags in reply to Rimmy]

Rimmy .... I find that uppers like caffeine or even sudafed decongestant don’t do me much good with PMR. I get a bit of a bounce that leaves me more depleted. Steady activity and real seem to work best for me.

At 7mgs I find random feelings of fatigue. They come in waves and I think about taking a nap or crawling into bed with a book....as soon as I’m done with whatever. But by the time I’m done with whatever, the low feeling is gone and I’m in a different energy state and don’t feel the need to rest or nap. I find this quite weird and somewhat amusing. I often think that my adrenals are a bit like The Little Engine That Could before it got reliably underway. I’d prefer that they were more like The Energizer Bunny.

A work in progress. I hope.

[Rimmy in reply to Hindags]

Yes Hindags - hopefully 'a work in progress' as you say ....

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer]

Crikey if I had Stilton and oak cakes for supper I’d be dreaming all night long! Okay at lunchtime!

I did go through a stage of having the “munchies” in the evening around about same dose, can’t remember exactly what, but it did subside in time.

Perhaps you could eat your evening meal slightly later if that would work for you. Trouble is, if you’re like me if I eat too late I find it doesn’t seem to get digested as well as it should before bedtime!

Not a lot of help, sorry,

[Peetee]

I pick up my knitting needles or crochet hook and keep myself busy, local charities benefitting from my efforts, so a win for them and also for me.

[S4ndy in reply to Peetee]

Me too! I am being called "the crochet queen" by friends. Star Wars figures anyone? Keeps the fingers occupied and mind away from food Still can't do the Octopals for premmies as my shoulders can't cope with the tight tension needed but I have been making dog jumpers to keep a hairless dog warm its all good! xxx

[yogabonnie in reply to Peetee]

Good idea.. I don't knit or crochet but I write and I can't have food on my fingers when I type.. I need to keep busy after dinner instead of plopping down with a book and a pile of food! good idea. AND someone either in this thread or elsewhere said FLOSS the minute you are finished with the meal.!

[SheffieldJane]

I have definitely experienced that symptom. Eating moderately all day, then small evening meal, followed by sugar cravings - chocolate, ice cream, biscuits you name it. Oddly, Australia, the time difference,(11 hours) the heat, the emotion, killed it. No appetite, certainly not for sweet things. I’ve lost a fair few pounds. I think it helped that my nurturing husband was not cooking much, it was easier to skip meals and cut out carbs. The sun blast mopped up the pain too. Caring cabin crew were trying to tempt me with food on the way home. I just wanted water and tiny tastes of things I fancied. Habit broken as I returned to this rain soaked, silver grey isle. Must not lapse again as I begin my cautious journey down from 7 mgs and hopefully freedom.

So morrison, a change maybe, a heartbreak ( oh little Theo!) . Check out Australia?

Came home to a letter confirming that my Aortic Valve showed no sign of Stenosis! Time to pick up my bed and walk methinks. 💔

[Zofitmogelijk in reply to SheffieldJane]

Good news Jane and is it this 💓sign you mean? No need for surgery then. Glad to be safely home again “me thinks”. hoping for yellowish wetter.

[SheffieldJane in reply to Zofitmogelijk]

Well my heart maybe physically intact but it feels emotionally broken having left my 4 beloved grandchildren on the other side of the world. We had the whole of Coffs Harbour airport in tears. So hence the 💔.

[Zofitmogelijk in reply to SheffieldJane]

O Yes I understand very well the pain of leaving your beloved behind the plane is underlining that distance in between. Thank God for Skype

[Rugger in reply to SheffieldJane]

Welcome back, Jane. Maybe we'll see you in Leeds in March?

Great news in that letter.

[Hindags in reply to SheffieldJane]

SJ: Wonderful News. What happens now aside from walking?

[SheffieldJane in reply to Hindags]

Tapering.......surveying the damage, apologising, reconnecting gradually. Is that what you meant?

I haven’t seen my Rheumatologist for ages.

[Sandy1947]

I have the same issue...eat well all day then dinner and constant snacking until bedtime. My snacks consist of a square of very dark chocolate (not every night), full fat yogurt, banana or apple with peanut butter, then small bowl of oatmeal with a few berries. Cereal helps me sleep. My weight is 106 which is fine. I think portion size is key. Use ramekins not bowls. Exercise during the day makes me feel less guilty. Pred makes me crave carbs but I don’t eat bread, cookies, cake, crackers and no alcohol.

[yogabonnie in reply to Sandy1947]

you are my inspiration!

[Sandy1947 in reply to yogabonnie]

And you are mine!

[Marcy47]

My sinful snacks are chocolate digestives! My daughter and her hubby have become Vegans and she has lost 12lbs this year, so I am thinking of trying it. Think I will start slowly, dairy free to start with, had almond milk on my cereal this morning, will take a lot of convincing for my hubby to go meat-free!

[Bizgirl in reply to Marcy47]

I recently heard the term “flex-a-tarian”, meaning vegetarian most of the time. I’ve been cooking vegan now for several months and feel so much better when I do. My blood sugar is much happier! It’s a process.

[Hidden]

A planned evening snack is a must for me. If I plan it I can reduce intake through the day to account for "extra" snack. Roast chick peas is one of my favourites or homemade popcorn...air popped. I also love a pot of sugar free jelly or have my live yoghurt then. Omg. I have gone all healthy 😂 used to like a bag of crisps. Might have a bowl of cereal if pushed.

[bunnymom]

I find I am hungry every two hours. I try and make healthy choices. I also think when I have fatigue it's worse.

[PMRpro Ambassador]

Are you eating carbs with your evening meal? Or using sweetners which your body thinks is sugar arriving? The only thing that gives me the munchies is eating carbs! A meal with virtually no carbs means no munchies.

And there is a good reason: eating carbs triggers insulin production which brings the blood sugar level down too low - and you crave something to bring it back up. Rinse and repeat. Add in the pred making your liver release spikes of glucose and it compounds the problem.

And very often you aren't hungry - you are thirsty. Drink more water and see if that helps.

[SnazzyD]

Hello,

I have always had evening snack attack since Pred. I have no carbs like bread, pasta, rice, potato, and I find it is quite hard to put on weight snacking on protein, veg and some fruit. I eat most of my food in the evening and it’s fine.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to SnazzyD]

The only time in my life I have had snack attacks was in the 5 years of PMR with no pred. A totally desperate craving for SOMETHING, ANYTHING, as long as it was sweet and carby at about 4pm. The first day I took pred at 10.15am - no pain and no craving at 4pm!!!!

[artfingers]

Well I'm now down to 6 mg (3 prednisone in morning, and 3 Rayos at night at 10pm) and I'm year two and a half with PMR. I too crave food after dinner even if I had no carbs at dinner. I try to resist and look forward to my yogurt I take with my Rayos. It is very hard. I gained 20 pounds once I started pred but I'm exercising every day and trying to eat right. Still 174 pounds is way more than what I want to be at but I'll just keep trying. I'm walking, do Zumba or biking, swimming laps it seems to come off so so much slower than before pred. Ugh. At least I love salads and that helps. Good luck to all of us!

[SnazzyD in reply to artfingers]

Is your salt intake low as well? I find salt is the quickest way to put on weight with Pred, literally over night.

[artfingers in reply to SnazzyD]

Oh, I haven't watched my salt intake. I shall try that!

[SnazzyD in reply to artfingers]

I mean not just no added salt to the plate, but virtually no salt. It’s a bit tedious and sometimes I decide to blow it if I’m eating out or at a friend’s knowing that yes, I’ll have a few more kilos of fluid retention tomorrow but I know it’ll be gone in a few days. Occasionally I use the low salt substitute you can get in supermarkets.

[Hindags in reply to SnazzyD]

My first diet break was a family weekend where pizza became the dinner meal at least twice. I put on five pounds from four slices of pizza. But they went away over the next week? Salt I suppose.

[SnazzyD in reply to Hindags]

Salt I’d say. Unless you were in some military boot camp or seriously ill, fat doesn’t go that quickly but fluid retention from salt can.

[GCA1947]

Dear Morrison

Have you got Word or something similar, if yes try typing your post in Word keep saving it so you don't loose anything you can even go and make a coffee whilst you think of something else to say than come back finish your missive. Select all the text press ctrl C to copy then move to your post and press ctrl V to paste and bobs your uncle. Don't forget to add a subject line and sign it and you'll never lose a post again.

If somebody has already said this you have to make allowances for me I've just come back from hospital after having a MRI on my head, I think they are trying to prove I've got a brain. You can even spell check your words which you can't do in e-mail though many have tried to encourage Microsoft to add it.

Regards

Colin

[Grants148]

Hi Morrison ,l am on 3mgs of preds and have really lost my appetite,l never feel very hungry and only like certain foods. I ate a lot more when l started on 30 mgs,and really enjoyed my food ,and of course l put on weight. I Wonder if anyone else here has lost their appetite after reducing the medication,or perhaps the preds overall have affected my stomach . I do still enjoy chocolate though.

[artfingers in reply to Grants148]

I could only WISH I'd lose my appetite. Can't even imagine that happening. Only time it did was when I had the flu years back.