Now on 5mg. Advice on introducing more carbs?

[Rosina1871]

Hi

Managed to get down to 5mg of pred and so far doing ok. I’ve been strict with my carbs but was wondering now my dose is lower if there was any harm of introducing a few more carbs to my diet. Thanks

[SnazzyD]

It’s good that things are going well. I had the same idea at 5mg but can’t remember exactly what I reintroduced and how much. Found within a couple of weeks that no, it was too early though after about 2 years of strict low carb I suddenly craved it as my lack of adrenal function became apparent. Same with salt. Now at 1mg, I can get away with the odd extra thing but my meals still need to be free of the carb fillers 6 days a week if I am to avoid an extra wobble around the middle in a couple of weeks. That said, there seems to be quite some variation with what people’s intake can be before it appears on the outside again. Trial and error I guess. At least it’s reversible.

[Rosina1871 in reply to SnazzyD]

Thanks Snazzy. Appreciate your advise. Will take it steady

[Blearyeyed]

It really does depend of how strict you have been before and how much you feel the reduction in Carbs has made to your overall health and Pain levels rather than your Weight.

It is basically going to be like tapering reverse when you do begin to reintroduce things .

Do it very slowly and don't start with things containing too much wheat , gluten or yeast , as these can cause a reaction for other reasons other than Carb content if you haven't been eating them for a while. The same is true with processed sugar.

You can start slow with a little extra or larger portion of fruit , potatoes , rice, oats .

The try things like pasta and the odd slice of bread.

Look at your reactions the next day or two and then find your limit.

My main advice would be though , if you are doing well with Health Symptoms and side effects on the current Carbs and diet you are using it may well be worth waiting to increase Carbs until after you are on 3 mg of lower ( unless of course you have been told 5 mg is were you have to stay for good!).

The reason being 5 - 3mg can bring in its own troubles and side effects , some which you may not have suffered before , as your Adrenal system wakes up again.

Many people find that increased Carbs add to the Fatigue and General Stiffness or can cause Bloating while you reintroduce foods ( your body may not be intolerant to it but needs time to adjust to the diet change and you can get some stomach cramps while it adjusts ) adding unnecessary discomfort during an important stage of your recovery.

If you don't find you are suffering many side effects in this part of the taper then you can start the slow increase of Carbs . But using high nutrient carb foods first .

[Rosina1871 in reply to Blearyeyed]

Thank you. I have been very strict with carbs. With just the occasional treat. I’m going to go very carefully. Appreciate your response.

[PMRpro Ambassador]

You can only try - the advice when using low carb approaches to weight loss is to reintroduce carbs in small steps until the weight loss stops. The same would apply here - and you would need to keep an eye on your Hba1c which would show if the extra carb was a probem. It is a slow process really.

The others have already explained.

But the question is: why did you reduce the carbs in the first place? I don't want more carbs - but then, I have never not eaten something I wanted, just had a pizza or icecream very occasionally and having had something like that I was particularly careful for the following days. If I eat much more carbohydrate than I am used to I do know about it. You may be surprised.

[Rosina1871]

Thanks pmr

[HeronNS]

I would probably not deliberately try to reintroduce them, unless you have also given up truly healthy foods like root vegetables. These could be reintroduced without fear, I think, although be careful with white potatoes. Otherwise, just enjoy the "treats" a little more often. Rice probably better than wheat.

I find I don't eat too many carbs even now, and feel better for it. However I no longer worry about enjoying my daughter in law's scones or having the occasional pizza or pasta meal, which before I would usually have avoided. I've never reintroduced the breakfast cereals except occasionally in the wintertime having a bowl of rolled oats. Nor do I have lunchtime sandwiches, except rarely when I'm out for lunch with friends. I no longer enjoy things like commercial cakes or packaged cookies, they taste chemical. Have been below 3 mg for over three years.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to HeronNS]

Think that sums it up really.

[Rosina1871 in reply to HeronNS]

Thank you. Never been a big cake or sweet fan. I have cut out root veg. Will gradually try things. Thanks to everyone who replied

[Christophene]

I haven't been as disciplined as you have been. I had the thought that we need some pleasure in our lives "in the so-called golden years." That was a mistake and I would not go backwards after your accomplishments.. People relapse after months, and even years.

How did you manage without carbs? I never eat pasta, very little bread, but was happy to learn dark chocolate is anti-inflammatory. How did you live Carb free? And what did you eat? Living alone now, after almost a year, and after cooking and baking when the family was big and extended, I went on strike. I refuse to cook. When my daughter comes over, she cooks for me: French Toast with brioche bread, butter, and dripping with maple syrup. Thank you, daughter-dearest.. But she may do that once in a rare while, but never do I reject the offer.

Do tell how you managed? Don't undo all the good you did for yourself, and don't unnecessarily risk a relapse. A treat once a week, or a special occasion can't do much harm, but you are still on Prednisone albeit a low dose. I was on 4mg, I felt awful; I raised my dose with my doctor's blessing and thank goodness for his emphasis on quality of life .

These days it's very hard to find such a humane doctor; of course re-introducing carbs is your decision, but better safe than sorry. I want to travel your road to carb free eating. I have given up ice cream; maybe it's like tapering Prednisone, one carb at a time.

[Rosina1871]

Thanks for your response. I just cut out all the refined carbs , white carbs, white pasta, chips , pastries etc, not that I ate a great deal of them. I have berries and Greek yoghurt for breakfast. I eat mackerel or salmon or eggs with veg or salad for lunch or dinner. Lots of chicken. Also lentils, but I still drink my red wine. Also enjoy Sharon fruit when available. I make my own soup as the tinned usually has too much salt. Occasionally I will have a slice of wholemeal bread. Never eat cakes or sweets. Maybe boring for some but it has suited me. Good luck x

[nickm001]

if you are concern about weight gain, then another factor to check is your level of activity. In my experience this is far more important then carbs. I have never cut carbs out of my diet, but I have made sure that my level of activities is high - and I never gained any weight. So, if you plan to add more carbs ( =energy), then make sure that you spend it, or you will end up wearing it :).

[Rosina1871]

Thanks for your reply. I am very active. Always have been. Keep fit once a week, also dancing once a week and I walk about three mikes every day. I’ve just built up to this level again. When initially diagnosed with a PMR I had to pace myself very carefully . I’m not overweight just don’t want to pile it on by eating carbs again too soon

[sennetta]

As it is recommended that we inform medical professionals we have been on steroids for up to a year after stopping, I would tend to feel that it would sensible to be wary of carbohydrate for at least that length of time. Also carbs feed inflammation in the body and I have certainly felt that the PMR got a lot worse for eating them.

I came off pred in June, a few weeks before our daughter's wedding for which I did the catering and made the cake including all the sugar flowers. Plus we had 14 people staying in the house for the best part of a fortnight around the wedding for whom I also had to cater. I didn't have time to be fussy about what I put in my mouth and the wrong stuff ended up in there during unguarded moments and I couldn't practise my usual intermittent fasting regime as religiously as I should. Quite a lot of plodge piled on and it has been difficult to ween myself off the wholegrain carbs again in the interim period. Everything is leveling off now and I feel much better for it.

[DianeA1]

My experience is like Sennetta's. At around 5 mgs I felt pretty normal and since it was around the holidays, I induldged and added back carbs. 10 lbs appeared in the blink of an eye. I am having a hard time cutting back now. So I would say proceed with caution.

[Rosina1871]

Thanks for the warning. Back to strictly controlling carbs