Since covid I've put a stone in weight. Managed over 6 week to loose 9lbs.
I'm male 65 plus 5'11 tall and now weigh 14.5lbs. I did weigh 15 stone. I want to get to at least 14. stone, ultimate goal 13.7 lbs. I'm counting calories at less than 1600 a day, plus I exercise every day. Here's the question, I'm on 7mg pred and have been for 10 years plus. Over the last four weeks I haven't lost anything but gained a pound. Is not loosing weight due to the pred or is their any other underlying problem I'm not aware of that's stopping me from loosing weight.
Many thanks
Written by
Bobbury
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Well Done on your weight loss so far, l think everyone reaches a plateau where you neither go up or down & then it can be disheartening but hang in there!
I’ve lost two stone this year, in five months but I’ve plateaued now & not lost any since June/July l’m on 12mg Pred so maybe that’s the best l can get unless l get really strict & l’ve done so well, so l’m happy with this weight for now.
What’s your Carb intake like? That might be worth pursing as Carbs & Pred are not a good combination! I used a lot of recipes from Second Nature, l’ll add a link later.
I’m guessing your in the UK? Dr Michael Mosley is doing a Program on Channel4 on a Wednesday at 4pm about Weight Loss after Lockdown, 1st One last week so you can catch up on More4
Thanks Mrs. Nails. I did get a bit disheartened when I got on the scales this morning. (hence the post) I'm using Myfitnesspal app to monitor all my intakes so I can pin point what needs to be adjusted. I take your point about the carbs, I'll watch out for that now. You have done really really well to lose your weight, so there is some hope along the way
Hi, my GP referred me on to a Pre-Diabetic Course, as my Hb1Ac was 47! I gave up potatoes & bread as much as l could & reduced my sugar in my tea as that was/is my weakness….
I actually lost 2Stone in 5months & it was remarkably easy once l got into the swing.
What l didn’t do was to be hard on myself but l did think carefully about what l did eat. Carbs are our biggest enemy with the Prednisolone & it’s surprising where they can be hidden.
Wishing you lots of luck, l used a lot of Diabetic Recipes & found them delicious.
Hi MrsNails - just seen this post and I'm now at the stage (11mg pred) where I'm hoping I can lose some weight. Did you sign up for the NHS Second Nature diet or have you just cut out carbs and oils? thanks for your time
Hi, my GP referred me on to a Pre-Diabetic Course, as my Hb1Ac was 47! I gave up potatoes & bread as much as l could & reduced my sugar in my tea as that was/is my weakness….
I actually lost 2Stone in 5months & it was remarkably easy once l got into the swing.
What l didn’t do was to be hard on myself but l did think carefully about what l did eat. Carbs are our biggest enemy with the Prednisolone & it’s surprising where they can be hidden.
Wishing you lots of luck, l used a lot of Diabetic Recipes & found them delicious.
It is really challenging to lose weight on Pred. I think it alters the way our metabolism works. Any carbs at all seem to make me instantly gain weight, as does sugar and anything processed. There also seems to be fluid retention and bloating that can affect your weight from day to day. I think you are doing remarkably well Bob.
10 years is a long time to be stalled at 7 mgs. Have your doctors explored this with you? 7 mgs is a hard place to get down from because of the Adrenal function. Occasionally other conditions can make tapering impossible. I was diagnosed with GCA that may have been present for a long time. My Rheumatologist felt that this had impeded my getting off Pred. My symptoms were not obvious.
I'm stalled on the 7mg. Even if I take a long tamper, over many months, eventually I get a flare up and to be honest I cant keep going through that. The doctor does keep on to me about reducing but he doesn't have to go through the pain. I'm now resolved to the 7 mg and haven't had a flare fora year! On the weight loss front, I take your point about carbs from now on.
A few more tests perhaps, when you can get them like an ultra-sound, MRI etc. Like me, your body may have more Vasculitis making things particularly hard. One of the criteria to explore is difficulty in tapering. No one was more surprised than me, they found the halo effect in my armpit arteries.
I`m hoping for tests when I get to see incoming doctor in the autumn, but why isn`t it done automatically when we keep struggling, we shouldn`t have to keep sorting this out ourselves....sadly I don`t hold out much hope of it happening....maybe like my OA in my back I will have to pay!....
It is especially hard when you feel unwell and vulnerable. I’ve been flattering, charming and cajoling to someone with a hatchet face, just to get the basic service.
Yes, me too....that's why I'm hoping to see a certain doctor that is plesent, explains things and works with you.....I saw him with my sister with RA, she was sad when he went into teaching ....(about PMR)......so we're the nurses!.......
Hi. I want to ask you if you could please explain the halo effect in your armpits. I am asking because when I was in my 30’s I had my first rib removed for Thoracic Outlet syndrome and I now at 70 have PMR And wondering if scar tissue could be a factor to my Shoulder and neck pain cause by the surgery
Sorry I didn’t explain the halo effect very well. When I had an Ultrasound Scan for GCA it is what the technicians look for in the arteries of your head, neck and armpits as an indicator for Giant Cell Arteritis - microscopic really. PMRPro reminded me that they didn’t see the giant cells, just a halo effect.
Having said that, I think the body carries an imprint of everything that happens to it. My broken shoulder from years ago was a factor in my PMR pain - particularly during a flare. Is your diagnosis PMR?
Yes. Diagnosed a year ago. But for some odd reason i have had issues with my shoulders since I was a young woman (Like not able to hold my arms over my head for long periods for something like painting a ceiling or hanging a shower curtain) and I got Frozen shoulder on the left side for a year too in my 50’s which I might add was way more painful than the pain in each shoulder for PMR. I literally cried myself to sleep each night until my orthopedic doctor injected my shoulder with a steroid and it got better. Thank you for the clarification on the halo effect.
The halo effect is due to the inflammation having thickened the artery wall - whch changes the appearance under ultrasound. It is unlikely to be due to scar tissue from injury but that could cause later pain.
With Pred, calorie counting is ineffective for me because it needs to be low carb, moderate fat and high fibre. The Pred causes glucose spikes even before you eat anything and the insulin put out as a result causes fat deposition. Calorie conscious diets are usually low fat and relatively high carb which is no good with Pred. Even when well below 10mg my body still laid down fat with carbs. I’ve been on 0.5mg and below for over 6 months and though I have to be less vigilant, I still don’t have rice, pasta, potato or bread with my meals, though I can get away with the equivalent about a slice of bread a day plus fruit. To be honest, when I have had some, it feels like tasteless pap and rather pointless now. Chips on the other hand, nectar of the gods so I have 5 a week. When I was in the adrenals needing to work zone (7mg and down) I was very sluggish and I think my metabolic rate dropped off too.
For some reason If go below 7 mg I have a flare up. I've tried so many times, tampering over many many months, get down to 5mg and then have a flare. I just cant do that anymore. I did try to reduce before the pandemic got to 6mg, flare up! Not as bad as I usually get but do you know what, I just can not do it anymore, so 7mg is where I'm staying. I'm using myfitnesspal app so I can pinpoint all the types of nutrient I intake. I will take you advice and reduce the carbs,
Nobody can say you didn’t try! Who knows, you may be one of those who don’t absorb all of it so you may be on a lower dose than it says on the packet. I also found salt was a problem with fluid retention until very low down the ladder. I did the low carb thing from the start at 60mg and didn’t put on any weight at all, so it does work. Some people have to have next to none and some need a bit or they feel unwell.
To be honest I wasn't aware that it's not a good idea to take pred and calcium together, PMRpro advise me that. So now I'm taking them at different times. The calcium suppresses the pred. Once this pandemic is over, hopefully, i'll try reducing. That maybe the problem all along.
It could be just fluid retention - especially in the hot weather. And weight normally fluctuates even from day to day.
Prof John Yudkin (he of Pure White and Deadly fame) had a lovely graphic: some people lose weight steadily from start to finish, some remain the same weight for weeks and then it plummets and some lose a lot and then get stuck but all lose the same over time.
If the weight loss still sticks - look at changing the approach such as cutting carbs. The body does reset once it realises its calorie load is being limited - maybe you can fool it.
Thanks, I'm looking at reducing the carbs, which to be honest the most of which I consume at breakfast.... porridge. Going to find alternatives. I do only weigh myself once a week usually on a Monday. Funnily though yesterday I was constantly urinating without taking on lots of water....
The blood test that shows what your blood sugar level has been doing over the last 3 months or so. Should have been done at least annually if you have been on pred for that long!
Over 15 years, and pre PMR, I lost close to 30 kilos. The first 20 or so were down to becoming active and being careful with what I ate. I then struck a plateau that I couldn't get through. What worked for me was the 5/2 diet. I'm not sure how it worked, as my overall food intake didn't really change, apart from the 2 (so called) fast days. But it certainly did work, and the remaining 10 kilos went over a year or 2.
Perhaps I'm expecting too much in a short period of time. I keep to less than 1600 calories a day and I exercise every day. I manage to loose 9 pounds in 12 weeks, the last two weeks I gained a pound. It's difficult to get my head around gaining a pound. But with all the advice I've received I think I can get myself back on track.
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