Never realised just how powerful these steroids were, how do people cope with this, currently on 55mg Pred daily (GCA) I’m just eating anything and everything, never satisfied, bloody frightened to get on scales. Before treatment started a month ago, I’d lost a stone down to 13.5 st…. Just a distant memory now 🫣 out walking daily, as long as “jelly legs” don’t kick in, bit of light weight training twice a week, but god I’m hungry!!
Any thoughts good people ?
Cut your carbs drastically! It really does help reduce not only the weight gain but also the cravings. And in the longer term it reduces the risk of developing steroid-induced diabetes.
Pred changes the way the body metabolises carbs and also triggers the liver to release spikes of glucose from the body stores - and they, in turn, trigger release of insulin, That results in the glucose level in the blood plummeting suddenly to too low a level - and you crave carbs to bring it back up. The combination of dietary carbs and this random release of glucose from body stores gets you into a roller coaster of high then low then high then low blood glucose levels, constant hunger - and a load of glucose sloshing around that the excess insulin turns into fat stores in specific places: face, back of the neck and around your midriff in particular but eventually all over.
You can't control the random spikes of glucose but you can do something about dietary carbs, How much you need to cut varies - some of us need to get almost to keto level but for others just cutting the processed carbs in your diet is enough.
I find this website particularly easy to understand and simple to follow:
thanks PMR you’ve hit the nail on the head that’s exactly what is happening to me especially with the cravings which I’ve never experienced before not at this level. Thanks for the website to visit about low carbs had a quick look .. no potatoes 😮
Glad you haven't heard about an Irish food item called potato bread!!!!
That was top of my UK shopping list when I lived in Germany - two Irish friends needed it. And soda bread...
I have now 😮 tell me more
When I started pred I could have eaten a horse followed by a five course meal. I gave up gluten and simple carbs as I had been told that would stop me getting a moon face.
how did you get on did it work giving up on simple carbs and gluten
I’m with you there piglette .. eat anything.. thanks !!
I have diabetes Type 2 and was advised that simple carbs was not a good idea for people with diabetes. Still struggling with the carbs issue and ignoring GPs requests to come in for blood tests. Not advised, just my stubbornness
I hate to say this, but I never (honestly!) feel the need to eat between meals-sorry, sorry, sorry! I do follow a low carb diet but have the Buddha belly and the lorry tyre midriff with the extra weight to go with it which I can't shift.
I don't get the snacking habit either - must have been drilled in hard as a child: "you'll spoil your tea". Mind you - not that there was a lot to raid in the larder. They have shown that that idea of 6 small meals a day has contributes to the obesity epidemic!
I hadn't thought of that. When our Mum asked us to bring the dried fruit from the larder my sister and I did sneak a few. As a child, I remember getting a small amount of pocket money on a Saturday- enough to buy 2oz of sweets and a comic. That was a treat! I used to buy 1d national savings stamps if I had anything left and stuck them on a card that had room for 12 stamps. I thought I was rich when I filled one.
I diverge-again!
Not entirely - probably why some of us find low carb easier than others! I don't have much snacking food in the house - so much easier to not buy it in the first place! And look at the money you can save!!!!
Brings back memories.
I can really sympathise with the constant "eat the horse and chase the jockey" food craving at higher pred doses. I started a very low carb diet (<20gm a day) when first diagnosed with PMR two years ago and it significantly helped me control my blood sugar and weight. In fact I was steadily losing weight that needed to come off.
Until I was diagnosed with GCA a few months ago.
At the much higher doses of pred needed for GCA I was actually quite dismayed that even at those low levels of carbs, I still wanted to eat like crazy and couldn't stick to eating sensibly at all easily. I've managed not to go back to things like bread, potatoes and pasta etc, but my weakness has been nuts and dairy. Which have some carbs but are usually OK for keto / low carb – in moderation. But my appetite just went ballistic and I've now put on 6kg in 3 months due to too many nuts and cheeses. Not a happy camper about that at all.
Fortunately I'm down to lower doses of pred now (22.5mg at present) and the cravings have settled to the point that I'm not gaining any further weight. Hopefully by keeping on with the low carb, then I should be able to gradually reduce the weight again. But it's hard work. Especially as one of the outcomes of GCA and high pred doses for me has been depression about it all and wanting to comfort eat. However, that's also reducing as the dose comes down and (hopefully) the GCA is also simmering down.
So, whilst it's not easy for some of us to control eating at high doses, low carb / keto really helps and it all does get better as you come down in dose, so hang in there, it will settle down. Good luck!
May be fill up with veg and fruit? Pred makes us hungry I think
Above ground veg and berries are good fill-ups but too much fruit isn't a good idea as it has lots of sugar. The ideal with pred is low carb - as I explained in my reply at the start of the thread.
We cant all do low carb if have other problems like gallstones and need to eat low fat - we need to eat something
But the discussion was about weight gain - and a lot of people do eat fruit thinking it is healthy, but just healthy isn't what you need to think about.
I started on 80mg for GCA best advice I got was to eat little and often 5-6 times a day. Never let yourself get to roidhunger. So eat half of every meal and spread through the day. I cut out gluten had porridge with blueberries and almond milk. Full fat plain yogurt with nuts or seeds added. Oat bread with eggs. Lots of large salads with chicken or halloumi (not a great meat eater) say at 1-2 other half 3-4pm. Or Chunky soup with chicken lots of veg but no potatoes in it. Dinner usually protein with lots of above ground veg. Filled up if hungry with veg sticks and hummus. An apple sliced with peanut butter. Low cal crackers and cheese. I am now on .5 mg every second day hope to be off them before 2nd anniversary October 14th. I now weigh 35lbs lighter than when I started on steroids. Hope this is of some help to you. A down side is I had to have a full knee replacement condition already there but deterioration speeded up by steroids.
I wish I could forgo carbs but what do you eat? If we don't eat pasta (chat) 2x a week I would run out of ideas. Plus carbs fill you up. Sadly not interested in cooking, only eating. My muffin top loves carbs.
PMRPro gave this link: dietdoctor.com/low-carb/foods
I found it very encouraging!
Hope you and I can get past the carbs!
I know I need to plan and shop ahead and it kills me. I'd rather wash dishes than cook. Eating protein is filling and less lethargy-making. I really have to read diet doctor.com/low-carb/foods No excuses. Thanks for yet another good tip. x
There is a LOT to eat besides carbs - meat, fish and dairy provide protein and salads and veggies fill you up for bulk. But once you take carbs out of the menu, your blood sugar levels even out and you don't have the same hunger pangs. They are caused by carbs sending the blood sugar level up and causing insulin release which then makes the BS level plummet to too low a level and then you crave carbs to bring it back up. Once that roller coaster has been smoothed out, you find you eat a lot less of the wrong foods. And once carbs are reduced you can eat fat more safely - and it is important in controlling the appetite.
bloody hell it’s an uphill battle 🫣
I can relate to the “pear shape” 🫣🥴
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