Gang, I am in a downward spiral. 1. Death of son so sad a lot. 2. Steroids for PMR led to diabetes II. Also, two half brothers have diabetes. 3. Doc put me on Ozempicto get my weight down as low as it can be to avoid insulin shots. 4. From lowest dose of Ozem I am still queasy most of the time after I eat. Like now. 5. Have to wear pants, long skirts or tights because of hideous bruising on my legs. 6. Have to shave or wax black facial hair every two weeks. 7. Had to double BP meds several months ago 8. Experience fatigue most days and need long naps
Currently, on 12 mgs methylprednisolone; trying to cut by 10% every three weeks. Down from 40 mgs pred. in Nov. ‘22. So far, no flares. When I get to much lower steroids, will blood sugar go down? BP? Bruising? Hair growth? You have probably read that once you start Ozem, you can’t get off without gaining back all the wt.
I didn’t realize how the person I was last year is no longer around until tonight.
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Merryfield
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I am so sorry for the loss of your son. I would seek bereavement counselling. Everything is too much to bear right now. Someone to talk to on a regular basis will help. I have been helped by therapy myself, so I know that it relieves the pressure.
I have experienced the side effects you mention and they have all mostly gone now I am on 5 mgs. Helped by diet adjustment . Don’t know much about the slimming pills I am afraid. I try to avoid carbs and sugar.
Thank you, Sheff Jane. Sooo glad to hear your side effects are minimal. Good news. I have a therapist. She has helped me with the guilt. I am not perfect on the carbs, esp French fries once in a while. But doing well with desserts, alcohol and red meat. Thank you for being active on this site. xo
💐Dear Merryfield I am so sorry you have lost your son. What a terrible time and all these health related trials to juggle too. x
I am sending you hugs from afar, so so sorry for your terrible loss of your son. I truly hope things improve for you, you have so much on your plate right now, the only thing I can say is that this too will pass, your doing the best that you can, and that’s what matters, hold on try to get some rest and breathe deeply. Blessings to you and yours 💜Heidi 🪷
I am so sorry for the loss of your son. Nothing compares to that and everything else is likely to feel much worse as a result.
I want to address the diabetes and Ozempic. I too have recently been diagnosed with steroid induced diabetes and have done lots of research around the medications etc. One thing I have discovered is how fat phobic so many medical professionals are such that weight is seen as the most important factor in diabetes which is not the case. I say this because I also know how awful feeling nauseous is and wonder if there is a way that you can stop the Ozempic and find another medication that works better for you? Without losing any weight my HBA1C has gone down from 55 to 50 in 3 months because my medication is working! I could not take Metformin as it made me miserable with the nausea, so they had to find something else. I gather there are lots of options.
Regarding nausea: I have felt sick for the best part of a year( before the diabetes) attributing it either to medication side effects, lack of sleep, grieving at the loss of my mother etc. I was not getting face to face GP appointments at the time so they ran some blood work which didn't show anything apart from raised CRP.
A few weeks ago, I was crying non stop and feeling that I might be depressed. I saw a GP, she had a feel of my tummy and said that my stomach was inflamed, probably from the steroids. I started taking a course of higher strength Lansoprazole and the miracle has been that I stopped crying after 4 days and am feeling like my old self again. Still not fully recovered but getting there. My point is that my nausea seems to have caused an emotional breakdown !
I know we are all different but I think this does remind us that our emotions are so linked to our physical well being that we need to take care of both as best we can and doctors are not always right and can be challenged.
Suzy—first, I am sorry for the loss of your mother. We never stop needing them. You are so right about physical/mental linkage. I am interested in your good experiences with the right meds. Was Lanzoprazole for acid reflux? I am having a blood draw and doc visit in the next few weeks. My a1c was at 8 a few months ago, which is why he put me on Ozempic. I pray it is in a more normal range. Thank you for your positive story. xo
The Lanzoprazole is to treat my inflamed/irritated stomach that was causing the nausea. I had been taking it about once a week whenever I had indigestion or felt a bit acidy . I didn’t realise my stomach was irritated which was probably caused by the steroids, so now have needed to take the Lanzoprazole to actually treat my stomach. After a month, I should be able to go back to a smaller maintenance dose.
Very good luck with your next blood test. I’m sure it will be lower but just remember there are alternatives to Ozempic with less side effects!
Goodness, that’s a lot of grief to process. I’m so sorry you have this on top of everything else. If you can, talking to somebody is recommended because even though it can’t take the grief away, it can help you process it. It also gives you permission to talk about the person when the world seems to have moved on when you are not ready.
Regards the weight, did you ever try very low carb eating? It’s not just about calories but the way the body is managing its blood sugar. Normal healthy diet doesn’t work with Pred and many of us have kept diabetes and weight gain at bay this way.
Some people find the side effects of Methylprednisolone much worse than Prednisolone. Is there a reason you’re on this form?
What I found is that there is a lag between reducing and the effects of the reduction showing. It felt to me that Pred effects accumulated and gradually reduced behind the wave, not with it as I entered much lower doses.
I napped daily for 2 hours for a long time. It may be your meds causing extra fatigue too. If your blood sugars are out of whack that won’t help either. It does feel you’re in a mess but gradually it does clear.
So sorry about your son - that should never happen to anyone. Hugs. And if you haven't - seek counselling. It makes such a difference.
I had similar effects with methyl pred - the only thing I gained weight with, never happened with prednisolone or prednisone. And a wonderful black beard! I used my Braun epilator which was a bit ouchy the first few times but no worse than waxing and much better in the long run. Shaving just makes it look worse and doesn't last long. Cutting your carbs drastically - not just using drugs - helps with the steroid-induced diabetes. It isn't the same as Type 2 in fact. It is caused by the pred triggering the liver to produce random spikes of glucose from body stores in the liver and muscles - control the dietary carbs and it will reduce the average glucose level a lot and it does help the weight too.
Thanks, Pro, as always. Will get the Braun epilator. Easier than soaping face and shaving. Seeing doc, therapist, physical trainer and my three dogs (two of which were my son’s) in the next week or so. Am hoping reduced steroids start to have an effect on blood sugar, BP, sideburns and skin. Take care. xoxo
Very sorry to hear about your son, and as suggested please do seek counselling to help you through your bereavement.
As for the side effects of steroids, they will improve as you reduce, sorry cannot help on Ozempic, but others have/will.
It comes as a shock to realise the real you is no longer there for whatever reason, but even though it doesn’t seem possible you will get through this stage - and you have taken the first step by reaching out to us….. but you do need specialist help…
Will see my therapist as well as doc in a week, and my physical trainer on Friday. And get back to walking the dogs. As I think of these upcoming activities, I feel better. Thank you for always being there for us on this site. xo.
I agree with others that bereavement counselling will be a good thing for you. Right now, there are so many awfully distressing aspects to your life and grief will understandably be high up on the list. You are trying to deal with that grief as well as your health issues and everything is going round and round in your head with no resolution. Feeling sick all the time is so debilitating and of course it will be contributing negatively overall. Talking with a professional will bring some relief in terms of your mental health, I’m sure, and hopefully allow you cope with decisions regarding a way forward in health matters. One step at a time, Merryfield. Will be thinking of you. 💐
Thank you, 123. I am not good at asking for help, but I feel free to do so on this site, and your response is welcome. I will see my therapist in a week or so and get back to exercising after a long trip. Too bad that the only thing that helps with Oz nausea is ice cream. A nono! May your PMR path lead back to good health. xo
I can tell you a bit about steroid induced diabetes. On my diagnosis of it I cut my carbs drastically and walked as much as I could. I was put on gliclazide which very quickly put me into remission. I have been off all diabetic meds for nearly 6 years and my hba1c is now 36. I am now on 4.5mg of pred and notice my sugars are staying lower.
As for Ozempic you may have a problem there as there is a shortage of supply as people have been buying it over the counter to aid in weight loss. So you may have to change to another medication.
I really hope things start to feel better for you soon. XI
You have been through the dew! They say the best way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time—you’ve received lots of ideas here; if you tackle only one and see a difference, it will help you to take on the others. I can’t add to what has already been suggested, just give yourself time, you will get back on track. Sending warm wishes to you.
So very sad to hear your son has left and moved on to the next. I cannot comment on the medical issues as have no experience with these in particular. Glad to see you have a future plan with the doggo's. You're going thru so much right now. Hugs.
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