Hi I was diagnosed with PMR and possible GCA 2 years ago. Up to this point I led an extremely active life ; traveling , walking, swimming and caring for my elderly mother.
At the present time I’m trying to put things into perspective and balance .
Ive gained 10 lbs in the last year and am struggling to take it off. Im trying low carbs and exercise but the pred makes me very hungry and i get easily fatigued.
Hi,
And welcome, now you have posted you will see related posts… but most find the excess weight does drop off as they reduce Pred… what dose are you on now?
The fatigue may well be due to adrenals stuttering [and that is also dependent what dose you’re on]. So maybe have a look at this -
healthunlocked.com/pmrgcauk...
A bit more info about you might help us to give a better answer.
Hi I’m presently on 6mg pred and 15 methotrexate.
Can’t comment on MTX -never been on it -but would say that being at 6mg Pred the fatigue is most likely down to adrenals struggling.
Very slow taper, small steps (0.5mg a time), time, resting when you can/need and patience required…
Slower tapering plans here -
Hi and welcome!
I found that methotrexate made me hungry - pred never did but as soon as I started MTX I could have eaten for Britain!!! Never had the nausea side effect.
When that sort of hunger is the problem, it may be you aren't on as low carb as you think you are. Do you eat much fruit? That is the downfall for many, healthy it may be, but there is a lot of sugar in there! For some of us it has to be VERY low carb, keto levels, although it is very difficult to achieve ketosis when on pred as it triggers the liver to release random spikes of glucose into the blood from the body stores in liver and muscle. That in turn triggers insulin release and the BS level plunges because the meal the body is expecting doesn't arrive - and you crave food.
Studies have also now made them realise that exercise doesn't have much effect in losing weight, in fact you may GAIN - the exercise makes you hungry and the result is you increase your food intake by more calories than the exercise expended!!!!! Isometric and isotonic static exercises rather than aerobic exercise will tone muscles and improve shape without making you as hungry.
At 6mg pred you are into return of adrenal function territory - and that can make you feel tired. Have you been on MTX long? That absolutely flattened me and the fatigue was the reason I stopped it.
I’ve been on Methotrexate for 4 months
Thanks for the advice - I will have a serious read of the links you all have sent. The rheumatologist prescribed mxt as a spacer.
I’ve been reducing prednisone by .5 mg . I’ve been on 6 mg for 3 weeks now. I’m thinking of having accupuncture treatment to wake up my adrenals.
Save your money - the only thing that will wake up adrenal function is time and a low level of pred at midnight. What dose were you at when you started MTX? Has it helped as a steroid-sparer?
I just checked my records - I’ve been on methotrexate for 7 months. This was recommended by rheumatologist because I had several flare ups. I was on 10 mg when mxt was prescribed. Since I’ve had no flares.
That's good.
This group has helped me so much. Thank you again for the support!
What gets us up in the morning and why we're here ...
You have my compassion and understanding. I've been on Prednisone for over 4 years now and did gain quite a bit more weight than you have. As I reduced my dosage I did lose weight. To me I always looked at it as a trade off.. I treasure my sight and felt confident eventually I would lose most of the weight. I don't know if that helps or not but I hope so!💞
Thank you- its sometimes hard to put things into perspective.
Same here!! I need to lose some weight.
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