On prednisone 5.5-years, now it's 15mg., is 15mg., been as high as 60mg.

Hi Reggie A.,

Yes, I can relate! I have only been on prednisone for about a year, and I am tired all the time. I was swimming 3 times a week, but I started a new job and I am too tired to exercise for now. Once I get acclimated to the work, I will try to exercise. From what I have read on this board and my own experience, exercise is very important.

As for weight gain, a moderated carbohydrate "diet" keeps me from gaining more weight. After 3 months on the prednisone, my A1C blood work came back as diabetic! That threw me for a loop! So instead of going on Metformin, I immediately started eating only protein & vegetable meals. That did the trick as I have been normal in the last two A1C results.

I'm sure others, with more experience will chime in with good advice. This is the best PMR board that I've seen!

Happy Trails!

LarryM

hi again Reggie!

besides the myriad of all my other health problems, I was dx'd with pmr a little over a year ago.

for the time being, I've placed it on the back burner while I address these biopsiea and such.

but I too started out on 15mg.....Horrible side effects! but one of the WORST was I gained 47lbs in a few short months. I'd never had a weight problem and didn't recognize myself!

I'm now down to 5mg and have lost avout 25lbs with out making any other changes.

So, please hang in there. if I can do it, so can you!!

Thanks Lynda, & Larry.

Cut your carbs drastically - that means all processed carbs and and all added sugar. Be careful of root veg and fruit. Cutting processed carbs will also reduce your salt intake and that all adds to the "wobble" as someone on another forum just put it.

https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb#avoid

gives lots of advice on what to avoid.

Removing sugar from your diet may also improve the inflammation (so may lower the amount of pred you need) and it should improve your cravings for food if you have any as the level of sugar in the blood should be more stable.

Reggie,

I'm only coming up on about a year of being on Prednisone but already I'm finding that I'm having to be much more careful about 'portion' control which I used to handle just by exercising a lot. I'm also eating more salads and veggies and trying to eliminate as many carbs as possible. I've given up a lot except for a couple glasses of wine in the evening.

I'm down to 8 mg now (and going down 1 mg/mth) - from high of 20 mg - but I can't imagine being on 60 mg even for a short period. I have seemed to solve my hip pain with the isometric exercises I do daily. I just got back from a two-day golf outing including a 7-hr drive each way and a lot of walking on the golf courses, with no pain and no after-effects the day after returning.

I'm hoping that as I keep dropping my Pred doseage that maintaining or dropping weight will be easier.

Is your rheumi letting you lower your doseage and have you had any setbacks from doing so?