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PMR, Prednisone, Weight

Posted , 14 users are following.

kathy67492
kathy67492

i have tapered down to 7-1/2 after 2+ years of PMR. At the beginning of the PMR, prednisone I automatically lost weight.

At this lower dose I am gaining weight. Isn't this the opposite of the norm?

0 likes, 20 replies

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  • iellen32
    iellen32 kathy67492

    Posted

    As you I woul be amazed.

    For sure, there will be a reason to explain it though and hope you will

    get very soon the answers you need.

  • Boronia
    Boronia kathy67492

    Posted

    Hello, Kathy. I am in an almost identical situation. Have had PMR now for 21 months. Initially lost 6kg. It took about 18 months to get back to my normal weight. Although I am relatively careful about what I eat and I am now on 6.5mg of prednisone, I am finding that I now eat less and can put on weight more easily. I also feel my figure is changing.  Not sure why this is the case at this stage, but perhaps it was because the body over the first 18 months had some leeway, weight-wise. I am now at my regular weight and I am determined to stay there, but I must say I am holding back on a lot of good things. (Another new phenomenon - I also find I get incredibly sleepy at around 2:00 pm. I work from home (but fulltime and often rather long hours), so I can exercise some flexibility but I have never been a “napper.” Guess I will have to skill that now.

    It will be interesting to see how many others share or do not share this problem.

    • kathy67492
      kathy67492 Boronia

      Posted

      Thank you for this information. PMR, Pred is full of surprises I guess!
    • iellen32
      iellen32 Boronia

      Posted

      Following the advice of my GP we must sleep if we need to, for our body in general and for the brain!

      Around 2:00 pm I sleep for a while.

      This is more important than I ever thought it was.

    • Nancy_O
      Nancy_O Boronia

      Posted

      I have found the afternoon nap is helpful. I find that I crash late afternoon and have nothing left for the evening. A short nap helps.
    • Anhaga
      Anhaga Boronia

      Posted

      Yep, I nap now, or at least do nothing physically taxing, especially early afternoon.  But I always did get sleepy after lunch - terrible time for classes, lectures, or meetings.  And I was known on a couple of occasions to nod off momentarily at work. redface  Fortunately never in a life-or-death occupation.
    • EileenH
      EileenH Anhaga

      Posted

      I can't put the direct link but you might find this article in the UK Guardian interesting:

      "I used to be tired all the time too. 'Segmented sleep' solved that

      Peter Papathanasiou"

      This keeps your "nap" for the early evening - but splitting your sleeping hours is a very traditional thing. In the Med they sleep mid-afternoon, hisotrically it seems the north got up in the middle of the night. Seems perfect for people on pred! wink

    • Anhaga
      Anhaga EileenH

      Posted

      I think I'd do well with a siesta - have always thought that a very sensible practise!
    • iellen32
      iellen32 Anhaga

      Posted

      I do the same since I've got my health condition - GCA and it makes me feel just right after doing so.

      Adjusting, adjusting to our new circunstances...

  • cindy63197
    cindy63197 kathy67492

    Posted

    The prednisone has a tendency to make people gain weight. PMR without medication has a tendency to make you lose weight.
    • EileenH
      EileenH cindy63197

      Posted

      That's a bit of a generalisation - I had PMR for 5 years undiagnosed and therefore untreated. During that 5 years I put on quite a bit of weight because I couldn't exercise properly. Then I was offered pred and took prednisolone for the next couple of years. I didn't put on any more weight but what was there redistributed itself to face, back of my neck and around my middle so my waist disappeared. 

      Then I was switched to methyl prednisolone and immediately, within a few months, put on a lot more weight, all over. About 10 months later I was switched to a form of prednisone and I also changed to a low carb diet.

      Over the following 2 years I lost 38lbs in weight - all the pred-related weight and a bit more. It went first from my waist but all the "Cushingoid" fat has gone. I'm still on pred, currently back at 15mg due to a flare, and haven't put on any weight in the 3 months I've been on 15mg.

      There are several people on the forums who put weight on with PMR - for the same reason I did. Others have lost weight while taking pred without trying. Yet others have lost considerable amounts of weight while on pred but because, like me, they have been trying quite hard.

      It is all possible - including losing weight while still on pred. You just have to go about it the right way and be patient - because it does tend to be a bit slow!

    • cindy63197
      cindy63197 EileenH

      Posted

      It just goes to show you that everyone's experience seems to be different.
  • constance.de
    constance.de kathy67492

    Posted

    Kathy, I lost 10 kgs during the first year of Pred and kept it off for the next 3 years, by then I was on 7 1/2 mgs (had started on an unusually high dose)!  Now in my 4th year and have put on 5 or 6 kgs. The morm seems to be that people put on weight, but, BE HAPPY, we're the lucky ones.

    Regards fr Constance.

  • Handbrake
    Handbrake kathy67492

    Posted

    HI Kathy, i didn't lose weight with PMR but lost muscle and gained belly fat (which I found out after gym measurement of muscle body fat ratios ) after starting prednisolone,
  • EileenH
    EileenH kathy67492

    Posted

    Opposite of the norm yes - but there have been  people who put on weight with PMR pre-diagnosis and pred (I did) and others who lost weight when they started taking pred (no such luck!). Pred does change the way your body processes carbs - I wonder if some of us respond more normally to a slightly raised blood sugar level and aren't hungry so eat less whilst others have the "hunger response"?

    Everyone is different...

    • kathy67492
      kathy67492 EileenH

      Posted

      That makes sense. I am probably eating more because I feel a little better...but my exercise is still limited because of foot problems.

      thank you!

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