STEROIDS - ANOTHER ARTICLE BY DOROTHY BYRNE

Mrs K

Your words brought back a very hidden memory - a nice one :D When I was a little girl I used to love sitting on our next door neighbour's lap because of what I called her \"fats\" :roll: I think this must have meant what I have also heard called \"busty protuberances\" (that's possibly Peter Cook)!!!!!! My own mother, in her late 30s was very slim with no bosom to speak of.

That doesn't mean I don't want to lose a bit of weight, more for health reasons than anything,

Got raging toothache today, an abscess under a crown I suspect so waiting until 8 o'clock for dentist to open. So no more reducing the pred. today! :cry:

Green granny

Hello all

Hi Beev i really think you have to accept it is the steroids and I personally when i had PMR before felt even when I was off steroids i struggled for possibly a year after I was off them to get my weight down but as i have said when this bout started I was spot on and very happy with how i was and my level of fitness Some people seem to have had a dramatic weight gain like poor Nefret others it seems to slowly go on ( a lot to do with the inactivity ) but with you it must have changed your metabolism as you are keeping very active nad watching the cals as well Are you doing a low carb high protein diet ???? as thats what you need on steroids ( if you can face it ) Just dont let anyone tell you it is your fault and you are overating !! The great thing is you are managing to do lots of things so unfortunately the only answer is patience !!!!

Margareita Treat yourself to a trip to a Beauty salon to sort out your moustache unless you are happy to use of of the many products on the market or a magnifying glass and tweezers !!! Tell your Dr your neck is stiff and you want a referral to a physio !! I have just had a referral for my knee via my Dr and i only waited 10 days for appt I was paying about £45 for massage so i thought I would see what the NHS could do You get exercises to do

Hope you get your tooth sorted out Green Granny You will certainly forget the PMR pain with that !!

Domestic chores today but this is the first Friday since New Year Eve that I havent woken up with a sore throat so i think my \" Bug\" has eventually gone !! Hooray i really didnt want antibiotics as I am trying really hard to reduce these steroids and dont want anything to rock the boat !!

Best wishes to all

Mrs G

Yes, just phoned and got dentist's appt at 10.00 this morning.

BUT remembering new dentist muttered about alendronic acid last time I had an exam when all was OK I have just been googling the stuff.

My doctor never suggested I had a dental exam before starting on AA but this seems to be suggested frequently. Have any of you had this put to you?

I took myself off AA about 10 weeks ago, and haven't got round to telling Dr yet. I have been upping calcium and Vit D etc after the discussion here and I felt I had got low enough down the pred. scale not to have too much risk of osteoporosis. Main reason was I just hated taking the stuff and it didn't make me feel good but looking at all the side effects of the stuff I wonder why I ever started taking it!!! :cry: And some of them mimic the symptoms of PMR so much as well......

So hard to know what's what sometimes :cry:

Thank you to all of you for sharing the difficulties about weight - it's not just thinking we need to keep up with Mrs Beckham, but how we see ourselves and how others make judgments about us, not knowing.

Right, I'm going to go and make a nice cup of coffee - my one a day. Eating isn't great at the moment but hot drinks are fine so that's something

Green granny

Hello Beev

It's good to hear from you again and interesting to read that you are also having a problem shifting the extra steroid weight though now on a very low dose. You are doing more exercise than me (I am just doing my daily walk and Tai Chi) which sort of seems to confirm my suspicion that the steroids interfere so much with the metabolism that we are fighting a losing battle.......maybe (hopefully!) just for the moment! Over the last two weekends I have tried a special \"weekend diet\" - sounds strange but it works (will send it to you if you are wish). Interestingly by half way through the following week I lose 2lbs BUT a few days later it goes on again even though I'm eating only lean meats, fish, veggies and fruit - no sugar, so I feel even the 1mg must be the culprit!

The lady who runs a Support Group in Suffolk once told me that she also gained a very small amount of weight on steroids and although she lost some towards the end of the treatment, it wasn't until she came off steroids that she managed to lose the remainder with a lot of willpower! The good news is that she managed to recover and come off steroids altogether and don't we love to hear that.

I have kidney, heart, blood pressure and spinal problems and know from various medical appointments in the past that it is crucial that I try and control my weight......in spite of steroids! :roll:

So hang in there Beev - you are doing incredibly well to have reached a very low dose and be able to exercise as much as you do. I'm sure we'll hear the most important news from you soon - that you have beaten this disease - and the weight loss will follow!

MrsO

Hello Green granny

Glad you have an appointment soon !!

I have stopped the Alecdronic Acid too I havent read that much about it but i like you hated taking it One of the pleasures in life is the fact that now I dont work my husband brings me a cup of tea in bed then I get up when he leaves for work He manages to put milk in his cereal himself !!

So I took AA at weekends I used to get up early sit up straight or walk around drink all the water then take the tea back to bed but sometimes if I didnt feel great I didnt take it

I didnt take it over Xmas and New year while I was away then I had all the sore throat cough bug so didnt take it When i saw my Dr I was 3.5 and said to her I didnt want to take it She looked up my Dexa results and I only have a slight problem in one hip ( not osteo but whatever the pre thing is called !!) and that was caused by a very bad fall years ago so she said as I was on a low dose of steroids fine but if I had to go up again we would have to reconsider

I havent had any more problems with my teeth ,no crowns but plenty of old fillings though !!

Good luck at the Dentist

Mrs G

Hello [color=green:e44d9d3345]Green Granny [/color:e44d9d3345]

Just a quickie to say bestest of luck at the Dentist and hope they get rid of that pain :cheers:

MrsO

Hello All

Just been googling AA !!!!

Knew nothing about the dental problems and certainly didnt know you had to tell the Dentist about it !! I changed Dentist this year ( found a new NHS practice so lot cheaper than my private one ) !! I mentioned steroids but because AA was only once a week didnt think about it

The Hygenist did say she woukld write to my Dr re the steroids in case she had to do intensive cleaning on my teeth so thats frightened me enough to do all the extra cleaning with all the little dental sticks !!

People seem to have far more shocking side effects with AA than steroids I know Eileen doesent speak very highly of them !! I know my sister in law is going to be given something else as she has been on it over 8 years ( over the guidelines ) but she has osteoporosis has been on steroids & methatrixate and now possibly has bone cancer so it is hard to decide what has come first chicken egg or just the illness

Best wishes

Mrs G

Hi Mrs G

I've never taken Alendronic Acid or any of the biphosphonate drugs BUT I'm having horrendous problems with my teeth - enamel breaking off everywhere - all down to the steroids according to my rheumatologist! In all fairness, I had fillings done as a young child with the school dentist saying that something was very wrong internally to be causing such early decay (this later turned out to be kidney disease and was resolved with the problem kidney being removed when I was 13). Successive dentists over the years have remarked that my \"fillings go down to my boots\"! :shock: So maybe I was predisposed to steroids wreaking havoc with my teeth. Like you, I have also sought a second opinion and changed dentists this year - unfortunately my first much needed appointment on Wednesday was cancelled a couple of hours before as the dentist had to go home to a poorly child! Fortunately, I am not in any consistent pain just that sharp pain when cold water hits the nerve!

At least now that you are on the low dose steroid and with the DEXA scan showing good results, you are able to do without the alendronic acid - one one less pill to worry about and you can continue to enjoy that early morning cuppa in bed!

MrsO

Hello Mrs O and Mrs G

Bad news at the dentist :cry: :cry: A lot of infection under the crown and the tooth will have to come out :cry: :cry: Also it will be a difficult extraction so my very nice NHS dentist will have to refer me to an oral surgeon. First, just a consultation because the surgeon will have to work out the effect of the pred. and the AA - which I have been off 10 weeks now. So I have 2 lots of anti biotics to take meantime, and one really is a no alcohol one. So altogether I am not a happy bunny.

But as others have pointed out before me, it could all be so much worse. Especially when I hear about people with bone cancer. Trouble is one gets a bit too self centred.

Hope otherwise all of you have a not too bad day, and I will report back with any news about the effect of pred. and AA. Forgot to say, I did discover AA can make your teeth loose in their sockets. You'd think that something that builds up bones would do the opposite.

Love to all, Green granny

[color=green:6209d83405]Allendronic acid.[/color:6209d83405]There is a big notice in our dentist's waiting room reminding us to be sure to say what drugs we are currently taking but I don't remember getting any instuctions at the doctor's. Stopped taking it after 6 doses and returned spares to pharmacy and can't remember whether the enclosed literatutre gave any instructions. Surely it should.

[color=red:6209d83405]Green Granny[/color:6209d83405] What rotten luck. Do hope all well soon. BettyE

Dear [color=green:bafd98a620]Green Granny[/color:bafd98a620]

Oh poor you - I do hope it's a tooth out of sight to lessen the blow! An oral surgeon took a root out of my gum 2 years ago and added antibiotics because of the steroids. He was lovely and because he noticed I was in quite a bit of pain at the time trying to get in and out of the chair he arranged blood tests for me which showed raised markers so had to hike the steroids. I have an appointment to see him again next month this time in the maxilofacial(?) clinic to investigate my salivary gland problem. He is the lead consultant in this area - his name is Mr Bailey (just in case he comes out as far as your area as well).

You're right in saying that we can sometimes get a bit too self-centred (PMR makes us concentrate on ourselves and we have to learn so much about pacing, diet, exercise etc) and perhaps more so for those who no longer work - a good way to take our minds of ourselves! But I don't think there's much fear of that for you as I know you have plenty to do with plenty of family around. Anyway you should go and pamper yourself now and I hope the antibiotics relieve the pain and your appointment comes through soon.

Take care :hug:

MrsO

Hello Green Granny

So sorry to hear that your tooth problem was worse than you thought and hope the antibiotics work quickly To me tooth pain always feels the worst

Lets hope the Oral Surgeon can sort this sooner rather than later A friend for vanity reasons !! has had lots of implants done and they havent gone terribly well and at times she has had sessions of 3 hrs in the Dentists chair !! I personally can think of better ways to spend about 20.000 !!!!

Hope you feel better soon

best wishes

Mrs G

Hi all

Mrs K, I know - I'm sure you are right about the attractiveness of being thin v being fat! but, my acid reflux has been a lot worse recently and I really want to lose weight especially around the middle as I feel it might well help with that (I know- -it's vanity too)

In answer to your question I will be 60 in December and am determined not to be fat and frumpy when I hit that one (PMR allowing!!).

Mrs O, what is your weekend diet?? Red wine? If so, send it to me.

Mrs G, why is low carb, high protein good? I dont really think I have water retention although maybe i have without knowing it. Or does it improve your metabolism? I have asked for a thyroid test next week along with my ESR - just incase.

So sorry to hear about your tooth problems Green Granny. It's horrid to have tooth pain as well as everything else. Chin up - forgive the pun.

I don't know if you have read my other comments about AA, but I have been told never to take bisphosphonates again as I developed a stiff jaw and they think it's related. Am doing lots of weight -bearing exercise and taking extra Vit D3 as well as the Adcal.

All the best

Beev

Hi Beev

Oh that a diet could just consist of red wine! :redwine: I'm sorry to disappoint you but no wine allowed so I guess that means you just might not be interested? It is a fair amount of protein and not too high in carbs -whilst on steroids, too many carbs will help to pile on the weight as they turn into sugar in the body so foods such as potatoes (sweet potatoes are more healthy), parsnips, pasta etc should be eaten in small portions. I'm now a happy bunny :bunny: as since losing the 2lbs after last weekend's diet, I have managed to keep it off and with no visitors expected this weekend will try it again - will need lots of willpower when out for a meal with friends on Monday night though! :roll:

I'm amazed that you're able to do \"lots of weight bearing exercise\" as well as your 3 times weekly aerobics.....wow :wow:

MrsO

Beeve

Good for you, I was hoping you were just about 60 - it won't be age related yet. You will get there.

Have you tried, squeezing a lemon and taking the juice in water three times a day for the acid reflux. I got this tip from Mrs O and it worked. Evidently the acid lemon juice turns into alkali and it helps. Do not ask me how, I only know it worked for me and some other friends I told about it.

I put the lemon (like I do oranges or grapefruit) in the microwave for a minute - lots more juice.