I wish more people would post more often on this subject. We just need a lot of encouragement. I'm hungry it seems all the time when I have to go up in dosage. And doctors aren't much help, especially if they are thin themselves. They have no idea.

Yeah, I can't tell you how many times I've searched the internet for info on "weight loss + prednisone" =0(

on a positive note, though I haven't been near a scale in a few weeks, I have totally eliminated excess sugars from my diet (I craved soda like mad) and trying to watch the sodium, and I have a lot less bloating and my double-chin, which appeared suddenly out of nowhere, has almost disappeared, which means it was probably mostly water anyway. At any rate, glad to be rid of it. The belly is gonna take some real work though...

Cutting out sugar has helped me with my hunger, and I know as well as anyone the constant hunger that prednisone causes, so I imagine it might have something to do with insulin levels and so on as well making me crave more and more sugary things. I know water is best, but it's too big a leap for me right now to just drink plain old water so I've switched to crystal lite and stuff like that, calorie-free and sometimes they have vitamins in them too.

I just tried a 2 day Atkins Fat fast and feel awful. I'm trying to find something to diminish the hunger.

sucks that you feel awful. since trying to cut carbs i have absolutely no energy and just want to sleep or mope around all day long. argh.

I really did get the REAL flu. MY DD and DH had is before me. Only good thing is you don't feel like eating!

I was so glad to find this post. I was diagnosed with infiltrative lung disease in Nov. and have been on high dose Prednisone since. I work out two hours a day and keep my calories under 1800 but my weight is starting to creep up. I was becoming terrified to eat. I'm going to try the low carb diet, I just have a question, I don't really like meat that much, don't eat eggs, what else counts as protein?

I really like soy milk and soy products. But some people don't. Beans are good, too. I've been on prednisone for amost 3 yr. and slowly have lost 20lb with 40 to go.

I have just recently been diagnosed with sarcoidosis. I haven't been given prednisone yet but I am sure that will be the medicdation of choice when I go to the pulmonologist. I have lost 30 lbs because of this illness but it appears i will be putting it back on plus some in no time. My concern is the effect it has on your glucose levels. Has anyone developed type II diabetes while on prednisone? It looks like I will have to look into low carb, exercise and ALOT of will power. I need to feel better first. Any one else with sarcoidosis that can enlighten me to my fate?

I've had saricoidosis for 30 yr. and ignored it for 25. Now I have been taking prednisone for amost 3 yr. I sure wish they would give you more advice about diet when they put you on it long term. I'm very thankful that so far I have not had diabetes and I don't follow a low carb diet because of kidney problems from high blood calcium.

That's not why I was put on it, but I'm still on it and finally starting to lose. All I can say is pay attention to your sugar intake especially, because sugar tends to be associated with midsection weight gain, and prednisone encourages weight gain around the midsection, therefore you need to watch the carbs. I gained 9 inches in my waist on prednisone in less than a year! I've read that it can encourage type 2 diabetes also, so that's another reason to watch things. And I found that I craved sugar like mad, though since january I've cut out all added sugar, regular soda, fruit juice, cookies,cakes, and so on. prednisone is the reason i'm on this board, i was never overweight before it. I'm not sure if it directly affects glucose levels, I think I've read that it does, but I can just say to be careful with your carbs. Also it can make you feel hungry constantly. like a bottomless pit, though I've found it's better when I'm closely watching my carbs, eating more vegetables and lean proteins, etc. It's supposed to also cause muscle atrophy so lifting weights to avoid this is good. My back muscles got very weak for a time until I started lifting and exercising again.

I was on prednisone when I was a kid, for quite awhile. I had a seizure disorder...not really sure why i was on prednisone though. Anyway...that's when I "blew up"... I was an average size before the med...and since it I've had nothing but problems getting the weight off ....A doc wanted to put me on it again not that long ago for an allergy I have. I refused it. I didn't want to go thru all that again.

Prednisone can be a double-edged sword, but when I needed it, I don't know what I would have done without it. Being more than 200 lbs overweight, you have to be pretty desperate to be willing to take something that can add weight. But being able to breathe is pretty powerful motivation.

I've recently discovered that the NSAID I was taking (relafen) has been causing most of my lung issues. I've been on one NSAID or another for the last 15 years (the lung problems are about 10 years old, getting worse each year). Because my medicare coverage ran out, I couldn't afford my NSAID anymore, so I didn't refill. I was going to buy OTC ibuprofen or naproxen, but it was a couple weeks til payday, so I just started using the heating pad more. My lungs were better nearly instantly and when I could afford the naproxen I talked to the pharmacist and she said if one NSAID caused asthma for me, any including aspirin could.

Amazingly, I've been able to stop all steroids, even the steroid inhaler for a couple months now. I did have to have a steroid inhaler when I caught a really bad cold this month that settled in my chest, but the doctor said I could stop it after two weeks or when the wheezing had stopped for a couple days, whichever came first. I was on the inhaler less than a week.

I'm also FINALLY losing weight again which I credit largely to cutting carbs drastically, but I can't discount being steroid-free either.

I hate to say this, but prednisone is what sent me on my "upward spiral" when it came my weight. About ten years ago, they put me on prednisone because they thought my breast cancer had moved to my chest (it was a false alarm). I was only on it for six weeks and I gained 40 pounds, and after that it just kept climbing. I tried everything to get rid of it, and it just wouldn't budge. I finally just gave up and am now 100 pounds heavier than I was back then.

Four years ago, I went on WW, lost 25 pounds in six weeks. My doctors ordered cortisone shots for a problem in my back, and my weight loss just stopped abruptly and my weight started climbing again. The doctors said that the cortisone shots would not make you gain weight, but that is just a lie. The permission form you have to sign even states that the cortisone shots "may" cause weight gain.

I was made to feel like it was my own fault by my doctors after both of these experiences.

Last month, I went back on my WW, but I am so disgusted at how much I have to lose now. I get angry every time I think about it.

My doctors get annoyed at me, too, because I refuse any treatment now that involves steroids. I'd rather be in pain than gain one more ounce!

I have been on prednisone for the past 5 years. I started out getting a shot once a month then graduated to the oral tablet.
I was taking as much as 60mg a day and as little as 20mg a day depending on how my asthma was at the time.
I am now in the process of weaning myself off from it. I am happy to say I am down to 2.5mg a day and hope to be off it completley in the next couple of months. (sooner God willing).
My body is going through withdrawls but I have learned to ignore them. I know living without the prdnisone will far outweigh the withdrawls.
I have had some Doctors tell me losing weight while on prednisone is impossible and others who say it is possible. I have been starving myself for the past 2 months and so far have lost 4 lbs.
I have lost weight before, 80 lbs in 6 months time to be exact. I do believe it is possible to lose but it also depends on the individual and how active they can be. My activity is very little to non existant because of my shortness of breath.
I have been told by people who used prednisone and by those who knew someone that did and they all agree that the weight will come off after the steroid is stopped 100%.
I sure hope this is true. I worked very hard at keeping that 80lbs off for 15 years. Then I developed a condition that required steroid use. I tell everyone, if I only knew then what I know now I'd NEVER have let them give me any type of steroid.
In the 5 years time I gained a whopping total of 60lbs. The weight isn't as bad as the apple belly that came along with my new side burns. Thank God for Nair!!

My opinion is you need to wean off of the steroid. My new Dr. told me Wednesday that maybe I should increase my dosage again for a few weeks.
I told him "NO WAY". I think it would be easier to get off of illegal drugs than it is to get off prednisone but at some point we have to. I was on high doses for 5 years. I am now at 2.5mg. I started the weaning process in October of 07, I'm almost there!!
You can do it too.