I just found this site. I also have giant cell arteritis (i.e.,temporal arteritis). So glad to read your message. I don't feel so alone. I have the moon face and have gained 20 lbs. I guess I'm lucky 'cus I've been on a sugar binge for 5 months. I begin a diet each morning. Never finish with the same goal. I will look into the low carb diet mentioned in some of the posts. Wish I could help you, but am just looking for answers. giantpreds (Lorraine)

Other than responding to Annie1977 today, I haven't written in this blog.(or any other blog, so my experience is limited). Here goes ...

Was diagnosed with giant cell arteritis last December and have been on Prednesone since then. Began with 60 mg per day and now am down to 17-1/2 per day. I've gained 20 pounds as of today, but I look pregnant and since I'm 73 years old, it's not a good look for me.

My concern is at 73, losing this weight will be more difficult than if I was younger. I guess I'm lucky I didn't get the facial hair (fingers crossed), but I have about everything else listed under possible reactions to Prednesone.

I guess I can only blame myself. Shortly after I began Prednesone, I've had this compulsion to eat anything with sugar ... and a lot! The sugar of choice began with, of course, chocolate. Then I realized I needed to stop, so I replaced chocolate with cookies (which I'm not usually crazy about). Same problem. Got rid of cookies since I was going through a complete package of cookies at one sitting. Got rid of the cookies. However, I find I MUST have something, so go through my cupboards until I find something.

I have to do something about controlling that! Doc says when I get down to 10 mg, I will have more control and will lose weight. Any help out there? I can't go on this way. Never was a big eater and I was usually full with just a bit of food. However, I've always LOVED chocolate.

Thanks for reading through this. I feel much better now. (NOT)

Hi I am new to this and I am thirteen years old, have been on prednisone since january 2010. I think I started at about 80mg a day and am now on 15mg a day. This thursday my E.N.T. may lower me to 10mg! I heard that this is the so called "magic number" for losing the moon face and some of the weight you gain from prednisone. Can anyone tell me if this is true or if it has happened to you? Thanks it would be greatly appreciated!

Hi,

I have been on prednisone 30 mg for 3 weeks now for an autoimmune disease. I'm 21, around 120lbs and have a question about the weight gain. I've experienced insomnia, mood swings, depression and irritability, very easily bruising, increased urination, and some bowel symptoms, etc.
Aside from maybe some swelling I haven't gained more than a couple pounds on days I pig out. I'm used to running up 6 flights of stairs daily for classes and now I feel so weak I can't do one. Aside from crunches I've been doing every night, exercise is pretty much out of the question. I'm only consuming around 1000 calories daily (I only really have time for 2 meal bars and a real meal each day because of classes and working).

Some people reported gaining upwards of 90lbs on prednisone. Since I will probably be on it for a while, I was wondering how long it took for those of you who had significant weight gain to start gaining the weight.

So happy to have found this! Since being put on pred 2 months ago, I have been looking for info. I was diagnosed with Crohns and first did a pred taper from 60 mg to 10 mg. The symptoms returned, so now I'm back on it at 60 mg, and will begin a longer taper lasting about 3 months. I already had a weight issue I was working on. Because of the Crohns, I have had very little energy and just not felt well the past year or so, so have not been able to exercise regularly.

Now I have the wonderful moon face, double/triple chin, huge belly. I'm a single mom of 3, been divorced 4 years. I finally started seeing a wonderful man 7 months ago, and I feel awful that he has to go through this with me. I also have trouble sleeping, still no energy, and my moods are ****. I am either angry or crying. I hate this med. But I also don't want to end up without a colon, so I have to deal with it for now.

I read this whole thread, and it looks like the best thing for me to do is go low carb, low sodium and bump up the water. Also trying to push myself to work out. Hopefully that will help with the cravings and the appetite. Would love to hear from more people who have been successful losing weight on pred, or after stopping it.

Thanks to everyone for sharing!

Hi everyone~ my heart goes out to the sweet people in this thread. Your stories sound so much like mine. I also have been on prednisone on and off for years and years because of Crohns disease. The last time I was on it was June-August of this year. I had started my weight loss when a flare started. I thought I could get by on another drug but my doctor wanted me to begin prednisone. I have already had several surgeries and I really wanted to avoid another one so I started on the dread pred. At the time I has lost 20 lbs. and I really did not want to gain it back. I had worked so hard. My doc put me on 40 mgs. daily. My doc told me in the beginning I only needed to take it for 2 weeks. So I thought no problem. But I didn't take into account the drop down doses would take a while. And in mid-drop schedule a bad flare made me have to increase again. So basically I was on it all summer.
I did a lot of research on pred. and decided instead of eating 3 meals a day, I would eat 6-7 tiny ones. All the advice also tells to watch your sodium intake. When hunger would drive me crazy I would cut open a water melon and dig out two cups of it and eat that slowly. I told myself a thousand times a day... the hunger is all in your head- it's all in your head.
Through it all I stayed on 1200-1500 calories a day. And I exercised 3-4 day's a week and I did lose weight. I'm not going to say it was easy. I went to bed at night feeling hungry. But I wanted the weight loss so bad. I did discover it is possible to take pred. and lose weight.
I have a long road in front of me to reach my weight goal ~ I'm glad I found 3FC. I hope good health to all!!

The hunger is not in your head.

Hi everyone. I'm new and I'm glad that I found this site. I had been diagnosis with Cardiac Sarcoidosis in Dec 2009 and have been on prednisone since July of this year. The doctor started me on 80 mg for a month then tappered me down to 20. Once I got to 20 is when I started to gain weight and got the moon face.
For the ones that have been on this drug for years what are your tips on living with this drug and it's evil side effects?

Hey everyone, Im a 13 year old girl and I have lupus of the brain! Im on prednisone to help reduce inflammation! Currently on 40mg, tapering down 10mg every four weeks or so!!!! I was at 60mg, but in the summer i was at 30mg and thin!!!
With proper diet and excersise, will I be thin again????
THANKS!

I gained mostly all of my weight from prednisone (asthma). I'm glad there is a post for this.. :-) And YES you can gain lots of weight for a brief course of prednisone. I gain about 10lbs for a 5 day taper.. I was also on for 18 days and gained 30 lbs, and then again 2 months later for 7 days and gained 15lbs.. That was a taper from only 60mg. I have never taken anything over 60mg and I can attribute about 60lbs to prednisone. It's awful.

im not the only one suffering from pred!
if anyone has advice or stories that they could share with me to help me go on, it would be appreciated!
ive been on pred sine last june, now on 25mg, and ive got about 60 pounds to lose!
anyone know how long it will take to lose that weight with diet and excersise??????

Ok so how odd is this. 3 years ago I was in a band & my vocal chords were always swollen-Florida allergies. My doc gave me low dose prednisone. I would take 20mg 8 hrs before singing & sing perfectly. I felt amazing. Tons of energy, lost weight to a size 5. High happy mood. I quit the band and stopped taking the prednisone. For the past 3 years I've felt awful. Gained 30 pounds, fatigue, bloating, intestinal crap, sweating, depression, headaches, joint pain, foggy head.

For the last 4-6 mo I've been sick over & over. No insurance. About 4 weeks ago I got bronchitis & took a zpack. Felt ok after. Three days ago I came down with strep. Finally bit the bullet & saw a doc. He gave me Cipro & a prednisone dose pack.

I woke up this morning & most of yesterday feeling INCREDIBLE! I've dropped 4 pounds & have more energy than I know what to do with.

WHY????

HI,

I am 20 and have been on Pred. since I was two months old. I have been on a dose of 2.5mg up to 30mg. Currently on 10mg daily. I have a condition called Diamond Blackfan Anaemia. I will never come off this medication.

I find with the medication that if I eat a normal diet my weight just goes up and up there is no stopping it. So i decided to do something about it.

I am now on a calorie controlled diet eating 1200 calories a day and doing a workout video (which is very high intensity) for 1 hour and 20 minutes a day. I started in Feb and have lost about 1 stone 8 pounds which is ok but im getting frustrated at only loosing about a pound a week but very glad that I am actually loosing weight.

I am gonna start cutting out salt and sugar too slowly (after reading all these posts). I already drink plenty of water as it is but am gonna start drinking peppermint tea.

I have found two of the worst things for weight gain for me is milk and coke. Eating out also makes me gain alot of weight.

I hope this helps people.

It's easy to say "it's just hunger, ignore it," but prednisone hunger isn't normal hunger, it's what I like to call "rabid hunger."

On prednisone, you tell yourself all day "it's just hunger, ignore it," but you can't igore it because it's always there, sometimes even after you've eaten to bursting. So instead of ignoring it, or destracting yourself, you're left with resistance - white knuckled resistance.

I'm not saying resistance is impossible against prednisone hunger, just that it's not as simple as when dealing with normal hunger. You've got to be prepared for bloody battle, not the normal, little argument that is normal hunger.

Willpower alone usually doesn't cut it. Planning and strategy does. That may mean keeping a humongous stash of low and no calorie "foods" to munch on all day, or keeping all trouble foods out of the house, or going very low carb (because low-carb diets tend to suppress hunger, hopefully cancelling out some of prednisone-induced hunger).

Sometimes even weight maintenance is a monumental task on prednisone.

I have been on prednisone since November 2010 for sarcoidosis. It was a very high dosage, and now I am down to half that dose. My doctor is trying to wean me off it, but it is a slow process and we are concerned about a re-emergence of the sarcoidosis. In the beginning of May 2011 I joined Weight Watchers ... and had very slow progress. But at one point about 4 weeks ago, I lost 5 lbs in one week. I was thrilled, until 2 days later I started swelling again and gained back 6 lbs. A co-worker suggested I try Green Tea Extract (capsule form from the pharmacy). I take 400 mg in the morning and 400 mg at lunch. Within 4 days I lost all the weight (it was all water) and have continued my weight loss. I have lost, since May a total of 13 lbs! Prednisone sucks, but it is possible to loose weight. Hope this helps someone else!