Hi all,
I need some help with the weight gain. I lost 44 lbs. on Weight Watchers. Now everytime I go back to a meeting I'm gaining!!! I'm very depressed about it.
Anyone complaining about putting on some pounds? Joyalla Hello all, Joyalla I think you will find that the biggest majority of us on Pred have had some sort of weight gain. It is an obvious side effect together with increased appetite and feeling better, I was hungry for the first time in more than 6 months. The moon face, jelly belly, hump on back of neck ect is all part of the price to have pain at last managed! I also put on too much weight but now I am down to 5mg Pred I can see the wrinkles coming back.. and I love them now.. and have lost 7lbs.( only another 25 or so to go )I am now 18 months on Pred and am managing okay.
I am very pleased and very grateful now to be managing so well on 5 mg Pred. and the hot flushes have nearly gone away. I feel there is light at the end of the tunnel. Good Luck Joyalla.. I hope this helps. Warm wishes to all, Lyn Morning, fellow predheads. Lyn, wasn't it you who wanted to get your "buffalo hump" pierced? I use your joke a lot. It's too funny. People are always telling me how great I look, but I can't stand to look at my fat face in the mirror. I think the weight thing starts to deminish somewhat at under 10mgs. I can tell some difference with each 1mg drop. I'm headed for the rhuemy in Shreveport, La today. If I get a diagnosis of RA as well as PMR, then medicare will pay for the Procrit injections I need so badly to cure my anemia. Not that I want to have RA, but if I have it, I want it plainly written down as a diagnosis somewhere! I could feel so much better. It is so crazy to me that Medicare will only pay for these injections if the anemia from inflammation is caused by certain diseases on their list. PMR is not one of them . They pay for the most trivial things, yet deny treatment for blood. Blood is the most basic need the body has. The system should afford anyone basic blood products and treatments. I would contact my senator and rep, but they are probably on Viagra (which Medicare pays for), and wouldn't understand. Don't you just just hate that stupid "Viva Viagra" song in that ad where the guys are all singing and looking at each other knowingly. I know I'm picking on Viagra, but it's makes my point so well. I just want some damn blood,people!!!!!!! Pray for me girlfriends, really, and guys too, if you're not too mad at me. Seriously, pray for me. I need this to go well today. Love to all of you, and thank you. Hi Betsy, Yes that was me! I was so damn miserable before I started to read your posts and joined in. Your Humour and pain shared with us, who can relate to what we are on about on this forum, was a Godsend for me and Im sure many others xx I have been on google and found this, Just in case.. ..Supposing I have difficulty paying for Procrit? Hello all you miracle working predheads!!! Thank you for praying. I did get a diagnosis of RA, so now Medicare will pay for the Procrit injections. I am so excited and thankful. I just can't imagine how much better I'm going to feel. They started me on ? (looks like) Plaquenil 200mg. I haven't had time to research it yet. Before I take it I have to have an okay from my eye doctor. They have to watch for something about the retinas. She said mine is seronegative, as one of you on the forum suspected. Hey, you guys are really good at this! Anyhow, she said the seronegative is easily managable with the medication. I can't tell you how thrilled I am. As usual Georgianna and I are right together on everything. It's amazing. After reading your post, Georgianna, I really feel pretty good about your doctor visit, even though it was a little mind boggling. Maybe after all this time, pain,and suffering, someone is going to figure out what on earth is wrong. I think mottled means like sort of spotted or something. I pray you are about to get some real relief, too. We can just do like LynM and go get the turkey things under our necks pierced... just take one thing at a time until we can look in the mirror without jumping. Be sure and give us the results of all those tests, so we can learn more stuff, ukay? Oh, and sorry about the Viagra thing. I just get my panties in a wad over not being able to have blood like eveyone else. I feel better now. Love to all. Hi, Joyalla - I haven't gained any weight on prednisone (but the highest dosage I was at has been 15 mg) and I've been on it since Feb 2006. I think part of the reason is that I found early on that pred. was playing havoc with my blood sugar and affecting my vision. I did some research on the internet & found out that pred. depletes the chromium in the body, but with supplements of chromium picolinate & biotin (I take 500 mcg chromium picolinate & 250 mcg biotin daily), I could help to keep my blood sugar more regular. You have to get the the chromium picolinate at a health food store. Most drug stores only carry chromium, which appears not to be well absorbed by the body into a usable form. It may not help everybody, but I can't not take it, or I have huge spikes & drops in my blood sugar, which makes me trembly & ravenous, as well as affects my vision. I also take Recovery powder. I stopped taking it for a few days and started feeling rotten, whether because of stopping it or not, I don't know, so I make that a part of my routine, too. (www.recoverymedicine.com) Seems both the PMR & the prednisone affect every person differently. Hi all,
Thanks for making me feel a little better with the weight gain. I am now down to 15mg. of Prednosone. Hopefully, it's all water weight. I think the pain has left my shoulders and neck and has gone to my fingers!!! I can't even wear my wedding band!!I need for all this to go away!!! Anyone else have this PMR migrating to their hands? Joyalla Hi Joyalla, I have noticed my hands are more sore and stiff when I make a fist. Is that what you mean? I have a little lump on my little finger down near the nail that is sore also. The group says it might be a sign of RA. I'm going to have it checked out. For a couple of years now I have had problems using a regular mouse with my computer. I've had to use a trackball mouse so I can just lay my hand over it and use my thumb. My little finger gets very sore when I'm in a situation where I have to use a regular mouse for any length of time. I was at my daughter's house yesterday installing a wireless router and when I got home I had pains shooting up into my hand from my fingers from using her mouse for a couple of hours. Anybody else have mouse trouble
Kathy Hi, I'm a newbie but want to comment on the hands. Mine are generally sore and I have a hard time clenching my fists, opening small bottle caps, etc. My rheumatologist checks for lumps and seems suspicious about RA, but hasn't confirmed anything yet. I can see swelling around my knuckles, but no bony growths. Been on prednisone for about six months. Weight gain -next to pain -has been my biggest foe. I am at a 35 pounds gain. Think I weigh more than anyone is my family. It is terrible depressing.I am wearing my hubby shorts-refuse to go buy any clothes for this body. And my eating hablt have not changed. I do not munch or crave, but then I don't sleep either. The predisone pain is handled with Relafen 750 mg twice per day. It has been a great drug for my hands and shoulders. At 5 mg I am praying that the weight gain is to the top and soon--very soon--I will see some relief with the excess weight. Lonna I just weighed in this week after being on 10 mg pred for 3 weeks. When I stepped on the scale I thought I was going to show a weight gain of several pounds since I've been eating like a madwoman. Turns out I lost 2 pounds! Very wierd. Honestly I have been depressed and very bad with junk food over the last month. Maybe it has to do with the level of pred? I do feel much more bloated, that's why I thought I had gained weight. Lonna, you mentioned you take Relafen? My husband takes that for arthritis. Do you have RA also? You mentioned "prednisone pain"? Is the pred causing you pain? You really need to sleep. I take lorazepam a few times a week to help me if I can't sleep. You take care, and I hope you feel a little better by now....Kathy
Don't feel alone. I gained 36 lbs. in less than a year on prednisone. I've been off meds for about 2 years now, and still trying to lose the weight (tho' not trying very hard sometimes
Hi to all,
I have gained 30 lbs on pred. face is fat, you know that thing a turkey has under his chin, like excess skin hanging, i have that too, stomach is like i am six months pregnant, i hate the way i look when i look in the mirror. the sad part of it is i do not even feel that great on the pred. today i feel terrible, tired and weak and achey.
went to see the rheumy yesterday, sending me for mri of brain and spine and for blood work, said there is an ana blood factor in my blood which is the reason i am not getting relief from the pred except on high doses i do not know what the heck that means, he mentioned muscle biopsy, and the drug imuron, which i have to look up, he said i am a tough case, also will be checked for small vessel vasculitis.
he will decide the next course of action when all the tests are complete. oh this is weird, he said my skin is mottled, i tried to get an answer out of him as to what that means, but i got confused as to his answer, he seemed concerned about it and he has mentioned it before, strange, anyway let you know what else happens. love to all
.............................Georgiana...................... ...........
Betsy and Georgiana,
We will be anxiously recent dr. visits, and hope they get things figured out once and for all. Betsy, I know you don't want to have RA, but if you do, they can start aggressive treatment, and I've heard that the relief is good from it. And, Georgiana, I'm glad your dr. is taking you seriously and checking all those other things. Maybe you could have him or his nurse write down all those things that are confusing you, and then you can look them up on-line when you get home. Sometimes it's a wonder we understand anything the dr. is telling us, as there is too much info at one time for our poor brains to wrap around. Keep us posted, and know that we are praying for you.
Hugs.
Reni
[QUOTE=Georgiana] Hi to all, I have gained 30 lbs on pred. face is fat, you know that thing a turkey has under his chin, like excess skin hanging, i have that too, stomach is like i am six months pregnant, i hate the way i look when i look in the mirror. the sad part of it is i do not even feel that great on the pred. today i feel terrible, tired and weak and achey.went to see the rheumy yesterday, sending me for mri of brain and spine and for blood work, said there is an ana blood factor in my blood which is the reason i am not getting relief from the pred except on high doses i do not know what the heck that means, he mentioned muscle biopsy, and the drug imuron, which i have to look up, he said i am a tough case, also will be checked for small vessel vasculitis. he will decide the next course of action when all the tests are complete. oh this is weird, he said my skin is mottled, i tried to get an answer out of him as to what that means, but i got confused as to his answer, he seemed concerned about it and he has mentioned it before, strange, anyway let you know what else happens. love to all .............................Georgiana...................... ...........
[/QUOTE]
ANA could be another inflammatory process as RA, Lupus, Sjogrens ect. ? I don't know about prednisone myopathy but perhaps other things as well can have the ANA elevated. Polymyositis and the like.
Let us know.
Thanks for letting us know about the "good" news. Not fun to have RA, but at least you've got a diagnosis and will get some help, and I trust some relief real soon. I've read that the seronegative RA has a lot less serious prognosis than the "regular" RA; it's supposed to be a much milder form of the disease. So that is something to be thankful for. I took plaquenil for 6 months, and yes, you HAVE to have your eyes checked every 6-12 months while taking it to make sure it doesn't damage your retina. If there is indication of damage, when you quit the plaquenil, it quickly reverses. I didn't have any trouble the short time I was on the plaquenil. If you do not have regular eye exam coverage (like for glasses prescription) on your insurance, ask your primary care doc to refer you to an optholmologist, since these tests are mandatory while taking the meds. Then it will be covered on your medical.
Yes, mottled means spotted. I looked that up in regards to the SSV thing, and it says your skin can be mottled from that. Georgiana, let us pseudo-doctors know if we are close on all this.
I've been gone for a few days and just got back. Have been reading all the new posts. I can relate to your depression over the weight gain (Kathy - I'm jealous that you have actually lost weight). I gained 36 lbs. while on pred. I took relafen for a while pre-PMR diagnosis. Didn't help. It's kind of sad that so many of the meds we take for all this do (or can) contribute to weight gain, and if you do some reading, you'll find the latest research shows that lack of sleep also contributes to weight gain. Do you ever feel like some of this is a no-win situation? Actually, it does get better over time. After almost 6 years, my aches and pains are probably now of the "just getting older" type, at least I hope so. And if I could just learn to say no to food, I could lose the weight.
Good luck and take care.
Reni
Copyright ArthritisInsight.com