HealingWell
Search Close Search
☰

Prednisone: For the ladies

Support Forums
>
Ulcerative Colitis
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply
❬ ❬ Previous Thread |Next Thread ❭ ❭
Posted 7/14/2016 4:36 PM (GMT 0)
Hello! So, wanted to know if anyone else is experiencing this strange side effect too and how long did it take to go away.

Was on 40 mg. and now have been OFF this necessary evil a little over a month. I didn't get the moon face but did gain about 5 pounds (weight now compared to before I got sick), had a huge budda belly (now has gone down), but my lower half feels spongy-like (best way I can describe). I have more little dimples than normal on my legs, skin just feels strange and hate the way it looks. I am not able to wear any of my jeans I did before I got sick. THIS BITES! Doctor can't tell me anything..."I don't know..guess everyone is different". Gee, thanks buddy! HA AH

I am pear shaped, 5'1 and every 5 pounds looks like 20 on our frame. My mid-section did get bigger on the sides (love handles) but again a spongy feeling when u press on the skin but that has gotten better. They say the half-life is just a couple days with this medicine but why does the side effects last so much longer?

Anyone else out there have this too? How long was it before your body got back to the way it was after you got off this medicine?

I am working out with with either walking and or doing Julian Michaels dvds most days of the week. My eating habits are pretty healthy and do drink a lot of water. With that said, maybe it will be just time and A LOT of patience for me in my situation. I am greatful this steroid did help my flare and now on Imuran 100mg a day for a while.
Posted 7/14/2016 5:16 PM (GMT 0)
I know in my case, I didn't look the same after prednisone. I gained a ton of weight and I didn't fit in my normal clothes. Years passed and I accepted that this was my figure now. I wasn't sure if it was because I was getting older in combination with the steroids or what. I figured it couldn't be the steroids alone. I don't know what to make of it, but since I had surgery, I got my old body back. I am extra petite. I love it. I don't believe I would have my figure back if I hadn't had surgery. Maybe something to do with being ill or having a sick colon and being bloated all the time. No clue but this is the best gift I could have possibly received. I feel so much better and I look better too. Oh, and no way anyone should have surgery for this result - just stating that I battled odd weight the entire time I had UC following steroids and it never went away. Hopefully this was my individual situation because my UC was so virulent.
Posted 7/14/2016 5:46 PM (GMT 0)
I found steroid weight harder to lose than other weight. I got a pot-belly that is just now here forever I think. Sounds like you're exercising and eating right. The puffiness can take a month a two or more, the weight gain from actual increased fat longer.
Posted 7/14/2016 5:51 PM (GMT 0)
I'm gaining weight since being on the steroids, is it the meds themselves or the fact they make me want to eat everything in sight?? My skin does feel different too.... Softer, more squishy, but I just put that down to the fact I'm fatter. Xx
Posted 7/15/2016 12:00 AM (GMT 0)
I finished prednisone in May and my legs were really bloated and swollen. It was the last thing to go down for me. Literally one day 6 weeks after I stopped my legs looked normal again.

Lucky you only 5 lbs!!! I'm 5'1 and gained 30 lbs. I couldn't even recognize myself. Sadly since being dignified 3 years ago the weight gets harder and harder to take off. I really have a completely looking body than even a year ago.

It literally sucks!
Posted 7/15/2016 1:14 PM (GMT 0)
Ugh- pred. I have done 2 rounds of pred in my 3 years with UC - I am also very short (5'1") so I totally get you on how small gains are tough for us to carry.

The last time I took pred was 1 year ago during my last flare - since then, my "set point" has just increased 10 lbs, mostly around my middle. I absolutely hate it and it drives me crazy. I eat really well and am super active, so it's really annoying. My cycles have been all over the place as well - my gyno told me that well, this is just part of turning 40. Which I think is total crap, so I went to an endocrinologist to have my hormones tested.

She thinks it is due to the prednisone, but was really low in progesterone and so low in testosterone it couldn't even detect any. She put me on bioidentical hormones, which are helping with the energy and my moods. My cycle is also regulating. All of this is wonderful. However, I am vain (at least i know it) and am used to being in shape so I am hoping that these extra lbs will go away soon.
Posted 7/15/2016 1:43 PM (GMT 0)
I have low testosterone too tongue. Thoreau and I used to talk about this because his wife's is low too and she is very fatigued. I am always tired and my mood stinks.

Funny that we are all so tiny. I am about 5'3. I am the "tall" one of this group smilewinkgrin

I don't think it's age, though people try to say it's from hitting 30 or 35, whatever number they decide to pick. If you're younger, it's to do with college. There's always some number someone throws out at you. I am in my mid-30s and I have my 20s body back, so I don't think it's age related - at least not for everyone.
Posted 7/16/2016 2:13 PM (GMT 0)
I was on prednisone twice between March-May for neurological symptoms in my hand. They were short tapers compared to needing it for a uc flare but it wasn't a medrol pack, the dose started at 60 mg. I gained 25 lbs and had to buy a bigger size bridesmaid dress for the wedding I was in and it barely fit. I'm having a difficult time losing the weight but I'm motivated to eat well and exercise. I'm 5'6" 165 and normally weigh around 135-140. I also gained in my belly which I HATE. I'm used to a flat stomach and now I have a serious belly. When I was in my 30's, I never gained weight from prednisone and am totally grieving the loss of that body. Good luck!
Posted 7/16/2016 10:54 PM (GMT 0)
Well, I've only been on it a short while, but I seem fine, Yes I have the moon 'face, but I don't mind that, its ironed out the lines on my face, and I look 10 years younger! LOL! Its weird, I always seem to react differently to people, and I have lost weight too, not gained, but as I said its early days and things may change.

For me, I have to watch my mood, because Pred is like have an ugly side to you hidden away that wants to jump out and hurt someone!!!, so that's the only downside really for me, so I'm having to watch for that. Hubby made me lunch today and before I could stop myself I was ridiculing his efforts on cooking asparagus LOL...trivial stuff...but you get the idea..
Posted 7/16/2016 11:07 PM (GMT 0)
Pred affects all the tissues in your body. It causes loss of tone in the muscles, leaving a "doughy" feeling to them. It also causes tendon fragility, which means it can lead to tendon tears or ruptures with extended use. It's so not good for us, sometimes I think it should be in the same category as things like heroin and cocaine, which cause equivalent damages.
Posted 7/17/2016 10:00 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you everyone for your input...sigh! We are all I this together, one way or another. Went clothes shopping yesterday and had to buy a size larger and in some brands could go up one more. Nope, passed on those! LOL. Will just keep eating "MOSTLY" (hey, I am human, like my bite of something sweet once in a while😉😜!) healthy and stay consistent with doing some form of exercise most days of the week. I just walked two miles on my tmill today then back to a DVD tomorrow. Have to switch it up, get very bored with the same workout every time. Like Julian Michaels since it is only 20 minutes long. Tee Hee👍 Guess I need to give it another month and see what happens. Would be great if I could get back into my clothes I wore before I got sick in January.....stay tuned! YES! UC SUCKS!!😡
Posted 7/18/2016 7:07 PM (GMT 0)
I hate prednisone so much I cried the last time my doctor prescribed it for me. My past with pred was not so good. I gained 35lbs, moon face, and my favorite... the mood swings. On the Brightside I was able to lose the weight gain when I got off it and i stopped eating everything in sight. But on the down side it took me over a year to lose and I was not able to lose my moon face.
Better luck to you then me!
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply