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Hunger and prednisone

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Posted 5/10/2010 8:15 PM (GMT 0)
Do those of you on lower doses of prednisone, say, below 10 mg. still get hungry? I am and it's frustrating because the hunger goes away when I eat. Not drink a glass of water.

Why does hunger occur on prednisone?
Posted 5/10/2010 8:27 PM (GMT 0)
It happens. Try eating smaller meals every few hours or buy a lot of lettuce and when you're hungry, start munching on it. Its good for fiber, low calories and will fill you up fast.
Posted 5/10/2010 11:57 PM (GMT 0)
It's super hard, but try not to give in to the increased appetite. I was on Prednisone for more than two years and managed to keep the weight gain under 10 pounds. If you can handle raw veggies they are excellent for filling up. Light soups (veggie, tomato, etc.) help "fill the hole" without too many excess calories, but watch the sodium if you're having a lot of soup.

I'm not sure why Pred increases your hunger but it does. My husband didn't get it. We were on a road trip and I had a huge Cracker Barrel breakfast and not a half hour later I told him I was so famished I could easily eat another of those. It just takes a tremendous amount of will power -- but if let yourself go and gain weight on Pred it will take a tremendous amount of will power to lose it later. It's easier to avoid gaining it in the first place if you can.

But know this, you are not crazy, Pred makes you want to out eat a trucker. Sadly, you just have to figure out a way to deal,

Meesh
Posted 5/11/2010 12:03 AM (GMT 0)
I know...i am on it now and have been on and off it for the past year. I can't stop eating. i am going to 10mg tomorrow and hoping that these cravings slow down. I am a junk food junkie...so bad!!! Try to not go crazy on the salt though.
Posted 5/11/2010 12:52 AM (GMT 0)
I stopped eating bread and other carbs. But it's impossible to get rid of all of it from the diet. I need to lose five pounds. If I gain too much weight, my psychiatrist is going to take me off Zyprexa, which is keeping my anxiety and depression at bay. Zyprexa is a notorious weight gainer. I'm hoping it's the pred that's the culprit, and less so the Zyprexa.
Posted 5/27/2010 1:37 PM (GMT 0)
     Guess I am the oddball here.  Prednisone NEVER gave me an increase in appetite.  If anything, just the opposite.   I actually lose weight on prednisone. 

     Another thing, I read where someone said to eat lettuce.  I sure can't eat salads or raw veggies while flaring, they make my condition much worse.  Everyone is different though.

Posted 5/27/2010 9:16 PM (GMT 0)
Prednisone usually makes you want to eat constantly.....it did to me. I have an ileostomy now and no need for prednisone. Now my ten year old little girl, Misty, is taking 2 1/2 mg a day for COPD and she only weighs 32 pounds. She wants to eat constantly. We have to restrict what she eats so she will not gain any more weight.

By the way.....Misty is my dog. Prednisone works the same way on dogs.

Dan
Posted 5/27/2010 10:14 PM (GMT 0)
It's weird for me I don't necessarily get hungry like my stomach rumbling but I get the munchies. Just the desire to eat. At the beginning of my flare I lost 30lbs from D so far I have gained 10 back on pred. Not too bad, I'm not worried about it. I will probably try to lose those 10lbs back because I liked that smaller size on me (I was a little pudgy before my flare) but I'm going to try that when I'm doing well and can get back to the gym, not by controlling my food intake right now. I find the thing that really keeps what I eat in check is salt. So while I maybe be having munchie attacks I'm usually eating stuff like roast chicken, saltines, scrambled eggs, low salt soup, etc. when I get the munchies. If I over do it on salt I really regret it so fast food is out of the question at the moment.
Posted 5/29/2010 8:04 AM (GMT 0)
I just wanted to ask how long it took for these side effects to begin after starting pred. Ive been on it for about 3 weeks and Im totally going to be weening myself off very soon. I cant stand the side effects (other side effects were the mental/emotional disturbances and pain in various parts of my body). Ive had IBD for about 5 years now but this is the first time Ive been on steroids (my previous dr's were absolutely useless, dismissive and unhelpful).
Posted 5/29/2010 6:54 PM (GMT 0)
I get very hungry when on the higher doses, and while I try, I physically can not control the cravings for sugar when I am on the higher doses-it is insane.

I am down to 10 now (going to 7.5 tomorrow) and the cravings have definitely slowed way down. I haven't been craving the sugar like I was for a couple of weeks now. But I still have the *desire* to eat, and that is frustrating. I am back up to my high pred weight-same as I was the last time on pred-and I hate it. Since I am not having the severe cravings for specific things now, I am trying to swap out healthier choices for the snack foods I was eating. It is hard though!!! And I am not sure either why it increases your appetite so much or causes cravings-but it isn't fun.

SoIGotIBD-everyone is different in terms of what side effects they have and how and when they present. For me personally, some things happen more or less right away-like the insomnia. The physical things like the weight gain, moon face, back hump, acne, facial hair growth, belly rounding, food cravings, etc-didn't happen right away. Those things typically take about a month to really kick in for me. Then when I taper, I have different issues, but the other side effects start to lessen. If you are able to wean off of them soon, you might be able to avoid some of the major side effects, but I would definitely advise following your doctor's advice on tapering off. Good luck!
Posted 5/29/2010 10:50 PM (GMT 0)
 

   Indersonu, I was also diagnosed with Osteopenia before I was 40 due to Prednisone use over the years. I've been on Fosomax since then (I'm almost 51 now). After a couple years they did another scan and told me the bones had regrown and I could go off but then I had a bad flare and put on prenisone IV's in the hospital. I then had to go back on the Fosomax after my next bone scan because I lost what I had gained. So I've been back on the Fosomax for 6 years but the good news is I haven't gotten any worse and haven't got full blown Osterperosis.

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