When will the Prednisone weight gain stop???

I have been on the equivalent of about 40 mg of Prednisone since mid-December. I started tapering 3 weeks ago and am now down to 20 mg. I expected that by now I would have at least stopped gaining weight on the Pred, but no!

If you gained weight on Pred, did you gain it all at once or did you keep gaining over a period of time? Did you start loosing weight as soon as you started tapering or did you have to get to a magic dosage?

The taper is going well and I shouldn't complain given that I finally am in remission (dare I utter that word!), but the 15-20 lbs I put on are driving me crazy! I really want to start trying to get it off, but I don't want to frustrate myself if it is still unrealistic being on 20 mg.

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35 year old female, diagnosed with UC in 2006.
Prescribed 5 mg Salofalk suppositories - Mezavant (4.8 gr/day) started in November/10. Tried Betnesol enema (a.k.a. Entocort) in mid-Nov/10 with no success and switched to Budesonide enema early December/10 - horrible systemic side-effects discontinued mid-Jan/11. Current meds: 30 mg of Pred down from 40 (started mid-Jan) and 4.8 gr. Mezavant

I had to get completely off to start losing weight. An,d I still haven't started working out because I had crazy joint pain for a few months after being off of it. I have been off since September and started a diet about a month ago and I'm happy to report I've lost 7 lbs and plan to lose 23 more, I'm hoping over the next 3-6 months. My plan is to keep on the diet I'm doing and add in exercise very slowly. I know it's frustrating but it'll be over soon! I hope the rest of your taper goes smoothly! :o)

I think my appetite decreased when I hit 4-5mg but I don't think the weight comes off until you're off completely. Very depressing.

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Co-moderator: Ulcerative Colitis
03/07: Diagnosis: Mild Proctitis | 08/08: Diagnosis: Pancolitis - FLARE & Anemic! Asacol (3600mg) + Canasa (1000mg morning/night) | 01/10: FLARE! Prednisone + Cortifoam + Asacol + Canasa + Rowasa | Currently: stable - Asacol (3200mg) + Canasa (nightly) + 6mp + Allopurinol + Prednisone + Ponstel + Klonopin + Ambien

I don't think the weight is going to magically disappear the way it seemed to magically appear. I gained about 25 lbs during the 3 months I was on prednizone. Part of that was probably because I was also on a low-fiber diet and couldn't really eat healthy foods.

I don't think I'll see much improvement until I get off this diet and can start eating healthy. And I think I'm going to have to hit the gym pretty hard.

Tlhall, I know what you mean but at the same time, I definitely had a hugely increased appetite while on prednisone. The amount i've decreased eating should definitely make a difference in my weight. That's my hope. I was eating A LOT.

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Co-moderator: Ulcerative Colitis
03/07: Diagnosis: Mild Proctitis | 08/08: Diagnosis: Pancolitis - FLARE & Anemic! Asacol (3600mg) + Canasa (1000mg morning/night) | 01/10: FLARE! Prednisone + Cortifoam + Asacol + Canasa + Rowasa | Currently: stable - Asacol (3200mg) + Canasa (nightly) + 6mp + Allopurinol + Prednisone + Ponstel + Klonopin + Ambien

notsosicklygirl, You probably won't gain any more weight, but if you don't burn more than you eat, the weight you gained won't go away.

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55 yo female
Diagnosed with Pancolitis 11/04/10
Remission January 2011
Lialda x3

I always lose weight 40 lbs last time and 50 lbs one other time.

I was on Pred for 5 weeks back in September.  I started out at 98lbs and gained up to 110.   It is now Feb and I am still at 101, so it has taken me a while but I haven't actually tried to lose it.  I even still have a tiny bit of the chubby cheeks from the moon face.  

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50/f DX with mild pancolitis 6/2010
Currently on:
Apriso 4 daily
Hydrocort enemas (right now every other night)
1 baby aspirin
Synthroid 75 mcg

aguywithuc, Do you do anything to lose the weight or do you just go off prednisone and the weight falls off?

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55 yo female
Diagnosed with Pancolitis 11/04/10
Remission January 2011
Lialda x3

That gives me some hope Belley! :)

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Co-moderator: Ulcerative Colitis
03/07: Diagnosis: Mild Proctitis | 08/08: Diagnosis: Pancolitis - FLARE & Anemic! Asacol (3600mg) + Canasa (1000mg morning/night) | 01/10: FLARE! Prednisone + Cortifoam + Asacol + Canasa + Rowasa | Currently: stable - Asacol (3200mg) + Canasa (nightly) + 6mp + Allopurinol + Prednisone + Ponstel + Klonopin + Ambien

My advice would be to try to make reasonable choices to limit or even reverse the weight gain. Maybe there are other food options you can consume that are higher in volume while lower in calories in order to satisfy your increased appetite without overdoing the calories? Are you able to burn some extra calories by walking or through other forms of exercise while you're eating more do to the increased appetite? Use discipline and willpower to make more responsible choices towards your waistline, if possible. I completely understand and sympathize with the prednisone weight-gain. Many of us have been there before and we know exactly what you're going through.

I have always lost any fat and or water weight that I gained on prednisone cycles after discontinuing the drug through diet and exercise, although I'm normally quite an active person in the gym. If you're not a particularly active person in your life it may prove to be more challenging, as you don't want to lay down unnecessary weight that you'll need to carry with you long after you've stopped using the prednisone. Although I may be repeating myself here, try not to give in so much to junk-food cravings that load you up with unnecessary calories without really satisfying you.

Hang in there!! It is so hard, and I know for me, the cravings are such that I literally could not control them. There was no way I was eating an apple instead of a bag of gummi bears, hard as I tried.

The first time I was on (4 months total), I started gaining after the first month, then stopped gaining as I tapered down-probably about halfway. In the 2 months that I gained, I gained 50 pounds. It was awful. (and it didn't come off easily either-it magically appeared, but did not magically go away)

So the second time, I was so careful about my food and drink choices. I suffered through healthy food even though all I wanted to do was open my mouth and pour sugar straight into it. Same gaining pattern happened over the 4 months, only this time because I watched what I ate, I gained 45 pounds. Yup-it made all of a 5 pound difference. I was pissed.

I still haven't taken it all back off, but now I am pregnant, so that is going to have to wait. The gain WILL stop though. For me, it happened about midway through the taper. I didn't start losing anything until I was completely off, and even then, it was only about 10 pounds. After that I had to really work. Sucks. It will get better though-hang in there!!

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Laura
Remission!
35 years old, stay at home mom of 2 girls, ages 5 and 4
Currently expecting #3! Due 8/31/2011
Diagnosed in March 2007, symptoms started Dec. 2006
Currently on:
REMICADE (started 2/26/10), otherwise taking Asacol (6/day), slow-fe iron, milk thistle, multivitamin, calcium, Ultimate Flora Critical Care, Vit. C, Vit. D3, Omega 3, PepZin, MegaZyme, Folic Acid, B6 & B12

This may be an obvious point, but we almost always use prednisone to recover from severe symptoms, which almost always means we were terrified of food for awhile. When prednisone works well, it's almost as if we're trying to make up for lost time by eating everything in sight. It's as if we think to ourselves, "now I can eat again!", and we eat everything we can get our hands on because we don't know how long the relief will last. I'm sure many of you know exactly what I mean.

Still, a little self-control and discipline can go a long way. Unnecessary weight gain is bad news, and I think it can aggravate people with our condition, especially those who sleep on their stomachs: the increased belly fat presses on our colons and makes normal operations of the colon slightly more difficult. Try your best not to give in to the munchie-devils!

Stay strong!

It takes me a month or two after I tapper off the drug completly...and it's a slow process but all of a sudden I look in the morror and can start to see old me in there. I'm heavier in general then I ever was befor prednisone but if I stay off it for long periods I get closer to my original weight and body shape...here's hopping I'll get there some time!

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pancolitis diagnosed 2002

asacol 400mg X 3 daily
multivitamins & fish oil
celexa
salofalk suppositories

Gavriel- I understand what you mean. Although, I'm not on any specific diet at the moment, I do consciously stay away from certain foods... but now on the pred, I'm like eating whatever is in front of me.

Reading about folks worrying about the weight gain makes me lol, because I'm sitting here in front of my laptop hoping pred will increase my appetite like crazy so I can gain weight. I'm only on it for 16 days, so maybe this won't be enough to get me to gain weight. (note: not that it is funny to gain weight when you don't want it)

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Ulcerative Proctitis, diagnosed 03/2011
Lialda, 4 pills a day
Imuran 100mg/day (started 12/10/2012), stopped 75mg a day (one year)
Pred 40mg (started 12/10/2012, 16-day course)
(seeing improvements because of pred: less blood, more formed stool)

Tried Proctofoam, nightly for 2 weeks, didn't seem to work
Tried SCD for 4 months... didn't see improvement
Used to take Probiotics (acidophilus)