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Whitewater
04-23-2009, 09:07 AM
Man. All the prednisone I've been taking lately in one form or another (oral pills and eye drops, mostly) has been wreaking havoc on my blood sugars and how much I eat, my appetite, my metabolism, and which foods I like and dislike.

Result? I've gained weight!!!! I'm back up to 250 pounds, sigh. By the numbers, that's only 7 pounds, so it might not seem like much, but here's a proper perspective -- I have fought for 6 months to keep that 7 pounds off my body. And now I gain it back in a month. :(

All I can hope is that now that I'm finally off the oral stuff and only taking the eye drops, I can get back to taking the metformin and hopefully, two things will happen.

1) The metformin will help my body cope with the insulin better and 2) that since there's very little prednisone in my system anymore (what there is gets absorbed by my eye and doesn't go in the bloodstream), my entire system will go back to normal and I'll stop craving, having wierd appetite issues, and gaining weight.

If both of those things start, I may start losing weight again ('cause everything will have gone back to the way it was pre-prednisone), particularly if I can get to the point where I can exercise and not cause flare-ups in my eye. One of the other major reasons I've been gaining weight is because I cannot do anything right now, lest the exertion cause a flare-up and make me blind in one eye again. The longer it takes to fix the flare(s), the further I am from fixing the problem, because we're constantly fixing the flares and not fixing the issue itself. It's like trying to put out a forest fire because somebody is running around throwing burning matches onto dry leaves. You want to catch the guy, but you have to deal with the fires first. So I'm not allowed to do anything, because quiet rest is the only thing that will keep from having more burning matches. Make sense?

It's still frustrating, though. I really want to get back into the gym, exercise gives me a sense of well-being and brightens my mood, among other benefits, and I miss it. While my vision is affected, I can't have any stress or exertion, lest I have a setback. *sigh*

And yeah, having all of this two months before the wedding is really bad timing!

I'm going to go back on the metformin today, I think it'll be ok. And if I can't exercise, I need SOMETHING to keep my insulin in check!


Whitewater

Dani
04-23-2009, 01:40 PM
i don't do well on prednisone either. I swear i am allergic to every pill ever made. It made me look like a red beet and hives..what a great look for someone who is pasty white. :winktongue:

gwenshack
04-23-2009, 03:55 PM
I'm sorry Whitewater. I know all the work you've put in. :( It's hard to see that go up in smoke like it never happened.

I'm sure that things will work out.

BnB
04-29-2009, 11:09 AM
I hate steriods, I"ve been taking them off and on for several issues since summer of 2006..........since then, I"ve gained about 20-25lbs.........I'm blaming the shots/pills

Whitewater
04-29-2009, 03:44 PM
Well, with prednisone, it messes with your metabolism and your insulin levels. So, sometimes you are ALWAYS hungry, and sometimes you don't eat anything all day . . . neither of which are healthy or good options!

And because of the whacked-outness of it all, I am craving things I NEVER crave, like potato chips and sugar soda!!!! *sigh*

I think it's the cravings and the results of what the steroid does to you that makes you gain weight. It throws everything out of whack, you get cravings, you start eating stuff you normally wouldn't even look at (stuff that's high in fat and sugar and carbs) and voila, suddenly you've gained ten pounds.

I think I have enough time to at least get the cravings back under control, even if I still can't exercise (grrrrr . . . my eye docs are being very cautious) and am still taking the prednisone eye drops. Not much of the steroid gets into your system, but apparently, enough to be still affecting me. Grrrr again.

One week left! I see the eye doc again on May 4th, and I'm hoping at that time he'll tell me to quit taking meds and that I'm cured. We'll see.


Whitewater

evilcookie
04-29-2009, 10:38 PM
I've been on it once or twice, and it was horrible. I ate everything that wasn't nailed down. I gained probably 15 pounds in a week and a half. The only time in my life I've ever woken up from a dead sleep and my first thought was to raid the kitchen was when I was on prednisone. :bbeek: