How bad does Prednisone affect weight?

[zHassanz]

So, I have been lately (a couple of weeks ago) diagnosed with Crohn's and the doctor put me on Prednisone saying that I will have to take it for 2 months.

I have always been (and still am) thin, I was never even close to being chubby. Currently I'm 65 KGs (144 lbs) and 186 cms (6' 1"). And that's pretty thin, plus I can barely eat anything because of the pain and the bloating.

I have read a lot about how Prednisone makes people gain weight like crazy, and I'm terrified about this happening to me. Should I start watching my diet from now? I'm already taking Ensure and protein shakes with fats in them in order to gain some weight. Should I stop this and wait for the side effect of the Prednisone?

Your help will be appreciated.

 

[Clash]

Weight gain can be a side effect of pred. Part of it is the increased appetite pred can cause and you will usually hang on to that weight but a lot of it is water weight that comes off as a puffiness, it tends to go away when you taper down or off the pred. Not everyone gains with pr3d. I think my son gained 8 lbs but it was all puffiness and went away once we started tapering off. He experienced the moonface side effect as well but it too went away with taper. There are a lot of member that don't experience any of the pred side effects.

Your nutritional intake is important in helping your body to work effectively so that it can fight the active flare.

 

[ronroush7]

I agree with Clash.

 

[zHassanz]

Weight gain can be a side effect of pred. Part of it is the increased appetite pred can cause and you will usually hang on to that weight but a lot of it is water weight that comes off as a puffiness, it tends to go away when you taper down or off the pred. Not everyone gains with pr3d. I think my son gained 8 lbs but it was all puffiness and went away once we started tapering off. He experienced the moonface side effect as well but it too went away with taper. There are a lot of member that don't experience any of the pred side effects.

Your nutritional intake is important in helping your body to work effectively so that it can fight the active flare.

Thanks a lot for the info. Actually I'm trying to gain back 12 lbs that I lost during the period I was left with no diagnosis, and could almost eat nothing. So, if we're talking about say 15 lbs give or take, I think I'll be more than fine.

I was afraid that we were talking about a massive weight gain like 40 lbs or something. Thanks for clearing the fog away!

 

[Christi]

Im also currently on pred i do have moon face now but i do have to say i did not this time got insomnia but pred does let me pick up as well

 

[Lizzie]

Just to add that I'm on pred and my weight isn't going up (in fact it's going down slightly due to the restricted diet I'm on). So weight gain isn't inevitable, it all depends what you eat. I do have quite a lot of bloating but that hasn't made me heavier overall.

 

[zHassanz]

Just to add that I'm on pred and my weight isn't going up (in fact it's going down slightly due to the restricted diet I'm on). So weight gain isn't inevitable, it all depends what you eat. I do have quite a lot of bloating but that hasn't made me heavier overall.

Sounds like you're just like me; my chances of putting on weight with this lost appetite are close to zero, but I was really terrified that I might just speed things up and end up with too much weight, that I will then have to lose.

 

[Lizzie]

To be honest I'm scared to eat too much for fear of the consequences, so I just ignore mild hunger pangs rather than having a reduced appetite, but the end result is the same, no weight gain.

 

[zHassanz]

To be honest I'm scared to eat too much for fear of the consequences, so I just ignore mild hunger pangs rather than having a reduced appetite, but the end result is the same, no weight gain.

That was my point; how can one eat too much while having all those annoying symptoms for simply eating even baby food. :/

 

[Lizzie]

If the pred helps you then hopefully you'll be able to eat a greater variety of food - I'm slowly adding things but taking it very carefully. You could weigh yourself every morning to monitor your weight. I do that to check on the bloating, on the assumption that if my weight goes up a pound or so overnight then I am doing something wrong food-wise. My symptoms are improving, so I hope that I'm doing the right things.

 

[ronroush7]

I am happy for you, Lizzie.

 

[zHassanz]

If the pred helps you then hopefully you'll be able to eat a greater variety of food - I'm slowly adding things but taking it very carefully. You could weigh yourself every morning to monitor your weight. I do that to check on the bloating, on the assumption that if my weight goes up a pound or so overnight then I am doing something wrong food-wise. My symptoms are improving, so I hope that I'm doing the right things.

It does make me feel hungry, but when I start eating larger portions of the "safe" food, I get this annoying nausea and trapped gas that won't go away. So, I just stick with feeling slightly hungry, better than having to deal with all that annoying pain.

I'm really glad that you're managing this, and I hope you'll keep it up.

 

[sweetg]

So, I have been lately (a couple of weeks ago) diagnosed with Crohn's and the doctor put me on Prednisone saying that I will have to take it for 2 months.

I have always been (and still am) thin, I was never even close to being chubby. Currently I'm 65 KGs (144 lbs) and 186 cms (6' 1"). And that's pretty thin, plus I can barely eat anything because of the pain and the bloating.

I have read a lot about how Prednisone makes people gain weight like crazy, and I'm terrified about this happening to me. Should I start watching my diet from now? I'm already taking Ensure and protein shakes with fats in them in order to gain some weight. Should I stop this and wait for the side effect of the Prednisone?

Your help will be appreciated.

Having been on/ off prednisone the last 9 years with Crohns it can lead to weight gain due to water retention, increased appetite and salt intake. Entocort is another alternative with less side effects which should be considered.

 

[zHassanz]

Having been on/ off prednisone the last 9 years with Crohns it can lead to weight gain due to water retention, increased appetite and salt intake. Entocort is another alternative with less side effects which should be considered.

I have already started tapering off Pred. and thankfully I didn't put on any extra weight at all. I'll ask my doctor about Entocort for future use. Thanks for mentioning it.

 

[DanaBanana]

I've had a couple long courses of predinsone, and zero weight gain. I did find it gave me a feeling of hunger which was nice as I don't generally have an appetite. I am underweight so I could use some extra pounds. It didn't give me a moon face or bloating. It did however, cause some joint issues and sleeplessness despite only taking it in the morning with a protein smoothie.
I relate with the food fear...I've been struggling since July, only diagnosed with crohns finally in September. I haven't had a solid full meal since July. The suffering that follows eating is more than enough to keep me from attempting to actually eat. It's a gamble ever time. Sucks.
Anyhow, I'm off the predinsone now. Finished a week back. Entocort is a corticosteroid so it does work similarly to predinsone but has added benefits because it specifically works in the guts. I was on it for 9weeks after my crohns diagnosis but it didn't work for me, but I know people it worked for and has been amazing for them.