Weight.

[Holly]

That is the crux of the issue.
I came out of hospital at 8 stone 1. Lowest weight in 3 or 4 years.
Pre-Crohns I was about 11 stone (granted I did want to loose weight not quite the way I did though)
First clinic 2 weeks after discharge I weighed 8 stone 4
Told myself I didn't want to go over 8 and a half stone if I could help it, cause despite the illness I was happy at this weight.

But I started on a course of Prednisolone, (still on it) and my appetite has just EXPLODED. I can't stop eating! I feel like I have to eat all the time, and I seriously have no will power at all, and then after I gorge myself I feel terrible. (Not ill terrible, like down/depressed terrible)
Can't decide if the gorging is just me being a pig or actually due to the steroids. Probably me.

I am now up to 9 stone, and I know that's not loads but I feel horrible, I want to get the weight off, but they say side effects of the Prednisolone is weight gain and increased appetite, so when I finish my course (3 weeks left) will normality resume because I don't wanna put more weight on, I want my old appetite back my normal one. Not the I-must-gorge-myself-till-I-cry one.

Or is this all in my head. Because I am putting weight on, and I don't want too. I also want to be able stop the gorges. It's usually around 3pm I gorge, I have a really healthy sensible breakfast, and a really healthy sensible tea but after my regular lunch, I go MENTAL. Urgh.

Am I being stupid that at 9 stone I feel really fat and bloated? and at night when I have had a full day of eating I get a real basketball belly and that gets me sad too!

Give me some advice or a slap whichever?

 

[hugh]

without knowing your height i have no clue if you are a healthy weight.
i wouldn't give your weight a second thought while you are working on your health,
some drugs make you gain weight, don't sweat it.

If you have a hour to spend, this might open your eyes
"How Bad Science and Big Business Created the Obesity Epidemic"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vr-c8GeT34&feature=related

Interestingly, he recommends the same diet works for many crohns sufferers

 

[Holly]

I'm 5 foot 5 for the record

 

[lola99]

So i figured that 9 stones is 126lbs for 5ft 5inches. That's skinny for your height. I'm 5ft 4 and 137 but im soft. I'm working out to get down to 120-125 and be lean. Predisone will bloat you, make you crazy hungry,etc. I had to stop because i got cushings . I had moon face,buffalo neck and it made me go from 127-137. Once you get off of it though the food cravings will go away. For me it took months for the swelling to go away in my face. It still sticks around in your system for awhile after you wean. I would watch your carbs and diet while on the predisone. Even though it makes you crazy hungry if you can watch your diet then you wont have to worry about gaining to much weight. Keep a food log and try to get protein at every meal so you will stay full.

 

[suzette]

Hi, I'm not on meds any more. ( so there is hope) I'm not cured by any stretch but with avoiding certain foods & rest (which I've not been quite as good at as late, work gets in the way) I had been able to keep some balance going. But mid afternoon -3pm is when I either get cravings or need to rest. Read & snooze. laying out seems to help.

 

[suzette]

Ps... My weight is an ongoing challenge :-/

 

[Holly]

I want to mantain at about 119lbs if I can. But on these steroids I'm piling it on! I had a 3 hour nap between dinner and tea today to stop me eating!

 

[KayleighMeek]

Hi,
Sorry you have been feeling this way. I have felt this way beforewith putting on weight this disease not only affects your body but also your mind. It makes it difficult when your body shape keeps changing when flaring then when you get put on steroids. It can be hard but a good way to think of it is that your body is absorbing all the nutrients it hasn't before. Hopefully when you come of the steroids feeling the need to binge eat will go. You in a healthy bmi for your height now but I know it doesn't make you feel anymore comfortable because I have been told this also when I started putting on weight after my last flare. I now feel a lot better about myself still not happy but I am still adjusting.
Hope you start to feel better about yourself x

 

[darlene]

oh how i feel your pain i was on pred on and off for years when i first started i was 70kilo and went upto 121 kilo and i still havent been able to shake the weight...but its horrible that a drug that works such wonders have such horrible side effects i also felt like i was slowly going insane whille on pred..good luck

 

[NewbieMom]

I agree with Hugh that you shouldn't worry about weight while you are on the prednisolone. My 12 year old gained when he was on it, and then lost appetite as he was weaned off. His weight gain has now been lost (sadly in his case as he needs to gain). I know everyone is different, but I am 5'6" and feel my healthy "bottom" weight is 136 (what is that - 9 stone 10?)

 

[Crazy brunette]

I was on the same steroids for 3 months last year and i did put on an extra stone :-( I got the same symptoms - was bloated all time, and my face looked swollen compared to what i was used to seeing in the mirror before the meds. Prednisolone made me constantly hungry and although i tried to control what i was eating, i gained the weight also because the steroids were actually helping to keep my food in. I'm currently 10.5 stone (and i'm 5ft 7") after reducing my carb intake and eating generally smaller portions. Still not my ideal weight but aren't we all self critical It can be done...just unfortunately means watching what i eat now and exercising more regularly, whereas before i could eat what i wanted and stay slim, but it meant having regular flare ups... :-(

 

[Holly]

Thanks for all your replies, I have come off my Prednisolone course now. (Only been off it a few days) I weigh between 9 stone and 9 stone 4lbs depending on my body and stuff (126lbs/130lbs) or (57/59 kilo)
I don't know what a healthy weight should be for my height (167cm) and age (19) as I have never really been told and websites tell you all sorts of different things.
I haven't yet started regular exercise because my consultant said to wait for my medication to settle. (I am dying to get back to exercise though)
But I am eating a lot less than I was when I was going through the 'gorging' stages, eating healthier and smaller portions without feeling the need to binge and I am still not happy with my weight but if I can loose a few lbs I might be happier.
Also does the face puffiness go away?
I look like a hamster, not... cool....

 

[Justme:)]

well I have been off the drug for 4 months now, after having been on it for 6, and I still periodically get food cravings and am still gaining weight! I was 90lbs on being diagnosed (underweight, obviously, due to glandular fever) and after my first course of prednisone i was 108lbs (I'm only 5ft 1) which I was very happy and comfortable with. After my second course of steroids I am now 117lbs and I feel quite uncomfortable and not myself at this weight. I'm hoping I can successfully start losing weight soon, I eat very well and exercise most of the time but when I get cravings it just ruins everything!

Everyone's body is different though, so theres no telling how you will react in terms of weight, once you come off. As far as I know, most people start losing weight shortly after finishing their course.

 

[karj]

the face puffiness went away for me anyway after the first time i took it. Not getting the same puffiness this time, try and limit your intake of salt, that causes fluid retention.

 

[lizzy16]

I am one week into a six-week course of Pred, and yes your appetite just explodes, doesn't it? I'm 5 foot 3 and I fluctuate between 50-53kg, depending if I'm on Pred or not (before Crohn's it was more like 56-58kg). The last time I was on it for 9 months and the moon face got sooo bad, every photo from that era has been destroyed.

I had a really big meal with friends on Saturday and because I overate I got really, really bloated at the table - I was rubbing my belly and I found out later that one person at the table I'd only met that night thought I was pregnant! Awesome for the self esteem lol. I don't weigh heaps but it all sits on my stomach. I need to keep the bad food in check whilst on the Pred and try and eat healthy.. great example tonight fish finger sandwiches and ice cream! Damn it.

 

[Laura Dawn]

I gained 15 pounds on prednisone. I really don't think I changed what I was eating a lot so it makes no sense. I'm almost back to my normal weight and moon face is finally gone. Of course it's important to take the meds to get better. However, I does suck it and the weight gain is depressing! I also know I was really moody on prednisone . Hope you feel better!!!

 

[Holly]

Still carrying the extra weight! Still got a lunar-like face! Been off it for about a month! Appetites sprung back to normal! Will everything else go back to normal???

 

[karj]

hopefully holly mine did but can't remember how long it took, but i know it was maybe a few months?

 

[Laura Dawn]

My fat face lasted for a few months . Maybe because I was on it 6 months. My face is the one you see in my picture. I am able to wear 6 in jeans ... 4 before meds. It takes a while... 2 months for me. The worst is trying to get the wieght off and being so tired. I am 5"5 and back to130. Hang in!

 

[Lulubelle]

Weight really is the crux of the issue for me today. Weight and fatigue, actually. I am 5'4 and never had problems with my weight until the steroids were added this go round. I just gained 8 pounds in less than 2 weeks! On my small frame, I feel jiggly around the middle, my face looks like a Moon Pie, and the scale hit 133. I have not been overeating in usual sense, but whatever I eat seems to make me fatter. Because I am usually in the gym every day, (before this flare reared its ugly head) I am usually considered fit...but now, what a mess. Personally, I think this is some kind of cosmic retribution for all the smugness and foolish pride I have had in the past over physical fitness. At my age, people always think it is great to be in good shape, but now they are seeing I am no role model. Maybe it is a good thing to struggle a little with weight and see what it is like to feel embarrassed, out of sorts, and uncomfortable. It does provide a window into other people's lives. In the mean time, I am going to make tons of sugar-free jello and drink gallons of water. If anyone has any better ideas on what to eat, please, please advise. You almost have to laugh...first we lose weight, then we get fat...man, this is a crazy disease!

 

[Holly]

I know no-one on this forum 'likes' this disease but I am feeling so much hate for it right now, it's indescribable. I am still about 9st 4lbs. about 130lbs if my maths is right, I want to be about 126/125lbs, I know it's not a massive weight loss but it doesn't seem to be happening, the weight is stuck to me!
My other half doesn't want me to go to the gym because I have been suffering with really aching joints and he thinks excessive exercise will aggravate it? (he might be right I don't know) But I feel so lazy and so unattractive.
Having lost 1/2 of my hair, coming out in an under the skin rash, having a face like the moon, horrible purple stretch marks, and a jiggly tummy. I feel so disgusting and my self esteem is at an all time low.
I never had rocketing self esteem before this disease struck but now. I have as much self esteem as I have a functioning immune system, and as someone who is on immuno-suppressants that aint a lot.
gr.

 

[Lulubelle]

Holly, I could not be more touched by your situation. It is awful enough to have physical symptoms but to lose one's hair now...it just doesn't seem right. I have had periods of time where my hair noticeably thinned so much I would go try on wigs. Twice this happened and as I was just about to plunk down the money (almost $600 for quality human hair) my husband stopped me and said he thought he could see less breakage. We hesitated and things slowly got better. It was quite odd, but one takes any break one gets. But for you, I just wish something would happen to give you some hope of brighter days. It sounds as if you are really hurting and all of us know what it is like to have so much go wrong. But I say to you,tenderly, there will be brighter days. Even when bad things happen, sometimes the inexplicable happens...sometimes we change, or our attitude or outlook gets stronger, our immune system adapts...but we do know this, too will pass. At least that is the hope and you have to hang on to hope. Yeah, I am disgusted with you. Your photo so touched my heart and I just wish I could send aTexas sized hug all the way across the pond and you would feel it and know things are going to get better. I am signing off so as to pray for you.

 

[nicola502]

Hi Holly,
I just want to say keep your chin up luv. I, as well as most others on here have been through all of the same things as you. My face was massive and as for my neck..What neck! Luckily after a while off the pred it did all shrink. My hair has always been fine and i did loose alot but that has also stopped now. For how long is anyones guess!
I agree with your other half about the exercise, you need to take it slowely and build a routine up but take your time otherwise you will only end up in more pain.
I really hope your feelig better soon both physically and emotionally xxx