Steroids & weight loss

I am starting a fairly high dose (60mg/day) of Prednisone today, for 7-10 days. I am wondering how this will effect my weight loss. I am 3 months out and have been losing 3-4 lbs a week.

Will I stop losing while I'm on the steroid? Will I possibly even gain? Will I be hungry more?

I seem to remember that steroids can cause weight gain. I need to do this regardless, but if I am prepared maybe I won't freak out if it happens.

The reason for all this is that I was supposed to have back surgery yesterday but they couldn't do it because of my low platelet count. They said it was too dangerous; I could bleed out and end up paralyzed or dead. They tried a transfusion of platelets but that didn't work. My hematologist says steroids might do the trick so I can have the surgery and might also tell her something about the cause of the problem. 

Will I stop losing while I'm on the steroid? Will I possibly even gain? Will I be hungry more?


Definitely maybe to all of those things.  Steroids also making me a raving ***** in my heart, but all of those side effects are necessary to do what you were given them to do, be it breathing, raising platelets et cetera.

The best you can do is keep hydrated, keep QUALITY foods prepared for you, and remember if you feel like a lunatic, it is not forever! 

And if you do ggain weight its not forever, or stop, or be hungry more.  None of those things will last beyond your prescription.

be well girlie, I will be thinking crowded platelet thoughts for you!

The best things you can do while taking prednisone is to keep your carbs as low as possible and get as much fluid as possible.  Low-carb helps stave off the hunger, fluid helps keep you hydrated (you will pee more on pred).  I can't speak for hunger post-VSG, but pred made me ravenously hungry if I did not keep my carbs uber-low. I did long courses, nearly a year, at 60-80mg per day to save my vision.  If I kept my carbs down, I was fine. If I didn't, I gained weight quickly and relentlessly. 

Hope that helps.

Thank you both for your help! I will avoid carbs and drink extra water. And I will not freak out if I gain a little; it will come off again.

I've also been on Prednisone before without an remarkable side effects. However, not since my VSG 3 months ago.

Then maybe it will be a non issues!  That would be GREAT!!  And I hope it does like it oughta for you!

I was just on a short course of 80mg a day, and noted only a feeling of being "pushed".. not too much more nibbly than normal, and lost still- but just felt like someone opened a can of PMS and gave me a good dose.. Good luck!

I noticed the same feeling.  Good description.

I was on 60mg of pred for over 30 days in the pregnancy for the same issue. I can say that I gained 5lbs in 1 week, but I can't say if it was all the pred to blame, I was 35 weeks pregnant, but even then that is a big jump on the scale. My hunger was ravenous, and I'm one of those who never had my hunger return until I was pregnant, and the pred increased my hunger 100 times. I was constantly hungry, and thirsty.  It took over 2 weeks for platelets to get up close to normal ranges, but I don't know how low your numbers are. My platelets were in the 70k and 2 weeks into the therapy my numbers jumped to 121k (still low, but not too dangerously low to get a spinal block for the delivery). I also got the "moon" face that is sometimes seen with steroid therapy. The insane mood swings were pretty uncontrollable, it was horrific to be honest.

I was diagnosed with MTHFR which effects platelets, and I'm lacking a protein factor. My platelets actually clump to each other which makes my counts seem low, the machines can not read the clumps as multiple platelets, and even on a manual read the numbers are skewed because the techs can not decipher clumps vs. single platelets. My platelets function properly, but since they clump together, they do not clot properly to wounds(I clot super slow), and I bruise extremely easily, and stay bruised for long periods of time. I take a baby aspirin per day to help the platelets stay "slick" and free floating.

Thank you for that info. My numbers have been dropping into the 65-90 range. We have no idea why yet, but they're still testing. (If the prednisone doesn't tell us what we need to know, the next step will be a bone marrow biopsy.) In order for them to do the surgery, my count must be above 100. I started the prednisone this afternoon, and I go back to be rechecked in a week. I sure hope my numbers are up because if I don't have this back surgery by the end of the year, I won't be able to afford it. Besides, I really don't want to have the bone marrow biopsy; I hear it's not a fun procedure.

I'll keep you in my thoughts and have my fingers and toes crossed that your numbers are up ! ! !