Steroids & weight gain, such a Lovely subject

[Guest guest]

I was a power lifter in excellent shape when I got sick. I'm only 5'7 " ,

but I was a rock solid 232lbs when I first got whacked. Withing a month of

the coming and going of the symptoms I was down to 212, which is only 4 lbs

more than I weighed @ 19 when I came out of Boot Camp @ Ft. Benning, Ga.

Even though those numbers seem like I was heavy prior to Stills I wasn't.

My neck was 22 1/4 " , my chest was 52 " and my waist was 35 " . I looked like a

walking wedge, and I liked it.

About 6 weeks after the symptoms first started coming and going, they

came and never left. I was slammed to bed for the majority of the first few

months of being ill and they had me on Prednisone 60mg/day. Well, needless

to say that within 2 months I was well over 260. I still am on a

LONG...SSSSLLLLOOOWWW taper with the steroids (currently @ 2mg/day) after

being on them for 9 years to date and needless to say I despise looking at

myself in the mirror. I currently fluctuate between 280-290. Gone are all

of the muscle stretch marks. Gone is the massive chest. My legs are still

huge and strong as hell, but my back is so weak that I wind up hurting

myself as I still have very good strength.

Recently my Dr's are starting to steer me towards Gastric

Bypass surgery, and I'm all for it...I just wish they'd get it done

already. I don't care that I can't lift anymore nor do I care that I will

never look like I used to build wise. I do however want to lose at least 75

pounds, maybe more depending on how much muscle I have lost over the years.

I used to crack up at the height weight charts that said someone my height

should weigh 140-160, and that partially drove me to blow those numbers out

of the water. I'll never forget the look on my Drill Sgt's face when he

asked me to take my shirt off when I laughed at his quote that I'd leave

boot camp at no more than 150....... His jaw dropped.....and he never

bothered to weigh me again. I figure anywhere from 205 on down would be

great for me even though my RD thinks I should weigh 160. I showed him pics

and everything but he still thinks I will see 160. I really wish I had a

ton of money to put on that as I haven't been anywhere near 160 since I was

a Freshman in H.S. when I was 13/14.

later, Kirk

> **

>

>

> Hey ,

>

> unfortunately, while I was on the Prednisone I continued to go up 2 pounds

> each month. BUT I have to say, if I had tried I might have been able to

> cut back here and there to save some calories. That could have maybe

> off-set some of the gain.

> Tappering off the Prednisone for me, the gang here may remember, was an

> extremely delicate process for me. I literally could only budge down 1 mg

> per WEEK! I was (don't quote me!) I think on 25mg for the longest time,

> and

> it took me SO long to get off. At first I was more aggressive and tried to

> go down 5 mg a week, that was a nightmare! So we had to go ALL THE WAY

> back to 25 and start again, 1 mg at a time. And then 2 or 3 times I got as

> far as 13 or 12 and then I'd flare so badly I'd have to go up to 20 and

> then

> try again! it was a really long process for me. And none of the weight

> even started to come off until I was off the Prednisone for about a month

> or

> more. It could have even been a few months. I remember feeling pretty

> sad that the weight wasn't moving, but I was off the meds and I didn't

> want

> to push my body by starving it or by starting to exercise because I didn't

> want to jeopardize getting off the meds.

>

> It seemed that once I was sort of accepting of it, and appreciating that I

> was feeling well enough to not need the Prednisone, and that was really

> the

> thing to focus on, and I stopped beating myself up about the weight, then

> I would only weigh myself ONCE A MONTH! and at the same time within the

> month (after my cycle) so that I wouldn't have bloat, then I finally saw

> each

> month 2 pounds gone! It feels so good to look in the mirror and recognize

> the face looking back at me!!! I was so round in the face I just felt

> strange to look in the mirror! (I think I avoided it as much as possible!)

>

> But hang in there. Let the medicine and the rest do what it can do for

> you, and just keep it in the back of your mind that this is all temporary!

> Hope this helps

> hugs,

> Jo

>

>

> In a message dated 3/9/2012 9:39:16 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,

> ginabomp@... writes:

>

> I so badly want to take off the weight though, I put on 80 lbs in 3 years.

> I was put on Abilify in 2009 and the doctor believes it could have

> contributed.

>

>