Re: Hello... long, long, LONG intro. :) TO MEG

[Guest guest]

Hi Meg,

Wow, it sounds like the Lasix really helped you out. I gained 12

pounds after I started Prednisone. In just the last two weeks, I've

tapered completely off the pred (yee haw), but I have a feeling some

of my weight gain may be krispy cremes, not just water. Anyway, I'm

hoping it will be a little easier to lose it since I'm not taking the

prednisone now.

> Hi ,

>

> << One question you asked somewhere in there was about swelling and

itching

> in your legs.  That sound like water retention to me.  When I

retain fluid in

> my thighs, they itch like crazy.  What causes it for me is not the

RA, but the

> meds.  Prednisone and anti-inflamatories are notorious for causing

fluid

> retention. >>

>

> I've definitely been having issues with fluid-retention - it was

one of the

> first things my rheumy pointed out on my initial visit. She put me

on lasix

> (and potassium) right away and I promptly dropped 35 of the 40

pounds I put on in

> 5 months at college - I'm only 5 feet tall, so as you can imagine,

I feel

> *much* better now! It's also nice to have a solution for how in

the world I

> managed to put on half again my original body weight in such a

short amount of

> time. I knew I wasn't eating *that* much....

>

> I digress (as usual). My question would perhaps have been better

phrased, " Is

> there any connection between RA and fluid retention that is *not*

drug

> related? " This comes about because I wasn't on NSAIDs or pred (to

speak of... a

> single two week burst I think?) when the massive weight gain

started. It just

> occurred to me to wonder if this might have in fact been an early

(if bizarre)

> indication of RA - or some kind of fallout due to RA - that I'd

missed.

>

> In any case, there's no doubt that it's fluid and not " true " weight

gain, so

> I guess I can be grateful for that. Being on the lasix has also

resulted in my

> feet looking semi-normal for the first time in about 12 years...

they've

> never been completely normal of course, but they've also had some

weird skin

> issues for a long, *long* time, which now appear resolved. I'd

ascribe the fluid

> retention to the CP, and that may be a minor factor, but till very

recently I've

> always been an ambulatory biped-type creature (i.e. only using my

chair for

> long distances), so I can't imagine that's the whole puzzle... who

knows.

>

> Thanks for the help!

>

> Meg

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Meg,

Wow, it sounds like the Lasix really helped you out. I gained 12

pounds after I started Prednisone. In just the last two weeks, I've

tapered completely off the pred (yee haw), but I have a feeling some

of my weight gain may be krispy cremes, not just water. Anyway, I'm

hoping it will be a little easier to lose it since I'm not taking the

prednisone now.

> Hi ,

>

> << One question you asked somewhere in there was about swelling and

itching

> in your legs.  That sound like water retention to me.  When I

retain fluid in

> my thighs, they itch like crazy.  What causes it for me is not the

RA, but the

> meds.  Prednisone and anti-inflamatories are notorious for causing

fluid

> retention. >>

>

> I've definitely been having issues with fluid-retention - it was

one of the

> first things my rheumy pointed out on my initial visit. She put me

on lasix

> (and potassium) right away and I promptly dropped 35 of the 40

pounds I put on in

> 5 months at college - I'm only 5 feet tall, so as you can imagine,

I feel

> *much* better now! It's also nice to have a solution for how in

the world I

> managed to put on half again my original body weight in such a

short amount of

> time. I knew I wasn't eating *that* much....

>

> I digress (as usual). My question would perhaps have been better

phrased, " Is

> there any connection between RA and fluid retention that is *not*

drug

> related? " This comes about because I wasn't on NSAIDs or pred (to

speak of... a

> single two week burst I think?) when the massive weight gain

started. It just

> occurred to me to wonder if this might have in fact been an early

(if bizarre)

> indication of RA - or some kind of fallout due to RA - that I'd

missed.

>

> In any case, there's no doubt that it's fluid and not " true " weight

gain, so

> I guess I can be grateful for that. Being on the lasix has also

resulted in my

> feet looking semi-normal for the first time in about 12 years...

they've

> never been completely normal of course, but they've also had some

weird skin

> issues for a long, *long* time, which now appear resolved. I'd

ascribe the fluid

> retention to the CP, and that may be a minor factor, but till very

recently I've

> always been an ambulatory biped-type creature (i.e. only using my

chair for

> long distances), so I can't imagine that's the whole puzzle... who

knows.

>

> Thanks for the help!

>

> Meg

>

>

>