Weight gain/loss

[Guest guest]

Barbara:

Thanks for the support. Some days I get up and look in the mirrow and I see

this fat old lady and think what a fat tub. But now I'm getting to the point

that the weight will go when it is ready and people have to take as is. Fat

and alive or skinny and died. Thats what I tell people when they ask about

my weight.

Sue AIH

WI

[Guest guest]

Dear Sue:

I've told people that same thing. I've told 'well meaning' members of my

family (the ones who say, " it's just that I'm worried about your weight " )

that I had to make a trade off. Fat or life. It usually shuts them up.

I've gone the Weight Watchers, Dietitians, route, but always

wound up disappointed. It's so hard for some people to let go of their

stereotypical ideas of heavy people and accept that there really is a medical

problem involved. I once went in to a lengthy explanation to my Dad about

the prednisone and what it had done. He continued like he hadn't even been

listening and said, " If you just exercise some more, it should help. "

I'm fortunate that my doctor doesn't give me any grief about it. In fact he

really praised me for managing to lose the 15 lb. that I did last year. Not

a pound more yet this year. I think I reached the 'impasse' point. The rest

won't budge.

Kathy (AYH)

Seattle area

[Guest guest]

Dear Barbara A. and all group members,

What you had to say about self love is incredibly true. When I was at my

most bloated, I told myself that the only was I was going to get through

this is to smile. And smile I did. At everyone and everything, and when my

smile was returned, it made me feel wonderful regardless of what photos or

mirrors reflected at me. Now that I've lost a lot of the weight and all of

the bloating, I feel more beautiful than I ever did before I was sick, even

though when I look at photos of my well self, I was pretty and thinner (but

boy, I didn't realize it then!). I tell everyone I know that starts to feel

even a tiny bit sorry for me that I am more beautiful person inside and out

because of my illness.

Did you know that a doctor who helped start s Hopkins said that

chronically ill people will longer than other " normal " people simply because

we know how to take care of ourselves the best. What a great way to think

about this whole illness career. When I was a teenager, I thought I would

live to be over 100. Then for the past three years I thought surely I was

wrong. Now I believe in myself again. I am more healthy than anyone I

know, even though I live with a chronic illness.

I applaud each and every one of you, including myself, for having the

strength and courage to live with AIH or PSC or both and everything else in

our lives that we deal with daily. Some days, and this is one of them, I

feel that we have been blessed to have a chance to live our lives

differently and hopefully better than before.

Jackie

Fredericksburg, Virginia (exactly halfway between DC and Richmond)

[Guest guest]

Kathy:

Family oh yes family. Tomorrow is my Step-mothers 88th birthday party and

there is an open house for her at her home given by her children,

grandchildren and great-grand children. So I know that the weight problem

will come up but I've already thought of some answers.

To my brother Gayle: When did you become a doctor?

To my other brother Art: No I not ready for a transplant so you can leave me

in Grandma's will.

To my Sister Joan's husband " Stuff it.

To the rest of the family I will explain that it is my medicine and I really

don't like to be fat but what can I do. (Haven't seen some of them since I

got sick.)

Boy do I like family parties!!!!!

But I would not miss it because of the love I have for my Step-mother and she

has never said I am fat. Fluffy once but after I explained she understood.

Sue AIH

Wis

[Guest guest]

Barbara A.

The messages you've been posting have really helpled me

They're really interesting. Do you know why it takes so

long to lose weight even after we get off prednisone??

--Mari

[Guest guest]

[ ] Re: weight gain/loss

I went to my doctor last week for a follow up on my AIH. One of my two liver

counts were normal and the other one only slightly elevated. Thank the Lord.

However, I've gained more weight. I'm on 10 mg. of pred and cannot lose a

darn thing no matter what I do. I mentioned it to my doctor and he said as

long as I'm on Pred. I'll always carry more weight. He is pretty

undisturbed about the weight gain and pretty much passes it off as a normal

thing with us on Prednisone. The hardest part for me is truly accepting it.

I've never been this heavy except when I was pregnant. I'm only 5' 1 " tall

so it makes it hard. I think we can tell ourselves better to be heavy than

dead but truly getting that thought in our brain and not letting the extra

weight disturb us is harder. Anyway I am grateful for any victories no

matter how small.

Jan in Orlando

[Guest guest]

When I have the energy I'm going to write a book titled: Prednisone, Ice

Cream and Me. There is no doubt that prednisone increases your appetite. I

especially have been craving ice cream. I come home from the grocery store

with several half gallons of Breyers; I can tell you from experience, it's

the best(even the Lite version).

On a more serious note, I can relate to all of your concerns about the weight

gain. Our society puts a lot of emphasis on sleek, thin physiques. It is

hard to stand up to. What Geri was talking about is important. I think it's

helpful to treat ourselves to little extras if we can, like clothing that is

comfortable and in which we feel attractive. I have pampered myself with a

new cologne and some new bubble bath, both things that make me superficially

feel better. Of course, what really matters is all the soul searching and

internal healing work we all do that makes us really beautiful. It's there,

then it's up to others to see our beauty.

Roxanne

[Guest guest]

When I have the energy I'm going to write a book titled: Prednisone, Ice

Cream and Me. There is no doubt that prednisone increases your appetite. I

especially have been craving ice cream. I come home from the grocery store

with several half gallons of Breyers; I can tell you from experience, it's

the best(even the Lite version).

On a more serious note, I can relate to all of your concerns about the weight

gain. Our society puts a lot of emphasis on sleek, thin physiques. It is

hard to stand up to. What Geri was talking about is important. I think it's

helpful to treat ourselves to little extras if we can, like clothing that is

comfortable and in which we feel attractive. I have pampered myself with a

new cologne and some new bubble bath, both things that make me superficially

feel better. Of course, what really matters is all the soul searching and

internal healing work we all do that makes us really beautiful. It's there,

then it's up to others to see our beauty.

Roxanne

[Guest guest]

Jan,

About weight, if you can't beat it, join it! Sounds dumb, but one of the

things that bothered me most was that I could no longer wear some of the

beautiful clothes I'd collected during my working years, or even the shoes

(I'm a shoe freak.)

Women who have always been of " generous proportions " know that clothing

that fits too tight accentuates weight. The thought of having to rebuild a

wardrobe, besides being a costly project, was depressing to me, but slowly

but surely I'm collecting a few things that let me feel good about myself.

Ironically, since I'm not working, this is not something I can actually

afford to do, but I've got this really great husband who encourages me and

we're not very practical people at best.

This year, fashion is on our side. Have you noticed that casual outfits

with pants that have elastic waists and ties are " in " ? Loose is good!

Recently, I bought a beautiful casual, two-piece outfit. Much too

expensive (from Nordstrom) that I thought was flattering. I wore it to see

my husband at the hospital, feeling like a human being for a change, then

got a glimpse of myself reflected in a window. It was like putting a pin

in a balloon. Who is that woman with the big backside? Until a couple of

years ago I had 32 " hips and now they must have hit 42 " not counting the

puffy belly. However, three women technicians who took my husband to have

his angiogram complimented me on the outfit, then, Bob says, discussed the

outfit with each other as they walked down the hall (I wasn't there to

enjoy the discussion). He wanted me to know that they talked about how

" sleek " and " chic " it looked. Now, I know for a fact that I do not look

sleek these days, if I ever did. But, maybe we beat ourselves up more than

we have to? I think that we project the image we have of ourselves. If we

feel good about ourselves, people feel good about us. So, I'm going to

work with the equipment I've been assigned and hold my head up. We've all

got to do that.

I probably will never be slim again, but it could be worse. There's just

more of me to love than there used to be.

Take care,

Geri

[Guest guest]

Barbara Ann,

Didn't you find that you had more appetite when you were taking higher

amounts of prednisone? That's been my experience. It's like there's an

empty space that needs to be filled. With less pred, I've had less desire

to eat.

My doctor also suggested to me that weight loss wouldn't be an overnight

thing, with reduction of prednisone. He said that at under 10 mgs. I'd

begin to see a difference, but it would take awhile. Right now I have to

remind myself that the price for losing weight is too high if I'm going to

feel miserable because of lower prednisone dosages. I'm a little

discouraged about that sudden 5 lb. weight gain a couple of days ago, but

it's my own fault. I've been a bit anxious lately about a couple of things

and I've been eating unwisely (the wrong things, wrong quantities, at the

wrong time of day). It's hard to watch what you eat when you've spent a

lifetime of not having to think about it.

Take care,

Geri

[Guest guest]

Geri,

You are so right about the prednisone. Re: appetite, I did my own little

investigation at the hospital and found out that one of the reasons for

increased appetite is that 'it' makes food taste better and my own opinion is

that after we eat a meal, the drug interferes with the message sent to the brain

telling it we are full. My husband is 6'2'', weighs about 220. He always ate

about twice as much food as I did. While I was on the pred. I noticed that my

plate was as full as his was. Not only that, after dinner I would watch TV - I

saw a commercial for hamburgers (fast food), I talked him into taking me to a

local place that serves homemade ice cream (he's an icecreamaholic, so I knew he

wouldn't mind going). When we got there I ate a cheeseburger, fries and a

chocolate malted. Mind you, this is 30 minutes after finishing dinner. Prior

to the pred. I rarely ate any fast food. I wanted to give myself a good beating

when I got home. But, instead I just decided to take the responsibility - not

guilt - for what I put into my mouth - so be it.

I'm also convinced that the pred. lowers metabolism because once I had been

taken off it, I had so little appetite that I had to be reminded to eat. So, I

know I was definitely eating much less. Yet, I didn't lose a single pound for 6

months, and that's with walking, going to the gym etc. The reason I have

mentioned this in several posts is because I want others to be prepared in case

it takes that long for them to start losing weight. It took me a long, long time

to figure out that I couldn't let the 'weight issue' rob me of any more of my

happiness than it already had. I really didn't believe I would ever lose the

weight but I decided it was not going to control my emotional well being any

longer.

Hey, I'm sure you looked absolutely beautiful in you new outfit, it's money

wisely spent when you can feel so good about yourself.

Take care, Barbara A.

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[Guest guest]

Geri

You always make me want to cry!!

Weight sucks!! I feel the waddle now!! But DQ just started surving

chocolate soft serve lol!!

Any ways I'm trying to find nice things to wear, but it's so hard in the

summer I wear alot of dresses.

I found a way to help me get a crasp on the issue when I feel like junk

food, I will sit on one of my clients beds and look in her mirror, (it

happened to night) and it scared me, it was not me!! that girl should

not be wearing that dress, was the first thing I said!! (last years

dress) oops.

So I will be happy with what I got, but also try not to grow any bigger,

the goal will not be to loose weight right now it will be to maintain

it!!

And to start wearing make up maybe again just alittle, it seems to make

me break out worse with the meds.

Thanks for making me deel better!!

Bran

[Guest guest]

Geri

You always make me want to cry!!

Weight sucks!! I feel the waddle now!! But DQ just started surving

chocolate soft serve lol!!

Any ways I'm trying to find nice things to wear, but it's so hard in the

summer I wear alot of dresses.

I found a way to help me get a crasp on the issue when I feel like junk

food, I will sit on one of my clients beds and look in her mirror, (it

happened to night) and it scared me, it was not me!! that girl should

not be wearing that dress, was the first thing I said!! (last years

dress) oops.

So I will be happy with what I got, but also try not to grow any bigger,

the goal will not be to loose weight right now it will be to maintain

it!!

And to start wearing make up maybe again just alittle, it seems to make

me break out worse with the meds.

Thanks for making me deel better!!

Bran

[Guest guest]

Barbara Ann,

<< Re: appetite, I did my own little investigation at the hospital and

found out that one of the reasons for increased appetite is that 'it' makes

food taste better and my own opinion is that after we eat a meal, the drug

interferes with the message sent to the brain telling it we are full. >> I

totally agree with that. I've always been one of those people who simply

didnt think about eating. I often would go entire days without breakfast

or lunch without problems. When I did eat, even when it was in a

restaurant and the food was exceptional, I seemed to have a cut off point

and just would stop eating because I had all I needed or wanted. That's

all in the past. Now, I have a nearly constant feeling of hunger. I still

rarely finish a meal, but I can't go more than an hour or two without

needing something. I have to figure out what I can eat that will satisfy

this craving for " something " without loading myself with calories.

The really funny thing is that my husband, who was about 20-25 lbs.

overweight, has lost 20 lbs. since he's been home on disability while I've

been gaining. We've become a modern day Jack Sprat and wife. I'm a

little irritated about putting on 5 lbs. within about a 24 hour period. I

don't think it indicates anything ominous. I think it just means that the

higher dosages of Prednisone have finally taken their toll in the usual

way. But after losting nearly 8 lbs. just a few of weeks ago, this is a

big disappointment.

ly, the extra weight doesn't bother me so much anymore either. I

don't want to develop that moon face again, but if I do, I have to remind

myself that I've always had a rather thin face and envied people who didn't

look so gaunt. So, okay, I didn't imagine that someday I'd have a double

chin, but there are worse things in the world than that.

The new outfit is great. It's just what I needed to cheer me up. I'm not

so sure it was money wisely spent, though. I returned it to a Nordstrom

store out of state (there are none in Las Vegas) and asked them to have

their Personal Shopper select a replacement. I told her to put the

difference on my credit card. The difference was a LOT of money. Good

thing my hubby is so indulgent, because I was ready to send it back until

he talked me out of it. Wonder why there are so few chic and elegant

outfits available for size 12 and up? I still wear a 12 and sometimes even

a 10, but if I put on a few more pounds, it looks like my options will be

cut by 80% or more.

Take care,

Geri

[Guest guest]

Geri I know what you mean about the the moon face thing minr went down

some. I tell myself I look bette now sort of like I got a fce lift My

face was always thin also.

Pa.

[Guest guest]

Icecream my favorite THING! I really try to be good but I have this

thing for banana splits.Sometimes I get one and call it lunch. Okay now

with summer coming what are we to do about bathing suits?

Pa.

[Guest guest]

At least the women can wear dresses. I have yet to figure out how to make

pants fit! If I wear them around my waist, they immediately fall down. If I

wear them around my hips, I feel like the stereotypical appliance repairman.

Talk about a northern exposure!!

Don (AIH Mpls)

[Guest guest]

On Mon, 3 May 1999, Don Hanson wrote:

>At least the women can wear dresses. I have yet to figure out how to make

>pants fit! If I wear them around my waist, they immediately fall down. If I

>wear them around my hips, I feel like the stereotypical appliance repairman.

>Talk about a northern exposure!!

Well, Don. I guess you'll have to adopt Scotland as your native land, or

become a member of the Greek Royal Guards (although then you'd have to

learn the misery of wearing tights/pantyhose). <grin>

L. tlcarter@...

ville (near Knoxville), Tennessee, USA

" We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams. "

[Guest guest]

Don, you could try wearing kilts, the ish men wear them proudly.

Jokingly, Roxanne

[Guest guest]

Dear Don:

Your post really 'cracked' me up! My stepfather found that suspenders helped

with the pants problem. Just to keep things interesting, he bought many

colorful pairs and made it a part of his 'style.' Dresses aren't always the

best answer either! There's always the pantyhose/no pantyhose dilemma, plus

the unpleasant problem of (sorry to those with sensitive constitutions)

chafing. All in all we must endure the little indignities of extra weight

with as much style as possible. Thank goodness the clothes makers are coming

up with some decent fashions for the more generously endowed these days.

Good luck!

Kathy (AIH)

Seattle area

[Guest guest]

Hi Mari,

I wish I knew why it took so long for me to lose the weight. After stopping the

prednisone I lost my appetite completely, so I know it wasn't a question of

overeating. Many other people I know were within 10lbs of their normal weight

by the time they were at 5mg or less. Some of the people in this group had

their doses lowered and were looking forward to the weight loss. So, I decided

to mention it just in case anyone had the same experience as I did. I hoped

they could avoid the aggravation and heartbreak that I went through, and to let

them know that it may take a while, but there's hope. Barbara A.

--

On Sun, 2 May 1999 18:02:02 mari villagomez wrote:

>From: " mari villagomez " <mev1470@...>

>

>Barbara A.

> The messages you've been posting have really helpled me

> They're really interesting. Do you know why it takes so

> long to lose weight even after we get off prednisone??

>--Mari

>

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[Guest guest]

,

I think that we feel better when we know that we look good. Lately my

weakness has been buttered popcorn since I've lost my appetite for anything

sweet. I didn't eat all day, except for a half slice of toast and a glass

of orange juice. We went out for dinner, had some Chinese food (no soy or

MSG), and at that point I hadn't taken on many calories. So, now I sit

here eating popcorn, trying to fill that empty place in my stomach that

bothers me all of the time. But, though I gained 5 lbs. in just a day last

week, today I'd lost 3 of those pounds. It's as though my weight has

little to do with what I eat.

I had a friend years ago who was a model and who was naturally beautiful

without makeup. She said that the only makeup she usually wore was mascara

and sometimes a very pale lipstick or lip gloss. I need color because I

never go out in the sun and I'm quite pale, but if I use just a bit of

blush and some eyeshadow, I look much better. I was told that a dark

lavender (not too dark) is the best color for people who have dark eyelids

or shadows under their eyes. It's also a color corrector for people who

don't have pink skin tones.

Take care,

Geri

[Guest guest]

,

When my " moon " was at it's fullest, I got compliments even from strangers

about my complexion. A nurse/technician commented on how good it looked and

I told her that it was one of the kind side effects of Prednisone. It

smoothed out any wrinkles I might have been developing. You're right, it's

like having a facelift. I wish there was something good to say about the

hump in back, though. I hate that. Now that I'm back up to 9 mgs. of

Prednisone I notice that there's a slight puffiness back there again. So

far, no moon face but the clock's ticking.

Take care,

Geri

[Guest guest]

,

I need help breaking myself from my middle of the night cravings for

buttered popcorn. I've gone through the ice cream cravings and moved on.

Ice cream probably is better for me than all that salt and butter.

I don't know about bathing suits - I wouldn't wear one. I hate my legs.

Have you or has anyone else noticed an increase in broken vessels (like

varicose veins) in their legs? I know we bruise more easily because of the

meds, but my legs are covered with bruises now and all of the veins are

swollen. Even the tiniest bruise seems to last for weeks and they start

out small and seem to spread out and become huge as they fade. Also, I'm

getting little round bruises places where I haven't even bumped myself.

Geri

[Guest guest]

Don,

My husband was having the same problem you describe. He takes a lot of

diuretics and was having a problem with both fluid retention and general

overweight because he simply ate too much. I talked him into buying larger

sizes and FINALLY he could keep his pants up where they belonged. Same as

for women, men look larger when they wear pants that are too tight around

the waist. I also reminded him to watch his posture. Because of his bad

back, he was letting himself slouch when he walked and it made his belly

stick out more. Walking upright, he looks much better and I think he feels

better too. On the plus side, since he's been home all of the time he's

dropped from almost 200 lbs. to 175 lbs. and he isn't even dieting. Wish

he'd share his secret.

Take care,

Geri