Re: need advice-Dennis

[Guest guest]

And a good 2 1/2 cents worth of advice it is. No guys, no weight gain here

either. In fact, my appetite has been pretty bad, I am never in a mood to eat

and only do so when I get hungry. And that another 1/2 cent worth of advice

betnden@... wrote:

I keep reading and hearing about prednisone " causing " weight gain. It

doesn't do that, only increase your hunger. If you can control your eating

habits, it shouldn't do more than cause your face round. I've been taking it

for over 16years and have had no side-effects from it. Yes, my face plumped

out and I gained about 15 pounds, but that was from my inability to

exercise. But, it did help me have a better life in the early years. One of

my doctors said it might cause a stroke, but that could be caused by the

double cheeseburger I had yesterday. The problem I'm having is that I

can't get off of it yet. I droped to about half my normal dosage, but it

caused inflammation in my lower spine and pinched my sciatic nerve, so I had

to go back up. Now, it's not much of a problem again, but I still have the

small problem with that nerve that's more than 5 years old. It's quality of

life, NOT quantity of life!! Anyhow, that's my 2 1/2 cents.

Dennis

Re: [ ] need advice

> ,

>

> I've been taking methotrexate for lupus for about

> 1-1/2 months now, it definitely is starting to help.

> Did your doc try you on injectable methotrexate? I

> got really sick from the oral and switched to the

> injectable form, which helped some. Then, my doc

> upped my folic acid from 1 mg/day to 5 mg/day, and

> that all but took care of the nausea problems I'd been

> having. It still feels a bit creepy to inject myself

> once a week, but I believe it's worth it.

>

> You're wise to try to avoid prednisone. Yes, it helps

> a lot, but the weight gain and other side-effects are

> nasty.

>

> About finding a rheumotologist--have you tried a large

> hospital in your area, maybe even a teaching hospital?

> Are you near any large, out-of-state cities (e.g.,

> St. Louis)?

>

> Good luck!

>

>