The Undesirable Facet Impact of Prednisone for UC

The Connection Between Prednisone and Weight Acquire

Weight acquire in individuals taking prednisone is linked to how lengthy you’re taking the drug, says Rudolph Bedford, MD, a gastroenterologist at Windfall Saint Joseph’s Health Heart in Los Angeles, California. The longer you’re on prednisone, the extra seemingly you might be to realize weight.

Why does this occur? Along with prednisone growing urge for food, Dr. Bedford says the drug additionally causes fluid retention, which results in swelling, usually of the fingers, legs, and toes, together with the face. Prednisone may interrupt a traditional sleep-wake cycle, resulting in insufficient sleep and a disruption of the hormones that assist regulate urge for food, says Kate Scarlata, RDN, a Boston-based dietitian who lists inflammatory bowel ailments like UC as one in all her specialties.

How you can Management Weight Acquire on Prednisone

If weight acquire is especially bothersome, discuss to your physician about modifying your drug routine. You need to by no means cease taking drugs by yourself. Steroids have to be tapered slowly beneath your physician’s steerage. Speedy withdrawal of steroids could trigger your ulcerative colitis to flare, in accordance with the Crohn’s & Colitis Basis. It might additionally trigger fatigue, joint ache, muscle stiffness, or fever, in accordance with the Hospital for Particular Surgical procedure.

Your physician might be able to wean you off steroids solely and substitute them with medicines with fewer negative effects, together with biologics, disease-modifying antirheumatic medicine (DMARDs), or, if wanted, much less poisonous steroids like budenoside. This various is “shortly metabolized by the liver, thereby lowering corticosteroid-related negative effects, and seems to be as efficient as prednisone,” says Bedford.

Moreover, using just a few easy dietary methods when you’re on prednisone might help you keep away from the worst of the burden acquire — and keep more healthy total, says Scarlata:

1. Scale back sodium consumption. Decrease canned and processed meals, soy sauce, chilly cuts, chips, and different salty snacks, as a result of high-sodium meals contribute to water retention.
2. Select low-calorie sources of calcium. One other prednisone facet impact is the danger for bone mineral loss, so boosting calcium consumption is necessary. However watch out about which calcium-rich meals you’re consuming. Some, like entire milk, additionally comprise numerous fats. As a substitute, attempt lower-calorie sources of calcium, like low-fat dairy, broccoli, kale, and chia seeds, says Scarlata, and take into account a complement.
3. Eat extra potassium. Elevated potassium consumption can fight water retention, notes Bedford. Good sources of this necessary mineral embrace oranges, grapefruit, bananas, kiwifruit, spinach, collard greens, and tomatoes.
4. Go for wholesome fat. Don’t fall into the entice of low- and nonfat every part, Scarlata says. Small parts of wholesome fat increase vitamin and assist management starvation between meals. “Embrace a small handful of nuts, seeds, olive oil, fatty fish — like salmon or tuna — or avocado at each meal, as tolerated,” she says.
5. Keep on with a schedule. Lastly, says Scarlata, remember that steroids’ hormonal regulation of starvation cues could make you are feeling hungry even once you’re not. Because of this, you must attempt to eat regularly-timed meals, she says. “In case you let your self get over-hungry, you’ll really feel much less in management and extra prone to overeat.”

Further reporting by Jordan M. Davidson.