Question: I have suddenly put on weight of about 10kgs during the past 6 months. My age is 29 years and I have taken prednisolone 8 months back as a medication against sun allergy for 15 day duration. From the past few months I could see extreme facial swelling and weight gain. I couldn’t make out if it’s because of prednisolone or not. If it is because of prednisolone how long will this last?
Answer:
Prednisolone is a synthetic steroid. Steroids are hormones, which are produced by the adrenal glands to produce anti bodies and strengthen our immune system to fight foreign bacteria.
Weight gain is one of the common side effects of use of any form of steroid (anabolic or corticosteriod). It depends upon an individual how his/her body reacts to the use of steroids, however prednisolone causes weight gain on face, neck and abdomen.
Steroids primarily cause weight gain, because they tend to suppress the adrenal glands, which are responsible for metabolism.
It is very difficult to reduce weight once gained as a result of predinisolone. The steroid continues to remain in the body system for almost 6 months before it is completely excreted out of the body.
In order to control weight gain especially when you are under the treatment of synthetic steroids it is recommended that you take a balanced diet, which is high in protein, low in salt, low in carbohydrates.
- Avoid fats, sugar, cheese, etc
- Reduce the consumption of salt, which causes retention of water in our system.
- Drink at least 4 litres of cold water each day. The body will have to use several calories of energy to bring the water to body temperature. However, precaution needs to be taking especially by people who are prone to cough and cold.
- Salads twice a day, ideally before lunch and dinner, will increase the fibre content in your diet and reduce the absorption of carbohydrates. Cabbage and tomato are also known to help in weight loss.
Work out regularly for short periods of time. A brisk walk to 25 minutes a day is critical in helping you to reduce the side effects of the consumption of steroids.
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