Examples of Steroid Victims in the UK - Example Number 2.

Examples of Steroid Victims in the UK - Example Number 2.

A young woman, 'Dee', was brought to see me in 2000 by Marion, a friend of mine, who recognised Dee’s weight gain as similar to what mine had been.

'Dee' is less than 5 feet tall and she had always weighed 7 and a half stone (105 pounds). She told me that on Feb 1st 1999 a professor in the eye dept at one of our local teaching hospitals had put her on to 22x5mg prednisolone tablets a day for an eye problem. (Prednisolone is one of the steroids that cause sodium and water retention and it should not be prescribed without a warning about this, and the advice to minimise sodium intake while taking the medication. 'Dee' had not been given this information ot advice.) Such a high initial dose beggars belief! After 3 months on this daily dose her weight had increased by 3 stone – 40% of her body weight!!! – and like me she had stretch marks because of so rapid an increase in weight. She had been reduced to eating only one meal a day in an effort - unsuccessful - to lose weight.

When she told the professor of the weight gain and of the pain she was experiencing, his response was to look away and say something like, ‘It’s funny how women are always complaining of pain.’ - It’s not funny, actually...)o: - It’s disgraceful that women patients are treated in this way... - It is a typical example of medical sexism, to which I have referred in a previous entry in this blog. - Medical sexism is extremely damaging to women patients and it is extremely common in Britain...

After that first 3 months the tablets she had been prescribed were gradually reduced in number to one a day, which she was taking when I met her. But the reduction had not brought about any loss of weight. - The damage had been done. Fortunately Marion and I were able to tell her about salt sensitivity. - We spent 2 hours telling her. We had also to overcome the idea that fat/calories have to be reduced in order to lose weight.

Some months later 'Dee' rang me to tell me delightedly that she had lost a lot of weight by following my advice about reducing salt/sodium intake. In clothes, at any rate, she looked normal again. But of course the terrible stretch marks remain, and so does the pain, though it is less.

If you too are a steroid victim, have a look at my website http://www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk/ and then look at some of the other pages, especially the steroids page.

You will find that the best, the safest, the fastest, the most reliable way to lose weight is to eat less salt and forget about reducing calories or struggling to do exercise when you are too fat to be comfortable doing it. - You will feel SO MUCH BETTER! - Overeating and lack of exercise are NOT what caused your obesity.

Good luck!