A Steroid (Hydrocortisone) Victim wrote to me a few weeks ago

A Steroid (Hydrocortisone) Victim wrote to me a few weeks ago. This is what she wrote (omitting her name and location):

" In August of 2010 I had a brain tumor removed. I am doing well from a neurological standpoint, however the tumor was sitting on my pituitary gland so I developed hypothyroidism and Central Diabetes Insipidis (also known as "water diabetes"). And of course I was put on a steroid- Hydrocortisone- which is what brought me to your website.

I started the hydrocortisone August 26, 2010 and took it until May 5, 2011, so a little over 8 months. And in that time period I gained a total of 153 lbs. I have always been overweight, and then it was like adding the equivalent of an adult to my weight...in a very short time. All of my Dr.s (I had a total of 3- endocrinologist, neurologist, primary physician) all told me the weight would come off once I was off the steroid, and none suggested reducing sodium/salt intake. But the weight did not come off at all. Finally in July, my endocrinologist did suggest reducing my salt intake and also seeing a medical weight loss clinic. From July 22nd to August 25th I lost 10 lbs. But then the Dr. at the clinic cut my calories back and put me on a low calorie diet (1400 to 1600 calories a day) because "I clearly had an increased appetite" (this is the opinion of most drs that I see, due to my size. They usually form this opinion without having asked me what I eat. I do not eat any more than my healthy, 160 lb mother.) I gained the 10 lbs I had lost back, and was becoming so very frustrated with myself, my weight, and with Doctors.

I was so happy when I found your website today. It all made so much sense and it was so nice to read your story and know that someone has gone through what I am going through. Taking an hour to read your website has given me so much more hope than talking to any doctor over the last few months. I am going to try the sodium reduction again, now that I know it can work and I have the confidence that my problem is indeed not my caloric or fat intake, but my salt intake. I am only 21 years old and feel like I am missing out on so much, I use to be so active and outgoing before my surgery, but now I have no ability to do things people my age do or I am embarrassed by my size, but you have given me new hope at a chance to get my old self back.

Thank you for sharing your story and putting so much work into researching and finding the answer."

Have you ever gained a lot of weight in just one day?

Have you ever gained a lot of weight in just one day? - If you have, then you are, perhaps, puzzled at how that could be possible. Here is the answer to the puzzle:

The weight you have gained is water weight, also known as fluid retention, sodium retention or salt sensitivity. It is often caused by pharmaceutical drugs prescribed by doctors. See anti-depressants and other drugs and HRT, Steroids and other drugs. It can also be caused by pregnancy.

You can read on my website about the vulnerable groups that can gain (and lose) weight very rapidly. They include children.

You can lose water weight fast, easily and safely. You can also safely lose excess fat.

I used to think I was sort-of addicted to coffee

I used to think I was sort-of addicted to coffee because I so often felt the need of a mug of it, but years later I came to realise that I had simply been abnormally thirsty. - It was prescribed medication that had made me so very thirsty.

Sometimes you are prescribed a drug and told that it may cause 'dry mouth' as a side-effect. Sometimes neither 'dry mouth' nor thirst gets a mention. - Anyway, if you are finding yourself drinking a lot more, feeling a lot more thirsty day after day than you used to, wondering, as I did, whether you are becoming addicted to coffee or tea or some other beverage, maybe you too are actually experiencing a side-effect of some medication you are taking. - If that is the case, there is a strong chance that you are gaining weight, and gaining weight quite quickly.

The weight gain is from extra fluid (salt plus the water that accompanies salt/sodium). This extra fluid is held in your blood stream, causing the veins to be a bit/lot more swollen/dilated/distended than previously. - You have become 'sensitive to salt'.

The good news is that if you avoid eating salt and salty food, you will not only lose a lot of that excess fluid and so lose weight and have more energy, and improve your health in countless other ways, but you will also find you are not feeling compelled to think about food and drink all the time, and you may stop being 'addicted to coffee'.

You gained weight because of Hormone Replacement Therapy? - You want to know what to do about it? - Read on:

Lose weight, reduce your risk of most cancers, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, heart attack, vascular dementia, stroke, osteopenia, osteoporosis, hypercholesterolaemia, depression, liver and kidney problems, and improve your health in many other ways without drugs, hunger or expense by eating less salt! - Try it! - You will feel so much better!

prescribed steroids and HRT

Read my Mensa article on Obesity and the Salt Connection

And see Sodium in foods

Associated health conditions

and FAT RETENTION

I can be contacted via my website if you need my further help. My help is free.

Are you taking antipsychotic or other psychotropic drugs and finding that you are putting on a lot of weight?

The problem is fluid retention because the drugs are causing you to be sensitive to salt and so salt is holding excess water in your body. If you cut down on salt you will excrete some of this water and therefore lose weight.

See http://www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk/steroids.html and other pages on the website.

Lose weight, reduce your risk of most cancers, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, stroke, heart disease, vascular dementia, osteopenia, osteoporosis, hypercholesterolaemia, depression, liver and kidney problems, and improve your health in many other ways without drugs or expense by eating less salt! - Try it! - You will feel so much better!

See Sodium in foods and

Associated health conditions

Are you taking prescribed steroids and putting weight on fast and you're puzzled because you know you are not eating too much?

Have a look at this webpage: Google webpage illustrating Cushing's Syndrome

I hope you are not heading for steroid-induced Cushing's Syndrome...)o:

The trouble is, you have almost certainly not been warned that prescribed steroids cause rapid weight gain, leading to obesity and then to morbid obesity, unless you avoid eating salt and salty food while you are on the steroids. - Read about it here: http://www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk/steroids.html - But if you stop eating salt NOW and keep off it, you can undo some of the harm done and lose weight easily. - IT IS NOT NECESSARY TO CUT DOWN ON FOOD - ONLY CUT DOWN ON SALT. The weight gain is from extra water in the bloodstream; this is called fluid retention. It happens because these drugs weaken/relax the walls of the blood vessels, rendering them vulnerable to salt and the water that accompanies it when it is in the bloodstream. Increased blood volume like this is sometimes called hypervolemia.

Lose weight by eating less salt! Go on! - Try it! - You will feel so much better!
How to Lose weight!

See my website http://www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk/.html
(The site does not sell anything and has no banners or sponsors or adverts - just helpful information.)

Read my Mensa article on Obesity and the Salt Connection

See Sodium in foods and

http://www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk/story.html - my 'political' page

http://www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk/socio.html - social and economic considerations

I can be contacted via my website if you need my further help. My help is free.