Healthy swaps: snacks Enjoy Food

If you need to have vitamin D or calcium supplements, your doctor will monitor your calcium levels. If treatment is necessary, you will usually be given a steroid medication. If you take certain medicines like anti-fibrotic drugs, you may find you lose weight too. Ask your healthcare professional if they can make losing weight part of your treatment plan.

• And because I was in hospital I had to do, drink it there and then.
• But reducing or blocking testosterone can cause other things to change in your body too.
• Like all treatments, hormone therapy can cause side effects.
• I feel grateful and lucky that most people don’t even notice I limp.

For a full list, see the leaflet inside your medicine packet. You could be having a serious allergic reaction and may need immediate treatment in hospital. The higher the dose, the more intense the mood changes can be. Regular exercise will also help to keep your weight stable.

Changes to your sex life

Your consultant can advise you on whether to avoid particular foods and drinks based on your specific treatment. This might include through supplements (for example, if your body is unable to absorb nutrients properly), as well as through your intake of food and drink. The general recommendation is to drink around 1.5 to 2 litres (roughly 6 to 8 glasses) per day. We offer some tips below if your taste is affected by treatment.

Use the diary to look at your eating patterns and identify the times when you eat most or are likely to snack on higher-calorie foods. If you continue to gain weight, it might be worth joining a slimming group to give you some support or asking your GP if you can be referred to a dietitian for more advice. It’s important to note that losing weight is not recommended if you have an active tumour or are currently receiving treatment.

How can I prevent weight gain while having steroid injections?

They help to control many functions including the immune system, reducing inflammation and blood pressure. As I explained I do not have a magic answer but the following may help. Firstly, we need to consider the different types of steroid injection and the reasons for giving them.

Some men put on weight while they are on hormone therapy, particularly around the waist. You may find that you start to put on weight soon after starting hormone therapy. Some men find this physical change difficult, particularly if they’ve never had any problems with their weight in the past. If you have a partner, talking about sex, your thoughts and feelings can help you both deal with any changes.

Compare this with patients taking oral steroids (e.g., low dose prednisolone, 5-10 mg per day), for rheumatoid arthritis. In a research study over a two-year period, this usage caused patients steroids for sale online to gain between 4-8% of their baseline body weight (Da Silva et al., 2006). So, when it comes to oral steroids, there is evidence to suggest that weight gain is a possible side effect.

Firstly the response will be quite individual and is influenced heavily by your diet and what’s known as your metabolic flexibility (more on this coming very soon). Eating is not the only way to raise blood sugar back to where it needs to be and the worse your diet is, the more frequently and strongly this mechanism is likely to be triggered. Meaning that when your diet is poor and full of true wrong foods, you are more likely to overeat. Those feelings alone can make you reach for sweet treats, but evidence also shows that low serotonin levels affects our appetite, making us crave food even when we’re already full.

If you do stop having hormone therapy, the side effects won’t stop straight away. It may take several months for the side effects to improve. Doctors and nurses are always happy for you to bring your partner along to your appointments, and they might be able to tell you about types of support that would suit you both. The charity Relate provides relationship counselling and other support services for couples.

You might have liver changes that are usually mild and unlikely to cause symptoms. You have regular blood tests to check for any changes in the way your liver is working. A low level of potassium in the blood is called hypokalaemia. You might have blood tests during cancer treatment to check for this.