Prednisone Questions

[Canis Lupus]

I just started prednisone at 10mg ED for prob 3-6 months after a 2 week taper 40mg-10mg. Is 10mg enough to hinder muscle gain potential? How can I maximize my anabolic environment.whie on prednisone?.BCAA's, higher protein, low sodium intake, any other ideas (other than gear)? I know prednisone does nothing for muscle gains but iterestingly enough my doc said some of the fat/water gain (if any at all becaus ei workout so much) may appear to be muscle gain because of the rediposting of fat but he was clear to explain the weight is fat/water mostly...what did he mean by apear to be? Again, what can i do to continue gains if prednisone is hurting this area? Any thoughts?..thanks

 

[SUPERDIMI]

Sorry to hear about the lupus bro. I got ms myself. It's been 5 years looking for answers and I'm 26 now.

I've looked up as much as I could about being in an anabolic state vs the catabolism that comes from just having the ms(don't know about lupus) and in this case prednisone, which is a corticosteroid quite catabolic. As you know prednisone is also used in ms so I have read about it although I haven't been given it yet.

If MS patient have "attacks" they can be admitted to the hospital to recieve the drug interveneously(sp?) for 5 days. The catabolic effects are minimized by such a short course. But you are saying that you are going to take it orally probably long term. I don't think that you are going to be able to make any gains in the weight room. Probably you will lose muscle.

Keeping yourself in an anabolic state will be hard using supplements versus a prescription drug that will make you catabolic. There are ways you can try to keep yourself anabolic
such as eating every 2-3 hours, making sure you are getting enough good fats, spiking insulin with dextrose afterworkouts, eating as soon as you wake up, lift heavy for a short period of time when you workout and get to your postworkout meal right after. If you're interested in BCAA's, one particular bodybuilding website I went to said that powdered in the way to go. But I think the bottomline is no one knows if you can successfully combat the catabolic effects of long term prednisone use. Sorry. That's what I say but I'm no expert either.

I have read some where about anabolic steroids theoretically should be used in conjuction to combat the catabolic effects of corticosteroids. It is not a concern of the current medical community. It's assumed that if you have a autoimmune disease catabolism is not as important as controlling the disease. It's messed up, but you have to keep researching and make a persuasive case to the doctor about using unorthodox medical treatments.

Talk to your doctor about your concerns. Maybe anabolic steroids will negate the intended effects of the prednisone and should not be used. I assume this is the only you can do if you want to maintain mass.

I have lost 25 pounds since having ms. Can't make gains either. probably from higher cortisol levels in my body and the muscle wasting that comes from my body not getting the same nerve signals it once had.

May I suggest going here www.lowdosenaltrone.com and reading about this treatment that way developed by a doctor in New York. I'm trying to get this prescribed by my pcp here. Message boards all over have said good things about this drug. Maybe it's worth it to talk to Dr. Bihari himself and see if you can use this instead of the prednisone, assuming it can be used in lupus too.

D