Question about lifting while on PREDNISONE?

[Stiffler]

Ok I have Lupus, and my kidneys are really bad so I have been on Prednisone and cytoxan(chemo) for the past 3.5 months(and will be on it for another 4 months).I stopped working out totally 3months ago and now my kidneys are doing much better as a result of the 60mg of prednisone ive been taking. in that time I have lost 27lbs. and my BF is the same. my arms went from 16.5 to 13" and my legs are TINY. all my muscles are really soft like doughy feeling right now.

what I want to know is, will I be able to regain my lost muscle while still on prednisone, since pred is catabolic? i'm also on a real strick diet where i can only eat 60g of protein a day, and I weigh 165lbs.

well if any one has some ideas please send them my way, ive been itching to get back to the gym (just been really depressed lately, but now since I got some really good blood work back im pretty excited now).

 

[BigAndy69]

Hey Stiffler, been a while. Last time you posted that you had blood in your urine.

I think the best thing to do is follow the doctor's advise, if he allows you to train, then go ahead and train...you can definetely get stonger...and your muscles will get harder.

Good luck bro. Sorry to hear about your illness.

 

[Stiffler]

hey BigAndy! yea the blood in my urine ended up being becuase the lupus was attacking my kidneys really bad, but now things are starting to turn in the right direction!

Anyway even though Prednisone is catabolic and I have lost ALL of my muscle, Will I still be able to gain it back while still being on prednisone?

I have noticed my arms getting a little harder since I started training again 10 days ago...

 

[Stiffler]

bump^

 

[BigAndy69]

I don't it's impossible but it will definetely be tough to gain muscle mass. If you need anything email me anytime bro... [email protected]

 

[Zyglamail]

I went through my share of prednisone use due to swelling retna, upto 80mg/ed, I bloated up and felt like crap for the most part. Due to the catabolic nature of corticosteroids making gains is dificult but can be done if everything else is dialed in.

 

[Vageta]

It is possible to gain muscle mass while on prednisone, especially if you've had it before(muscle memory). I too had to stop working out while I was recovering from an illness with prednisone. My arms shrunk 2 inches when I was sick(wasn't eating) but I eventually put an inch of muscle back on just from eating again without even working. When I finally got off of the prednisone and got back to the gym I got my size back very quickly, unfortunately I had quite a bit of fat to burn off during my feasting time. The key was getting enough nutrients in, you have to get the calories to build the muscle and create a positive nitrogen balance.

Also check around the internet, there are plenty of studies out there dealing with methods on reducing the muscle catabolism of corticosteroids. Building muscle mass "naturally" on prednisone won't be easy but it could be done.

Also search the internet, there are plenty of studies involving methods to reduce catabolism from corticosteroids. Apparently one of the main reasons for muscle catabolism is that the cortisol creates a negative nitrogen balance. In one study GH was shown to stop catabolism in it's tracks and actually increase LBM. Also anti-catabolic types of AS like oxandrolone would probably be enough to stop catabolism and put things on an even perspective. Dbol increases protein synthesis significantly as well though they were hard on my GI tract which is the entire reason for my off and on use of prednisone as it is.

Ipriflavones also have been reported to help out in stopping the effects of cortisol. It seems their effectiveness at putting on mass in general are overated, but in anti-catabolic uses they seem to do well. Ipriflavones definately will stop bone loss which prednisone will definately cause over time and some of the other flavones(methoxy, etc...) can help maintain LBM.

It won't be easy but it is possible.

 

[Stiffler]

thanks for all the support, I am off to the gym right now!

if anybody else has some input on this please let me know I need something to keep me positive!

 

[JG1]

Hey Bro,

I was on 120mg/day of Prednisone for a long time (severe case of vasculitis thats in remission now) and I know what your going threw. It's gonna be hard to gain your size back right now while on the predisone, but you will be able to gain some strength and muscle.

I was able to convince the Doc to give me test therapy at the time since the prednisone and Cytoxin lowered my test levels.

 

[Stiffler]

do u think he would give me test thearpy or GH...because the reason im on cytoxin and prednisone is because my kidneys are spilling protein????
thanks!

 

[JG1]

Ask him to check your test levels. If your on both Cytoxin and Prednisone (like I was), more then likely your test level is low. I think mine was in the very low end of normal(300 i think, btw I'm 25 years old). He put me on 200mg test every two weeks untill I told him I could feel the test dropping by the middle of the second week, some more testing and he eventulay put me on 150mg/week of Cyp.

 

[gymtime]

Hey Stiffler, been a while. Last time you posted that you had blood in your urine.

I think the best thing to do is follow the doctor's advise, if he allows you to train, then go ahead and train...you can definetely get stonger...and your muscles will get harder.

Good luck bro. Sorry to hear about your illness.

I remember that too. Dont have much to add here bro. Just glad you're doing better and getting in the gym again.

 

[Nathan]

Stiffler! How's it going bro? I was wondering where you'd been hiding. I am terribly sorry to hear about the lupus bro. I missed you around here and am glad you're back at least. If there is anything I can do bro, please e-mail me even if it's just to talk or make fun of me or something.
I'm sorry I don't have more info to offer you right now but I sreiously think that you will bouncve back from this in no time. I also recommend talking to your doc about alternatives. Be sure to tell him that you're depressed and your libido is low - that will help convince him to put you on test more than likely. Push for the GH as well. Tell him you are very concerned about the muscle wasting. Good luck to you brother and I hope to hear from you soon.

 

[acneman]

Stiffler i believe deca used to be prescribed to combat the catabolic effects of cortisone(pred is a synthetic cort) i would ask my doc about that and if he says yes i dont see why you cant just add a little tes with it hee hee

also i have a little experience with people with lupus and have had people tell me that low dose deca makes a big difference when on the pred.

i have a strange theory that exogenic tes can cause significant decrease in lupus symptoms. pm me if you want to talk more about it.