I am an eating machine. And I itch. Please give me a pep talk.

Prednisone = bad. (Various ramblings ahead).

My doc put me on Prednisone AGAIN to try and knock out this swelling in my leg from a horseback riding accident from last August. I have struggled through painkillers, short-term disability, physical therapy that only made the problem worse, and three months ago, he put me on a four-day course of Prednisone. It worked like a charm - for about a month. The pain came back. So now we’re trying a longer course of Prednisone - about a week and a half, possibly longer. It is helping - the pain is already going away. This is good.

However, two downsides to this medication: I am eating everything in sight. I am an absolute carb-o-holic this week. I have been surviving on my favorite brand of vegan macaroni and cheese (made with nutritional yeast and mustard powder instead of cheese - yes, I know, it sounds disgusting - it was an acquired taste, but now I can’t get enough of it), mashed potatoes with gravy, Cokes, Diet Mountain Dew Code Red, those new Quaker Toastables, oatmeal, ice cream, and homemade desserts from the local grocery store. I am starving all day, every day. And all I want are carbs…typically, I keep a good balance of carbs and proteins, but the carbs are the only thing that will satisfy me for longer than an hour. I CAN’T STOP EATING and I have to get my dress altered for my brother’s wedding next week - I’m gonna have to have it let out! I just want to stop eating! I’ve lost a good deal of weight in the past two years and I’m at the top of my healthy weight range - I don’t want to screw that up!

And another lovely side effect…I also itch constantly. I can take Benadryl at night to take the itch off, but unfortunately, during the day, I’m stuck unless I want to fall asleep at my desk. ACK! My co-workers laugh at me and are convinced that I’ve been breaking out in hives - they won’t come near me because they don’t want to catch it.

So in exchange for finally solving this nine-month old injury that I really want to take care of, I have to put up with these side effects. I know I can do it for another week. All I need is a good old ‘push pep talk’ from some people. Tell me to keep taking my meds so that my leg gets better. Anyone with past Prednisone experiences? Tell me how good it is for injuries and how I need to finish the course:).

One good upside, though - my doc has practically ordered me to start horseback riding again to get my leg muscles built up - woohoo! I wasn’t allowed to ride all this time and I miss it like mad. I NEED to get back on a horse.

Ava

You’re gonna get better, really, you are. I’ve been on steroids myself, so I KNOW how it just pushes that “Starving!!!” button in your mind. I always had a lot of energy when I took the stuff…can you channel yours into Major Spring Cleaning or something?

I can’t help with the itch, I’m sorry. I just went through a period of becoming allergic to an antibiotic, and I KNOW how badly an itch can be.

Come on, hang in there, it’ll be worth it!

Predisone sucks big time. Hopefully this time will do the trick. (I was on it for 9 months straight. Not fun on it, and not fun being weaned off it either.)

And may I suggest Triskets and Strawberry Jam? Crunchy salty sweet and very very chewy. Cant’ eat many but it satisfies 4 cravings at 1 time!

And try not to scratch - it really only makes you itch more. I try to put lotion on every time I want to scratch. It distracts me but gives my hands something to do.

Good luck with this!

comfort But you can do it!!! Only a week and a half :slight_smile: Mark the calendar and promise yourself something wonderful at the end!!!

I didn’t itch when I was on it… but I did get really depressed. The doctors said that was normal. Gee thanks :slight_smile: I like the lotion idea DeVena mentioned though.

I’ve done the prednisone thing a couple of times… once for a year (doubled my weight … bad thing when you’re in junior high) and once with cytoxan(a chemo type drug) for six months (chubbed up and lost a good deal of my hair… great combo for the senior prom)

The best thing I can recommend is find something to do with your hands that makes eating and scratching more difficult. Sometimes I would just sit on them :slight_smile: I also found going for a walk helped a lot. Even if I was walking to the store to get some smartfood or something… the walk helped counteract a calorie or two and was further than the fridge so it took up extra time.

I can’t say how it works for injuries as I took it because my immune system was out of control and trying to kill my kidneys. It did work well for that though as I still have both of my own :slight_smile:

Oh, thank God, I thought I was going crazy. Glad to know this is common to these things!

Lynn, you know, I had this huge burst of energy last night and ended up cleaning my parents’ house, feeding all the animals (including the neighbors’, which my mom was taking care of), doing the garbage, vacuuming, etc. - I had no idea where the energy came from! Hopefully, running around for several hours last night burned off a few of those calories. This also might explain why I have been having trouble sleeping, too. Too much energy:).

DeVena, I didn’t even think abou Triscuits…that’s a good idea. I have to go to my future sister-in-law’s bachelorette party this weekend (a weekend trip to NC) and that should be fun…I’ll be the girl holed up in the corner eating crackers all night.:smiley:

Tanookie, the walking helped last night, but at work, I’m stuck at my desk…grrr…I am trying the lotion idea, though (thanks, DeVena!), and trying to keep myself busy around here. I just don’t want my dress to fit badly when I have to get it altered.

Hungry…again…must…not…eat…

Thanks for the suggestions!

Ava

On the constant eating front – I’m PMSing and am up and down between my desk and the vending machine every ten minutes. The only thing that keeps me from buying yet another Twix bar is chewing gum.

Mmmm…Twix…

Going to get more water and diet soda…

Ava

Ok, maybe try this; distract yourself by talking horses with me. :slight_smile: It’s been years since I’ve been on a horse, and I miss it terribly. Do you have your own? Are you taking lessons? What do you ride, Western or English?

we can double-team on talking horses, if it helps. i have 2 and my first pony (still). and several decades of riding under my belt.

as for scratching, lotion or aloe may help with any actual irritation. i think i’ve also seen recommendations of wearing cotton gloves (although this may be more for night time, so you don’t scratch in your sleep.)

and if a simple “chew” fix will help with the cravings for food, i’d second the bubblegum suggestion. although i think i’ve heard that something with more “mouth texture” is actually better. like on the order of those wooden coffee stirrers.

Scratch yourself with your food. The itch will be gone and the food will be rendered less appealing.

On second thought don’t listen to me. I apparently suck at advice.

Woohoo! Horse talk! That’ll take my mind off of it!

(Setting aside my bread-and-butter pudding to type…:).

I ride English - I actually rode when I was a kid, and I loved it, but gave it up around the age of 13. I went back in college, and had a BAD fall one weekend - broken ribs, concussion, etc - all because of a loose saddle that the barn wouldn’t let me fix myself (we were riding on a trail ride at a barn and they didn’t think anyone who came in with a bunch of college kids knew how to deal with tack - I stupidly told myself that the saddle would be fine - they knew what they were doing), and got scared off of riding for a good, long while. The only horse I would ride between then and two years ago was my aunt’s barrel racer because she was the easiest-going horse in the world and I had no fears when I rode her.

So two years ago, I went to visit a friend in Toronto who’s a talented show jumper, and she was determined to get me riding again. She took me to her barn and got me a lesson on the easiest horse they had. For forty-five minutes, I sat there in terror and when I finally started to relax…I realized how much I MISSED riding! When I got back to NYC, I immediately signed up for lessons at a barn in Brooklyn, where I got an awesome instructor who ended up becoming a good friend, too. I discovered a penchant for bratty thoroughbreds, had worked over my fear to get back to my love of riding, was just about to start really jumping, when my favorite horse tossed me off - he’s that bratty thoroughbred who is just the most ungraceful little bugger…he tripped over his own feet at a canter, spooked himself, went one way, and tossed me the other way. I landed on my butt, which caused the injury that’s bothered me in my rear end and leg for the past nine months. I have ridden once since then - just a short lesson because I was moving and wanted to ride my boy one more time. No fear this time like after the last fall, it just hurt too much to continue too long. I’m hunting around for a barn down here in VA now and I can not WAIT to get back to my riding. There’s nothing like a horse. I’m headed back up to visit my TO friend in June and she’s going to take me riding again, so I’m really looking forward to that. Eventually, I would love to have my own horse and show him, but that’s probably a ways off.

What do you ride? And how long has it been since you’ve ridden? Look around and find a barn - it surprised me how much I wanted to get back into it and how excited I was to start riding again once I put my mind to it!

Lachesis, I would love to hear about your experiences!! Any advice on looking for my first horse? Like I said above, I have a thing for bratty thoroughbreds - my trainer said I have a light touch and it works well on them. And I get along better with male horses than with mares…is that typical? I think I rode one female horse at my last barn who liked me…the others were complete brats and tried to take advantage at any opportunity possible. What sort of horses (ponies?) do you have now?

Ava

Ava

i currently own the very definition of a bratty thoroughbred – former race horse, complete with tattoo. (husband’s pet name for him is Demon Horse From Hell.) nobody else can/wants to ride him (although i did have hubby on him once, in the ring. he’s not eager to do a repeat.)

my earliest experiences on horseback were back around 1st grade. my mom had owned a palomino mare for a while before she was married. she took me riding sometimes in the park outside Cleveland (dang! can’t remember the name anymore.) also site of my first riding accident. she got down to have a smoke. my horse knew we were close to home and took off. i managed to slip out of the saddle until i was only hanging on by the saddlehorn. (yes, western back then.) Mom had remounted and was in hot pursuit. she yelled to let go, since my horse was headed for nearby road and bridge. i did. her horse merrily tromped on my leg as it went thundering by. (on the side, above the knee. i was pretty lucky – nothing broke, no major damage … just a residual sensitivity to touching at times.)

horses disappeared from the horizon until we moved to (you ready?) VIRGINIA. [hee hee] when we bought a house of our own (finally), there was a rent-a-horse farm at the end of the development. after a year or so of spending all my hard-earned babysitting money on their nags, the 'rents got me my own pony for Christmas in my Junior year of HS. (he’s still doing quite well, for a 30-something year old.) [edited for vanity’s sake.]

i’ve been a foxhunter for several decades, starting with Honey (the pony). my knees started going bad after a while (condramalatia [sp?] patella). it was taking a while to be able to walk again when i’d get out of the saddle after several hours. found the perfect solution, though – i got a sidesaddle and learned to ride that way.

that should do for starters. there’s more with the horse, of course of course. :smiley:

You’re in Woodbridge? I’m in Richmond! Care for an afternoon visitor to come up and ride one Saturday?:smiley: I’ll muck out stables for you!:slight_smile:

(Kidding…I swear, I don’t trail after people online, even if they do own horses…however, I will sit here and be very jealous from afar!). Although, if you know of any decent instructors in Richmond, I will happily take suggestions.

That’s awesome. I think most thoroughbreds could be given the nickname of Demon Spawn from Hell - at least, the male ones I know could. But they’re so much more fun to ride than the others! We had two at my barn in Brooklyn who weren’t ridden by many people - but they were always my favorites (one was the one who tossed me, the other was one who was supposed to be even worse than him, but I thought he was a pussycat - he was a big old baby when you got him eating out of your hand.).

That is extremely cool that you ride sidesaddle. Is it more difficult than a regular English or Western seat, or do you find it easier? I always wanted to be one of those 1800s British women riding sidesaddle in the big dresses (I watched and read a lot of Black Beauty stories as a kid;).

Ava

tacking up with a sidesaddle is a major undertaking. you’ve got an extra girth (“balance strap”), plus (if you’re smart and value your life) you use a two-part girth as the “regular” one (they’re called Fitzwilliam girths). (it uses all 3 of the billet straps on the saddle.) positioning of the saddle is understandably quite important … as is making sure your girths are tight BEFORE mounting, and stay snug while you ride.

position-wise, when seated correctly you’re pretty much the same as in a regular saddle – shoulders and hips both square with the horse’s (or should that be parallel?). the big difference is that your weight is NOT distributed on both seat bones. the ideal is to “roll” your weight onto the upper portion of your right leg (left leg, if you have an off-side sidesaddle). the best way to describe it is that you’re “sitting UP”, not down on your butt. (usual visual is to picture yourself as the Queen, reviewing the troops. How Would The Queen Sit? not slouched like a commoner, that’s for sure.)

obviously, one does not grip the saddle as one would astride. the lower portion of your right leg is pressed into the saddle, against the horse’s shoulder, and your foot should be turned in to lay flat against him also. (astride, this would put your foot in the “toe out” position.) the leaping head is over your left leg about mid-thigh position. you should be able to slip your hand between your leg and the leaping head. the only time you actually bring your leg up in contact is for extra grip, like during a jump (or horsey gymnastics). your hands should not be in your lap, but rather on either side of your upper right leg. there are two schools of thought about actual placement; one’s more for the show ring, the other one is what i consider for “real” riding. show-style has the hands very low, practically at the level of the saddle itself. yeah, right.

biggest adjustments in riding sidesaddle? learning to keep your weight rolled forward onto your upper right leg; keeping the left side of your butt from sinking full-weight onto the saddle; and toughening up the underside of your upper right leg for extended periods of trotting. (if you don’t post, it gets to be the equivalent of being slammed on concrete repeatedly after a while.) :eek:

oh yeah. and big dresses are strictly for costume classes at shows. the proper turnout is the safety riding apron. it looks like a regular skirt when you’re in the saddle, but there’s no material (skirt-wise) actually between you and the saddle. when you dismount, it works like a wrap skirt and buttons onto the opposite side to keep you from “hanging out”. much safer than getting dragged by all the yard goods if you happen to fall. also doesn’t fly up as much when the horse is moving briskly.

and for any guys busy having heart palpatations … sorry, but you wear matching britches (“riding pants”) under the apron.

I started riding when we moved from southern to northern CA. By riding, I mean “throwing a leg over anything vaguely equid”! :wink: Then my mom, who was always horse-crazy, too, but lived in Pasadena her whole life, bought us a pony. That was my introduction to horse care, and it’s a good thing ponies are darn near indestructable, because we knew nothing about it!

Eventually we moved, and couldn’t keep him, but it was really all right, becase the people who owned him before us let him founder, and his feet were really getting bad.

Then when I was in high school, a friend of the family was moving and sold us her two mares. One was a dark Palomino Quarab, and the other a Palomino/Appaloosa mix (she was gorgeous; roaned a golden color w/ white blanket w/ gold spots and white, flowing mane and tail). We rode them Western, English, bareback, upside down and sideways. We jumped them, swam them in the river, and put babies on their backs; they were virtually bomb-proof. Again, a very good thing, because we were usually barefoot and in shorts, no helmets, no saddles, no anything. If it was stupid, we probably did it. Man, I miss them.

About 15 years ago, I moved to the east coast. I worked as an Au Pair for about 10 years, and was lucky enough at one of my jobs to work for a guy who played polo. I didn’t try to ride the ponies, but, as you know, just being around them is enough.

Well, I’ve moved on since then, and, while I’ve thought about taking a lesson (something I’ve never done) or renting a horse, the once or twice I’ve done it wasn’t much fun. The horses were sour and hard-mouthed, and it takes the whole ride to figure out their quirks.

Also, I’ve put on some weight, which might not prevent me from riding, but makes me embarrassed. So I haven’t looked for a barn or anything, but every now and then, I check the paper for horses for sale.

Sorry to bring up the itching issue again for a moment (now you’ve got me doing it, too, dammit!), but isn’t there something the doctor can do, at least about that? Benadryl knocks me on my ass, too, but how about Claritin? It’s OTC now, but check for interactions.

Prednisone - I hate it!!! My beloved, retired allergy doc used to call it rat poison and would try to keep me off of it as much as possible. But, I’m an allergic athsmatic, and sometimes prednisone is the only reason I can breathe.

Ava- prednisone makes me really hyper, especially large doses (more than about 40 mg/day) so that may be part of what’s going on. But, it is an anti-inflammatory, so you really shouldn’t be itching. Itching is a histamine reaction causing inflamation (if I’ve got my basic immunology down at all right) and the prednisone should be acting to reduce it.

In fact, the one time I had all-over hives (and what a nightmare that was), prednisone was what I took to make it STOP. What I’m saying here is perhaps you should call your doctor or pharmacist. Itching and hives are the kind of reaction they told me to watch out for and report the last time I took high-dose prednisone. It’s supposed to cure them, not cause them.

Ava,

You might ask the doctor for a prescription for Atarax.

It will help with the itching without being as soporific as Benadryl, in most cases. My housemate/person for whom I hold medical power of attorney was put on it for prednisone itching, and it also helped with the feeling of being totally wired…

Of course, my Mom’s ancient dog-with-allergies used to have a prescription for it (for a rash) so around here it’s known as Itchy Booty Pills.