Melody,
Thank you for that post. When my husband took me to Mayo I only weighed 123lbs at 5' 7" tall. Mayo's dietician and Gastro looked me over and told me that I was anorexic (never had been before) because I was so thin. But it was a learned habit.

My mouth didn't like spicy, hard, chewy, or chrunchy things because of the dryness from Sjogren's. So I ate home made chicken soup, ground chicken patties baked, baked potatoe with plain yougurt, no bread, nothing sweet except buttered carrots. But Mayo told me that I'd have to eat xx number of calories a day just to maintain my weight. They told me that I'd die without those calories. Well I had fought much too hard to go on living in my limited way so......I ate and I ate like they told me to, even things I didn't like. Rich creams, Ensure added to my cream soup bases, etc.

My brain unlearned the anorexia after we got home with one simple increase of the Lyrica. My tongue is still as dry as it was and I'm sure as tender, but the Lyrica cuts down the pain in it. So I ate, and ...ate and I'm still eating. But now I've got to unlearn the eating. I'm gaining too much weight and it isn't comfortable. I'm up to 150 and I'd like to be thin again so I'm now going to use Melody's diet to eat and get this weight off. Good by apple pies, ice cream, lattes, etc. (you got the idea)

So I'm telling you that learning to eat is just that. Decide how you are going to eat and then learn it. After a while you will not want to eat any other way. I'll learn to eat thin again and it will work. But the secret to not getting tired of it, is to allow yourself whatever you are craving, but only ONE (1) small 1/2 cup serving. And don't do it often. I have a little bowl that will only hold 1/2 cup and my husband and I call it Billye's Little Bitty Goody Bowl.

I'm determined to go to my husband's Kiwanis Christmas Banquet. My second social outing in a year. I have a lovely new silk pantset to wear...teal pants with a long tunic coat of brown silk cut in the oriental look at the collar. And new brown rope of pearls (I made them) necklace and earrings to wear. Now if I could just find a shoe I could wear. Also found a tiny silk brocade purse on a long strap to carry. Won't I look elegant??!! But............I have to lose about 10 lbs. That's enough just 10. I can do it, can't I, inspite of all the meds? I need some help here folks. I am refusing Prednisone. I will not gain that weight, have that look or that temperment. I will make it without it. I'm strong.


You realize all of you, don't you? This is a huge peptalk to me. And I'm really looking for some support that I can do the diet and not take the prednisone. The doctor says that if my sed rate isn't down in the blood work he's doing next week, it's Prednisone for me. I'm telling him no there has to be something else. We've raised the methotrexate as high as we can. We'll have to use something besides Prednisone. Mrs. D...what is the best choice do you think?

I'm sorry this is so long.
Love,
Billye