Steroid taper scrambled my GLP-1 appetite data for ten days

2026-10-15 01:05

Five days into a prednisone taper for an asthma flare, my appetite flipped from forgetting lunch to standing in the pantry. I logged it: maybe +500 kcal/day, morning fasting glucose up 12–18 mg/dL, scale +1.8 lb, probably water.

For me, the GLP-1 didn’t stop working; the steroid signal just outshouted it. I kept protein high, walked when my lungs allowed, and refused to chase the daily number.

Once the taper ended, appetite normalized in about a week and my trend line resumed its old slope. Anyone else keep a glucose/symptom log through a steroid course, or do you just ride it out and resume tracking after?

2026-10-18 08:15

I’ve seen that pattern too during a short steroid burst—not on that class then, but my CGM showed a dawn-ish rise even when I ate identically. The appetite side was wild: I could white-knuckle through meals but the pantry noise was constant.

What helped my data: logging steroid timing, sleep, and separate 1–10 hunger vs food-noise scores. In the trials they separate gastric emptying from central appetite, and steroids seem to hit the insulin-resistance/central side more.

Did your fasting rise track with dose timing, or was it flat across the whole taper? Also curious whether the scale whoosh landed 24–48h after the last dose.

2026-10-20 21:29

One thing I’d add to your log: sleep and resting HR. When I’ve had a steroid run, my HRV tanked and I woke at 3am, and the next day’s hunger felt almost mechanical.

The glucose bump tracked that more than my actual intake. Did your sleep change before the pantry days, or was it the other way around?

Also, water weight usually whooshes off a few days after the taper ends, so the scale may lag the signal.