Steroids made you hungry all the time — what helps

Steroids are often given during cancer treatment. One thing they reliably do is increase appetite and make you want to eat more.

That sentence is worth sitting with, because a lot of people on steroids quietly decide they have lost control of themselves. You have not. You were given a drug whose known effect is to turn the hunger signal up, and it worked.

The hunger is a side effect. Treat it like one.

The specific advice for people taking steroids is to try to eat foods high in fiber and protein at each meal, so you stay full.

The logic is simple. If hunger is being amplified, foods that keep you satisfied for longer buy you more comfortable hours between meals than foods that disappear in ten minutes.

Practically that means putting a protein and a fiber source on the plate every time, rather than eating around the edges and then finding yourself back in the kitchen.

Steroids are not the only possible source. NCI notes that increased appetite and food cravings that result in weight gain may occur from the cancer itself, from cancer treatment, or from medicines used with cancer treatment.

So if you are on steroids and also on several other drugs, it may not be worth trying to pin the feeling on one of them. What matters is managing it.

Weight gain during treatment happens more often in people with ovarian, breast or prostate cancer.

For managing weight gain, NCI's suggestions include:

• eating high-fiber foods
• choosing lean proteins
• planning meals ahead
• limiting fatty and sugary foods

Planning ahead deserves a note. On steroid days, the decision of what to eat is being made by a hungrier version of you. Deciding on a Sunday what Tuesday's meals look like takes that decision out of the moment.

Steroid hunger often comes in bursts tied to your dosing schedule, so you may have days that feel completely normal and days that do not. Noticing your own pattern helps — it tells you which days need food already prepared.

Cravings can also land on very specific things. That is common enough that it is worth stocking a couple of satisfying options you actually like, rather than only foods you think you should want.

And if the weight change is bothering you, say so at your appointment. A referral to a dietitian who works with cancer patients is a reasonable thing to ask for, and it is far more useful than trying to design a plan on your own in the middle of treatment.

• Call your care team the same day if the scale jumps suddenly — NCI gives 5 pounds in a week as the example — or the gain simply does not stop.
• Call your care team the same day if you look or feel swollen, since NCI says steroids can also add weight by making the body hold onto water.
• Call your care team within a day or two if any weight change during treatment worries you, so they can work out the cause and the type of gain.