Hi Terrie,

My younger daughter Claire’s weight was a big problem when she was on 2x a day Cortef.  Changing her schedule allowed us to decrease her dose, and part of the extra weight came off quickly.  Since then she’s gained very slowly, and now she’s long and lean.

It’s important to keep your son active.  Most folks who take corticosteroids have some difficulty with maintaining a healthy weight, and discontinuing the meds usually isn’t an option.  My daughters both ran long distance (good bone building) and swam year-round for years.  Now they stay active in school and club sports.  Family hikes are a great idea for everyone’s fitness level.

There is an article in the current CARES newsletter about CAH kids and weight issues.  For us, by far the biggest influence was the dosing schedule (which the article does not address), but there are other good suggestions there.

On the plus side, Claire is now very empathetic about people with a weight problem.  She knows how tough it is to be the one being taunted for a tummy roll.  Good luck.

LauraK