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Does anyone get really bad fatigue while taking 6mp?

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Posted 6/21/2008 4:19 PM (GMT 0)
I have been on 6mp for 7 years now and in that period of time I have gone off of it a few times. Every time I get back on it I feel like I have been ran over by a semi. I can sleep and wake up as though I never even went to bed. Lots of very bad dreams. No energy to do  the basic every day things. It's mainly the fatigue that gets me down. It's a all over body exhaustion. It almost hurts in a way. It also feels like you can feel your immune system disapearing. Like a battery losing it's charge, you just see the effects, the slow loss of function. If anyone has anything similar it would be great to hear back from you all. thanks V.
Posted 6/21/2008 4:29 PM (GMT 0)
i've been on 6mp off and on for 6 years and haven't noticed fatigue like you're describing. im sorry i can't be of more help :(
Posted 6/21/2008 4:46 PM (GMT 0)
thanks br4d it's probably an underlying problem
Posted 6/21/2008 4:52 PM (GMT 0)
6mp used to leave me totally worn out. It was a horrible side effect for me. I wouldn't rule it out just yet.
Posted 6/21/2008 5:00 PM (GMT 0)
I was on 6mp for a few years and I never had that problem either. My joints would get stiff from it but thats about all I experienced.
Maybe have your Iron levels checked.
Posted 6/21/2008 5:47 PM (GMT 0)
6MP can definitely cause massive fatigue. I am on it right now and I feel weak, but I don't know if it's the 6MP, anemia or from just going through a flare and losing 7 lbs in 2 weeks.

I restarted the 6MP a few months ago and I was tired, but now the tiredness seems better, just weak, so I don't know what the problem is.

Does anyone know how long you would have to stop the 6MP to see if it's the problem? Would a day or two be enough? I stopped the 6MP for 2 days but the weakness was still there.

Plus, I was on 6mp for years before re-starting it w/o any problems, so that's another reason I don't think it's the 6MP that's causing me problems right now.

But to answer your question, yes I have heard of 6MP causing bad fatigue, it's not in your head.

However I believe that I read that your body can adjust to the 6MP over a few months so the tiredness can sometimes go away.
Posted 6/22/2008 1:41 AM (GMT 0)
6MP Most certainly causes fatigue.

When I was first put on it, I was taking 100mg a day. It completely wiped me out to the point that I would sleep during lunch, get home from work, fall asleep again, my wife would wake me up for dinner, then back to sleep. Weekends, I slept all the time. It completely trashed me for a couple of months.

I talked to my GI about this, and he reduced my dosage to 50mg. AT that level, most of the fatigue cleared up, and life returned to (sort of) normal. The GI wasn't happy about me being on such a low dosage, but I sure was.

You could have underlying problems, that is always a risk, but 6mp would be my first guess. See if your GI will lower the dosage a bit, and see if that helps.
Posted 6/22/2008 2:40 AM (GMT 0)
I've been on azathioprine for 8 months now, and I'm always tired. Although, I've been tired since I've started all my meds since I've been diagnosed. Hard to say if it's from that aza.
Posted 6/22/2008 8:37 AM (GMT 0)
6MP and Azathioprine can suppress the production of red blood cells and cause anemia, which can cause terrible fatigue. Within 2 weeks of starting 6MP, my RBC count and iron levels had dropped so fast and so low that my doctor had me stop taking the 6MP and gave me an iron infusion. I felt terrible during this time, with shortness of breath, heavy fatigue, restless legs, etc., all of which were caused by anemia caused by the drug. Getting off the drug plus getting the iron infusion helped enormously.
Posted 6/22/2008 10:29 AM (GMT 0)
Hi, I have been on Imuran which is a 6MP for almost 5 years and I have no fatigue from the drug.
Posted 6/22/2008 3:56 PM (GMT 0)
Razzle, how long did it take for you to feel the effects of the iron infusion? I am going for one in 2 weeks.

My hemoglobin is 110 and my ferritin is 3. I don't feel too tired (ie. Don't feel like sleeping), but my muscles feel very weak and 'dead' and my resting heart rate is kind of high about 85 to 90. I'm really hoping that it helps.

I would think that it it was the 6MP causing this then I would feel fatigued and not just weak. I don't know...
Posted 6/27/2008 2:22 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks for all your posts guys. Makes me feel so much better that I am not the only one that gets that side effect. :) Smiles to all.
Posted 6/27/2008 2:49 PM (GMT 0)
Do you take it at night? When I was on imuran, I had the exhaustion until I switched to taking it at night.
Posted 8/9/2008 5:49 AM (GMT 0)
I recently had my dosage of 6 MP increased to 150 mg a day. It brought me out of a bad flare but now I stay exhausted most of the time and generally don't feel like doing much at all. The muscle and joint pain was so bad I called and the Dr. prescribed Celebrex for 30 days which helped a lot. I have another appt. with GI soon and really have to discuss this. Life was more exciting with diarrhea and urgency.
Posted 8/9/2008 6:03 AM (GMT 0)
I have been on 6MP for a couple of years now and I have suffered from very similar fatigue as you Chronicallyill from the very beginning without let up. I take it at night but still have the bad dreams and absolute exhaustion. I need to sleep 2-3 hours every afternoon (not that I can always do that!) and I am still in bed early at night.
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