Is Imuran 6MP

They end up the same; Imuran gets broken down into 6MP in the body. But there's something about that extra step which ensures the two drugs work differently - I don't know how, it was a long time ago that I read it. But it's possible for one drug to work where one doesn't, or for one to cause a bad reaction where the other one doesn't. So effectively they are two different, if similar, meds.

I'm rather dubious about what your GP said. A minority of people cannot tolerate 6MP/Imuran and have to come off it, because it lowers their white blood cells dangerously - that's what the regular blood tests in the beginning monitor. But once it's established that you can tolerate 6MP I'm fairly certain there is no increased risk of infection at the doses Crohn's patients typically take it at. (Lower than cancer and transplant patients.)

I'd try to get a second opinion on that one.

My doctor recommended 6mp over Imuran because she said it is less likely to cause side effects. I didn't ask for any more details. Not sure why this is the case or if I even understood her correctly.

Please consider that a cold or flu is one thing but consider other serious infectuous diseases you might be exposed to. You may need to ask your office Dr. what kind of patients you might be serving?