Imuran fear???

Well I guess it is time for me to switch on to something different and I am so scared. I am not sure why I have this fear of Imuran, I know nothing about it. I started with Remicade (had a reaction) now I am on Humira and Entocort. While the doctor thinks I am doing okay my blood levels are not going up like he would like. So he wants to switch me to Imuran or 6-MP.

I am 26 and want to have a baby soon. Well maybe next year if I feel good, I see there are plenty of Imuran babies but I am sad about the breastfeeding part.

Is there anything I need to worry about...why am I dreading this change. I want to get better, ughhh this stinks.

Sorry venting today.

Thanks for any advice.

Tonya 

I read your comment about breast feeding and Imuran and wanted to know what you know about it. I am a very similar place. I am also 26 doing Remicade but prob have to switch. Trying it one more time but if I react again I go to Imuran. I am allready on 6mp. My husband and I want to start a family but it is hard because I have been so sick. If you ever need to vent feel free. And good luck with everything!

Teachergirl3

Imuran was a miracle drug for me- I have been on it for about 13 years- 12 of which was imuran induced remission :) It is understandable to be worried about a change in meds but imuran just may be a miracle drug for you too! you never know until you try it which makes it very nerve-wrecking... thats the way it is with this DD... But there are lots of good success stories out there with imuran. you have to get regular blood work with it and it does have some side effects. the only side effect i ever experienced was a bit of nausia while i was taking it at first (lasted maybe a month or so). otherwise i have not had any negative effects to date.

whatever you choose, best of luck!

B

I've been on imuran for a year. The only issues I've had with it are I have to keep getting my WBC checked every few weeks (as everyone really should get checked anyways if you're on imuran) and twice now I've had my wbc drop below normal. I don't remember now what it dropped to the first time, but the most recent (which I'm still trying to get them back up) dropped down to 2.3 (normal is 4.5-??) Each time I've had to discontinue imuran until they're back up into an acceptable range then I go back on it and get blood checked every week for about a month to make sure they're staying up. Only problem with this is that each time you restart imuran you have to start at the lowest dose (50mg) and work your way back up.

There have been successful pregnancies on imuran, I however would not like to take the risk. One thing you could do if you wanted to breastfeed: Take imuran at night and throw away your first mornings milk. So you would need to pump and bottle feed during the night and at least once during the day so you have milk for the night. That took a lot of work for me and I decided to stop the imuran for 3 months and continued to breastfeed/pump. I was able to create a month storage and froze it. So my daughter had breastmilk for 4 months :)

My son was on 6-MP for several months with only partial remission. We added Humira and after about 3 months he appeared to go into full remission.

He stayed on that combo for about 1 year and then I asked to switch to oral Methotrexate because he was having some joint pain at times.

He is now on Methotrexate alone and has stayed in remission for nearly a year.

The most recent research into using biologics and immune modulators together suggests that it is a good idea to use them together after all. The long term risks do not appear to be any different than using them separately.

Patients who used both kinds of meds together had less of a problem losing response to the biologic due to antibodies.

You may want to talk to your doc about switching you to Cimzia. The research data suggests that there is little chance that antibodies to Humira or Remicade will affect you if you go to Cimzia instead. Cimzia has a different molecular structure (to simplify things greatly) from Humira and Remicade.

It also seems to work better for more people.

Best wishes

Patricia

Hi,
this concerns me immediately, in fact I started one of the threas on Imuran and breastfeeding here.

I took Imuran before my resection, then I was put on Entocort fot the time on my second pregnancy. I stopped even that and was only on Pentasa for a year when I breastfed my baby girl. After weaning her, my GI decided to put me on Imuran as my Crohns seemed to be a little worse than before. And three months later I concieved unexpectedly. By that time there was no point in stopping the Imuran as it stays in your body for another 3 months.

Had a genetic appointment, did a NT scan at 12 weeks of pregnancy, now I am 22 weeks pregnant and all scans are showing a healthy baby girl (knock knock).

As for the breastfeeding, after having read this
http://www.drugs.com/breastfeeding/azathioprine.html
and this
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17261122

I decided I would like to go for it. However I haven´t spoken to my kid´s pediatritian yet and if she was strongly against it, I probably would give up. I have experience with both-my son was bottlefed as I had a flare and no breastmilk at the time, my daughter was breastfed for a year. I know both would be fine but would love to breastfeed if possible.
My GI said she cannot advise me pro or contra breastfeeding, studies showing it is okay, however nobody can say 100% it really is safe.

Apart from that, do not be scared of Imuran, never had any side effects at all, only bother being having to have my white cell count followed and liver tests taken.

Good luck!