HealingWell
Search Close Search
☰

Imuran questions

Support Forums
>
Crohn's Disease
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply
❬ ❬ Previous Thread |Next Thread ❭ ❭
Posted 11/19/2011 11:43 PM (GMT 0)
I know there was a similar thread not long ago, but I didn't find it.

Soooo, a short lived remission is over. (fit all the colorful metaphors and expletives you know or can think of in here to have a general idea of how I am feeling about it)  My GI could tell as soon as he walked in the room, I was there for a normal follow-up so he had no idea.  He asked right away how I was feeling and amended his question mid sentence to are you having painful cramps.  So, he is sharp that way.  I was not wincing in pain either.  So it is back to full dosing on the pentasa, entocort, bentyl, still on Remi, and now he wants me to start imuran, low dose.  So here are the questions:

1. Take daily....What time of day?

2. Do I take it with or without my other meds? With or without food?

3. Does it really have noticeable side effects?

4. How bad is this cancer risk as compared to just Remi?

Thanks for the help in advance!

Posted 11/20/2011 1:26 AM (GMT 0)
Hey there,

I am on 150mgs a day. I have been on Imuran generic for 8 weeks and switched to the "real" Imuran two weeks ago. So far no big difference.

I take mine in the evening, with dinner. I never had any nausea or any other side effects. I take my pentasa in the morning and at noon, then the Imuran at night. I take all my vitamins and probiotics in the morning.

I can't answer your question about the cancer but my GI drew me a picture and basically it was thousands of dots on a page with four or five were highlighted, that was your chance of getting cancer in a normal population. Then he showed me another one with two or three dots highlighted and that was the probability of getting cancer in Imuran. Anyhow, all that being said, I am happy I decided to take it, I am starting to notice a difference. As the more experienced people will tell you, it takes a while for the Imuran to kick in.

I wish you the best of luck. To be very honest I went and filled my prescription and it sat on the counter for just about a week before I actually took it.

Make sure you go for your blood work, so important.

Take care,

K. tongue
Posted 11/20/2011 2:40 AM (GMT 0)
I was taking 150mg's of imuran, it's been 6 months since I started, and just in the past 2 weeks, I feel difference in my throat. I have cd in esphogas and throat, since imuran has kicked in I feel like my throat has opened up, easier to eat and drink and swallow. But my side effect, is it makes me hack up this grey flemmy stuff, that is real sticky, rem. did the same, but way worse. plus I feel tired and sleepy all the time now, so I'm thinking it is the imuran doing that. But I dropped the dose down to 100mg, maybe that will help with the side's

AG
Posted 11/20/2011 3:58 PM (GMT 0)
I have heard its best to take it like Larasmom in the evening with dinner. I took 6mp for awhile and at first was taking it first thing in the morning, but it was upsetting my stomach. Switched to bedtime and had no further issues. They can cause some hairshedding so add in some extra folic acid to help out. Hugs and good luck with the med. We have members who have been successfully treated with Imuran or 6mp for over 10 years. Hugs!
Posted 11/20/2011 6:48 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you all so much!  keep 'em coming.
Posted 11/20/2011 8:42 PM (GMT 0)
I have been on 6MP (sister med) for over 13 years. I take it at bedtime. I have not had any of the side effects talked about except that my liver levels go out of whack every so often. They always come back in line by the next blood test. I feel that 6MP has been the one constant medication that has kept me out of the hospital and out of the operating room for most of the last 13 years. It has kept my disease in remission. I have been on other medications in combination, but 6MP has been the one constant. The risks are mostly at higher doses when used as a chemo drug and not when used at the lower dose as it is for CD. But all of our drugs come with risk, and we have to balance that with quality of life.
Posted 11/20/2011 9:28 PM (GMT 0)
I take imuran 125mg and I take it @ night before bed. I dont eat anything with it myself and am fine. I havnt noticed many side effects mainly it stops my crohns from killing me and with remicade I was in remission. and I have been on it for a few years now, though I do have skin growths and discolorations that i figure are from it. One of them stilll has me worried lol, but my doctor doesnt seem too worried but I keep my eye on it for changes hehe. As these marks and or colors are def stuff that wasnt there 5 years ago. There is a cancer risk greater when on multiple meds like that, but I wouldnt sweat it : )



Oh yah, and im going bald! ha. Thats probably the imuran too. But my Dad is bald so who knows... probably just quicking the process
Posted 11/21/2011 7:08 PM (GMT 0)
I take 200mg a day. 100 in the morning and 100 in the evening. I try to take it with food because it makes me really nauseous.I started it about a month ago. Hope you do well on it.:)
Posted 11/22/2011 1:31 AM (GMT 0)
I take 150mg a day and haven't had any noticeable side effects... Although I have been taking mine in the morning, maybe I'll switch it up and take it at night?
Posted 11/22/2011 3:08 AM (GMT 0)
Well I took my first dose this morning going to bed, just as I was dozing off, I got this bed spin feeling, forced it away and went to sleep.  Feel like crap today, although if I was getting sick it would be progressing, but I feel the same almost kind of flu-ish for hours now.  But it did rain as well last night, so my unwell feeling could be any one of 3 things I guess. Thanks for all the inputs.
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply