Thoughts on 6mp??

Earlier this month i was diagnosed with crohns and was in the hospital for about 5 days trying to calm my first huge flair. My GI has since put me on lielda and prednisone but wants me to taper and jump onto 6mp for life. 6mp is a scary drug and this is not somthing i want to rush into. The side effects are things i will have to deal with for life and im a 15 year old sports player. I was wondering what other drugs have the least amount of side effects that seem to work. It just seems like everything that helps UC or crohns has side effects that will harm you in the future.

Instead of saying "side effects," Drew, you should be saying *potential* side effects. Not everybody gets them. In fact, at least half of Crohn's patients tolerate 6-mp with nearly no longterm side effects at all.

You may find that, like nawlinscate or my brother, to give two examples, you have no side effects from this med.

I know it's scary, but so is improperly treated Crohn's disease. So you have to weigh the benefits and the risks. In general, it is worth the risk to try these meds. Untreated Crohn's disease is more likely to cause you great harm than the side effects of medication.

You might find it helps you lead a normal life much better than you would without it. If you can't tolerate it for whatever reason and some side effects happen to you, then you can certainly stop it.

Hi, I'm sorry that you have Crohn's. That's really hard news. Be gentle with yourself, while you figure this out.

Look up all the meds, get to know what they can and can't do. Look into diets and Low Dose Naltrexone as well, talk with people on other social media.

Taking a couple of weeks to consider this, is a wise thing to do.

Lot's of people do well on this (and it's buddy Imuran) and lot's don't. You can't know which side of that you'll be on until you give it a try. The litmus test is, is this helping me feel better, and are the side effects worth it?

I had a nasty reaction to it (so know what the side effects are), severe, felt like bone on bone, knee pain and finally a fever of 108 and a seizure of all my back muscles. Not everyone does.

There's always the option of using it for a short time, while you explore all the options that are available.

It's hard, but not impossible, to put your fears aside, and consider all options, always best to go with your instincts, so if, after you have put your fears aside, you still don't want to take it, don't let anyone make you feel bad for you choice. No one drug works for all of us.

Hang in there, and BE well,