6mp

Hello. I am new to this forum so just need some guidance.  My husband is the one diagnosed w/ Crohn's.  Has been on Pentasa but found out that the med alone is not helping the Chron's.  His doctor wants to start him on 6mp in conjunction with the Pentasa.  His father was on the 6mp and has bad side effects so he is not wanting to go on the med.  Any words of advise from people who have been on the 6mp.  The list of side effects the doctor gave us were quite intimidating.  Any help would be great!!

Hi:

My 17 year old son has been taking it since February. Started out at 75mg and was doing very well. Dosage has been increased to 100mg every other day since late June and he notices that his stomach is getting upset on the days after he takes 100mg. Dosage was increased to get him in the therapeutic range. Doctor says that blood work is where they want it to be. Other side effects is that he may get a little tired from time to time if he over does it, he has lost a little hair almost looks like it is plucked in places but when it starts to look real bad he just gets his hair buzzed. However,he has gained and maintained his weight while taking this drug and his energy level is good for the most part like I said above only crashes really if he over does it.

Keeping up with blood work is very important to catch any potential problems. I still worry like crazy about him and I hope to God that he will not get any of the serious side effects from this drug but I also know that his crohn's has to be treated.

Wishing you husband the very best and I hope he does well on 6mp.

Side effects from 6mp and Imuran affect perhaps 10-15% of patients, and all are reversible simply by stopping the drug. Many Crohns patients have successfully achieved long term remission on these meds. I would try it and see . . . worst thing that can happen is you have to stop and go to plan B.

Hi, I am also new to this forum. I have been reading all the posts regarding chrons and uc for a while though. I was diagnosed with uc over 10 years sgo and had been doing well on the asa meds. Up until 6 mo. Ago. I just came home from the hospital after a 5 day stay due to a severe flare. I am on 40mg. Of prednisone and started 6mp 50mg last week. I am not excited about the 6mp, but if it means I will possibly go to remission, I am willing to try.
My new problem is this morning I awoke with pain on my right side, just under my breast. It got pretty severe, but seemed to subside after I took the prednisone. So I am guessing there is inflammation and the steroid helped, but the problem still exists. What does the pancreatic pain feel like, does it usually subside and or return?
I have been sick for so long that any new pain terrifies me, and I end up crying, begging God to make it stop. The anxiety and emotional toll this disease takes on you may very well be the worst part of it!! Anyway, any help/information would be appreciated.
Btw...having cbc blood test every week, but had it run on Thursday, so Dr. didnt have any results yet. Hoping this isnt pancrease or liver related.

I was on 6mp for about 3 years and it worked well with NO side effects. I did start to notice some signs of flare around the three year mark and was put on Humira. My chron's is under controll which I'm incredibly grateful for. After a year of being on Humira I started getting all sorts of minor infections and now my hair is falling out. I'm curious about this metabolite toxicity. I was never filled in about this.

But as far as side effects go: everything is cost and benefit. I guess we have to try these drugs out and see if they offer us a quality of life. There's certainly a fine balance.

Best of luck.

Thanks for the advise oldchronie, waiting on a call back from my dr. Now. This is Tuesday, and I have had the pain every day since Saturday, but by evening it is all but gone. Right, definately dont want to end up diabetic!
What med. Did you do next after you stopped the 6mp?

Hi - I went on Pentasa, but was allergic, so now I'm on Humira. My doctor said there was nothing else that could be done except biologics.
meshice - glad the 6mp works for you - it seems to work for a lot of people. Unfortunately, I am allergic to quite a few drugs.
Laurlew - if the pain subsides at night, doesn't sound like pancreatitis, but the location of the pain is a concern. Hope you get some answers soon. We have enough to worry about without "new" pains!

Hi oldchronie...what a journey I am on.
I live by and am being treated at the Cleveland Clinic (thank god) so I am in good hands. Went to the ER at my Dr. Advise and dx with pulmonary embolismS! Dr. Says result of the UC in very small number of cases (lucky me)! After much discussion this week between Dr. And me, I have decided that surgery is my only hope now. I havent wrapped my head around it yet, just decided today, typing to you from my hospital bed! Surgery is scheduled for Tuesday. I have to have a procedure done this weekend to put an umbrella like filter in my main vein to catch/break up any clots, it stays forever. Tired of the hospital, tired of UC and tired of the emotional up and down!!
So...I will post again a couple days after the first of 3 (thats right, lucky me has to have the 3 step instead of 2) and let you all know what life is like then! Thsnks for the advise oldchronie, glad I called dr. And went to ER! even if the end result wasnt what I wanted!

Oh, laurlew, so sorry to hear this. I will pray for your quick recovery. You just never know with IBD and all the badass meds! Good luck.

Take one day at a time - prayers are with you. Did you stop the 6MP? Will you stay in the hospital to be monitored?

New to the forum, Chron's since I was 29/42 now. I was on asocol for years but since the birth of my daughter it didn't seem to work. Lots of stomach pain and gas. Recently tried humira which gave me hives all over my upper torso. Itching and redness so bad it would wake me up in the middle of the night. Just stared 6mp with much anticipation. Taking a cancer drug scares the heck out of me! I travel for work and have a 4 year old and a husband that works nights. Just trying to get the bowels back to normal . Happy to read the success of 6mp.

Best of luck to you all!

Isn't 6mp, imuran and azathioprine all the same more or less, just under different brand names?
I was on this immune suppressant for almost a month, and even though I quit taking it because of weight loss, fevers and joint pain etc.. I'm still trying to pick myself up and it's a month and half later. Hope everything goes well for you, and you don't experience what some of us have. Everything has side effects to some degree.