6MP

Pred is the more scary drug, trust me. Even budesonide is far more risky than 6MP. Pred and budesonide are steroids and long-term use of either drug comes with a list of related health concerns longer than your arm - although budesonide is considered to have fewer side-effects in the short term.

That's why Pred is only used for short-term courses. It's very common to start a person on Pred and another drug at the same time; the idea is by the time you have finished the Pred the other drug will have kicked in and maintain the remission that Pred hopefully brought about.

That said, if you are only on Pred for a month you have a long gap between stopping that and the 6MP becoming active. 6MP (and its sister drug, azathioprine) normally take about 3 months to start working.

There is a test that you can take to see if you can tolerate 6MP or not. It's called the TPMT test. If it's not available where you are, then regular blood tests for the first 3 months are essential. Basically, though, if you can metabolise 6MP okay, it's safe to take for the long-term, unlike steroids.

Hi UCHater,
I took the TMPT blood test and it came out good, but I still ended out with elevated liver enzymes and had to discontinue the 6MP. I was disappointed. There was no long term harm done....my blood levels went back to normal once I discontinued it. I think 6MP is worth a try....it may really help you, and if it doesn't, then you'll move on to something else. Just make sure they monitor you with ongoing bloodwork the first few months -it is really important to prevent hepatitis or pancreatitis.

Run it by your doctor. I can't see a cold mattering (it's over in a week) or even a sinus infection, but I couldn't say for certain. 6MP is an immunesuppressant but it does not shut down your entire immune system. Your body can still fight colds and so on.