Afraid to start Imuran

I'm on it. I have been on it for two years. So far so good. It has really helped me. I would say as long as you get regular lab work done to check your liver, you should be fine. Imuran can cause liver toxicity, but... If that happens, your doc can prescribe allopurinol to take with it. For some unknown reason allopurinol diverts the chemicals in the Imuran that make the liver go toxic. It keeps that from happening and your liver stays "safe". This happened to me and doc gave me allopurinol and my labs have been great ever since. Just take normal precautions like washing your hands often and avoiding sick people.

I was on 6mp (Imuran turns into 6mp in the body) when my 2nd child was conceived. My GI at the time insisted that I stay on it during the pregnancy. I stopped taking it due to liver issues (the allopurinol info wasn't known at the time) and so I didn't take it the whole pregnancy, but my kiddo is almost 10 and healthy and just fine. Pregnancy category D is way old info. Pregnancy on Imuran should be just fine. Lots of women have had successful pregnancies while taking this med. Breastfeeding is not recommended though. I might check with a maternal/fetal medicine specialist though because a regular OB probably won't be familiar with this. GI is probably your best source of info. Hope that helps a little.

Stef

I've been on it 15 years. It's not a major immunosuppressant (less than biologics) ... In all those times the only immune problem I've had is two bouts of adult chicken pox (and I had them as a child so should have been immune). The second time (as an adult) was only last year and I was also on a biologic then as well.

My third child (she was 12 in January) was an azathioprine baby. No adverse effects.

Azathioprine on its own worked very well for me for many years. I have always taken 150mg albeit my weight fluctuates (and at least initially this is dosed based on weight - so now I'm technically on a high weight:dose ratio ... But that's the minimum that works for me). Blood work is done quarterly.

Of course some will have had negative experiences, but I've nothing bad to say about it. (PS I also have cancer in the family ... Didn't deter me).

Hi, I have been on it for 3 years now. At the beginning it used to cause nausea but other fellows here at this forum advised me to take the 3 tablets as a single dose before bedtime and things have been perfectly well since then. It causes me fungal infection on my skin every now and but it's manageable. I too didn't feel that it has put my Crohn's at bay but my GI insists on continuing it since it has lowered my WBCs count. He even told me that I'll take it along w Remicade.

Imuran is ok for pregnancy.

As for the lymphoma concern, if it were an immediate family member (sibling, parent) there would be some concern and lots of debate among doctors about what you should do. If you yourself had a history of lymphoma, it would be a definite no-no. But since it's an extended family member, an uncle, the risk is probably only slight elevated above the normal lymphoma risk of these meds (and that normal risk is real but small). So, long story short, your risk would still be quite small but a little bigger than for other people.

If I were in your shoes I'd at least try it. You may find you can't even tolerate it and you have to stop. And if you do tolerate it, stay on it until better, newer drugs come out - there will be several in the next few years.