Dr wants to add Methotrexate or azathioprine(?)

I’m having a crohn’s flare and my GI wants to add either methotrexate or azathioprine (I think that was the one he said) to my Humira - I looked them both up and th side effects are scary - does anyone have any good experiences to help me decide? I’m on Humira right now but need a boost. Or does anyone have a recommendation either way?

Thank you!

I would go with azathioprine - IMO, it's not as strong. It's relatively pregnancy safe, for example, while mtx absolutely is NOT pregnancy safe.

Thank you so much - I used to be on Remicade and it worked great for years until
I developed antibodies. I’ve been on Humira for several years as well but with this flare I just had an abscess drained and am still sick. It def is sad to have to worry about picking something that could be like poison in the long term but a total quality of lifesaver in the short term. That’s the way I feel about prednisone too, I absolutely hate taking it but am so thankful it’s available to make me well quickly.

I have been on methotrexate a few times and it did not help at all. I tried 6MP which is a different but similar drug to Imuran (azathiprine). I got violently ill and had to stop the medications. Given my history, i will probably not have multiple medications, unless something new is discovered. My GI says the use of the two helps many people but not all, just like each biological medication doesn’t help everyone. Please definitely try it out.

Word of warning, if you take gout medication like allopurinal make sure your GI knows. There are bad drug interactions with some of these. In my case, i had to stop the allopurinal which fired off the gout and got it was horrifically painful.

I have been on Azathiorine 7 years. It gave me my life back. I just have moderate crohns now with some discomfort every now and then. The side effects are scary but when you are in pain every day you have to decide if you want a better quality of life.