Humira and Imuran together

Hi CrohnsDaddy. I am not on a biologic OR an immunomodulator, but I have talked to my dr. about them extensively. They can work well together, and keep many people in remission or close to it. There is one concern (besides all of the other risks :). There have been some cases of a rare and fatal lymphoma. I think it's a matter of talking with your dr., figuring out what risk/benefit ratio you are willing to live with, and how severe your CD is.

I hope this helped. Good luck navigating these complex waters.

ChronieYogi, that fear of lymphoma is another concern I have, for sure.

sk bum, thanks for the information. I'm feeling the same way about taking them both together. His plan was to start them at the same time, then three months from now discontinue the Humira, and use the Imuran as my long term maintenance drug. Honestly, I think I'd rather stay on the Humira. I've had no problems at all as far as short term side effects (nausea, headache, etc.) since I did the four Humira injections yesterday. I have a small bruise on my leg from one of the injections, but other than that, nada.

So you are going to taper off of the Humira, and stay on Imuran? I'm asking, because I'm a bit confused: your post says that you tapered off the Humira within 1.5 months, but your signature says that you're hoping to discontinue the Imuran and Entocort after a month of Humira. I'm just wondering which one you're prefering for long term use.

Ski bum and Kasper87 have me convinced... I'm not going to take the Imuran. I think I'll stay with the Humira for long term treatment. It just seems safer, and the shots aren't that bad.

Studies show that Humira alone works and there is no need to be on imuran along with it. To supress your immune system with 2 different drugs is probably not a good idea. The reason a lot of patients were on them with remicade is to decrease antibodies that patients can get from the mouse part of Remicade. Humira is different, it is human.

I am on Humira 40mg weekly and Imuran 75-100mg alternating days. I have to alternate the dosage on Imuran because I am one of the few with rare genetics that only allow me to take this dosage. My CD is moderate to severe. I was dx'd in Jan. 06 & have had one resection. I've been on the Imuran from my dx.
Tried Remecaid...built antibodies....hence the Humira. I work in the medical field and am exposed to all kinds of infection every single day. I also have not been able to come completely off predinose for the past 2 years (probably due to the lower than standard dosage of Imuran). I am tested periodically for toxity about every 4 months for the Imuran, never have had a problem. The only side effect for me has been some mild migraines so I started taking it at night so I'd sleep through them. It takes about 4 months for the Imuran to really work well. The Humira I find a whole lot easier than Remecaid and have not had any side effects other than the normal flu effects time to time. The flu effects have been a whole lot less than the Remecaid was too. There is some consideration to weigh the risks of doing both drugs together (cancer). However, in my case this has been the only drug combo that has worked for me so far. So long as I reduce my fat intake to half the RDA, stay away from sugar and trigger foods I do pretty well. I have one bowel movement a day and more often than not it's formed. Again, I stress not eating trigger foods! Is my CD under control, no...I don't think so until I'm able to come off the pred. I've had two infections; viral upper respiratory which I chose not to take anything to loosen the phelm ergo upsetting the balance of mucus protecting my stomach. I went with a neb treatment and albuterol inhaler to help with the cough and congestion. Did it take longer to get rid of, yes, but it was a nasty virus that gave several people pneumonia, however, not me because I was attentive to the problem from the onset and did not wait to get treated. The next infection was fungal and I am still dealing with it mainly because my derm misdiagnosed it as psorasis! I am currently on anti-fungal oral meds and while it is taking longer to clear up, it was very aggressive before it was properly dx'd and fungal infections are notorious for being stubborn anyway! I hope this long post will help you in your decision. It's not an easy one...but for me it's working pretty good right now.

Broomhilda, thank you for the information. I, too, have had the flu symptoms from the Humira. I'm going to give the Humira two months. If I haven't seen a substantial improvement in my CD symptoms by then, I think I'll start the Imuran as well.

metoo50, your statement to "do your own research" actually brought out a laugh from me. I am currently unable to work because of my CD. I spend a minimum of four hours of every day researching Crohn's disease and every available treatment. I have over 500 book marks to Crohn's related information on the net. It made me laugh, cause it made me think that it was like telling a priest to read the Bible. : ) Research is great, but when you combine research with actual experiences of people taking the medications you are wondering about... well, that's *real* knowledge.

Thanks for the input, everyone!