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Posted 1/28/2008 5:28 PM (GMT 0)
Has anybody been on 6mp (mercaptopurine)  My doctor wants to put me on this and I'm pretty reluctant but I got to get this under control.

currently on 6 sulfasalazine, nightly mesalamine enema

Posted 1/28/2008 6:07 PM (GMT 0)
There are many on here who are on 6mp. I suggest you do a google search on the top of the forum and type in 6mp to look at existing posts.
Posted 1/28/2008 8:11 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks Red_34, I'll check it out.

Posted 1/29/2008 1:07 AM (GMT 0)

BEFORE you go on 6-MP, consider asking your doc if you might try Rifaxamin.  I had  left side UC for 10 years, then progressed to pancolitis two years ago and  after that got no relief other than on prednisone.  Like you, I wanted to avoid 6MP due to the potential side effects, so I began researching what drugs are in the pipeline.  After reading about some success with Rifaxamin and IBD, I asked to try Rifaxamin have been on it (500 mgs twice a day) for close to a year now.  It is a non-systemic, antimicrobial antibiotic.  If you google IBD and Rifaxamin, you can read more. For the first six months, my mantra was the longer I am on it, the better I get.  I am in what I call limited remission and take the Rifaxamin and 750 mgs of Pentasa twice a day. The only drawback is that is it expensive and insurance may or may not cover it for you.  Ours eventually did, but only after months of paying out of pocket. Good luck!

Female, 46 stay at home mom

Posted 1/31/2008 2:54 AM (GMT 0)

you should be really careful. i was on 6mp fo about 8 months and had to get blood test every few weeks. it can be dangerous. i ended up getting pancreatitis because of it. you should check out the side effects of 6mp before you decide.




female, 14
diagnosed with uc in 2007

Post Edited (sophia*) : 1/30/2008 7:58:34 PM (GMT-7)

Posted 2/7/2008 11:46 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks GKLOR, I will look into that.  Have been doing pretty good now for the past 5 days or so, maybe the azulfidine has finally built up enough to start working.  Doing the mesalamine enemas now every other night.  Keeping my fingers crossed that things stay good.  We are going on a cruise in three weeks for our 25th anniversary and I'm just hoping that things continue to go well.  Wouldn't want to start having problems when I'm on a ship.

Posted 2/8/2008 4:02 AM (GMT 0)
6mp did nothing positive for me and had alot of negative side effects. I got off it after giving it the requisite three month trial.

Along with azulfadine, I find dietary changes, probiotics, l-glutamine and omega-3 supplementation to be helpful. I've pretty much been in remission, with relatively minor blips here and there, for years now.

Congrats on your anniversary!
Posted 2/8/2008 11:15 AM (GMT 0)
Been on 6-mp for a year now. Needs to be well monitored by the doc to get the dose right, but works well for me. Took a while to kick in, but am heading toward remission, so *shrug*

Only two things are negatives that I can see:
- colds, coughs, sniffles last longer then usual;
- getting sick leaves you extremely tired and run down.

As I said - needs to be well monitored by both yourself and your GI.
Posted 2/8/2008 4:29 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks for Princesa, hoping things continue the way they are going right now.  I enjoyed around 10 years or so of remission except an occassional off day.  During most of that time I was on a maintenance dose of azulfidine.  I got kind of cocky about it and thought.....why put all these drugs into my system if I'm not having any problems.......so I stopped taking them and had no problems for about 6 years.....So, don't know if it reared it's ugly head because of the lack of azulfidine or what.  Been trying to get it under control now for over a year with my new GI who put me on asacol which I think did absolutely nothing for it.  I was finding too many of the asacol were not dissolving, so how could it work?  Asked to be put back on the azulfidine and hoping that it continues to work well.  It's soooo good to hear from others with the same condition.  Nobody else can even fathom what we go through on a daily basis without experiencing it themselves.  Thanks for the congrats on our  25th............ Severin, good luck on the 6mp, hope you do well on it.......

Posted 2/8/2008 4:31 PM (GMT 0)
also taking Omega 3 and probiotics, so maybe the combination is what's working
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