Azathioprine

Hi lavendula,

Like any drugs, Azathioprine and Mercaptopurine have their benefits and side-effects - and I admit that the side-effects for Aza and Mercap sound pretty scary - I wasn't too keen myself when it was first suggested I try it. I can honestly say that Mercaptopurine is the drug that has made me feel the most well since I was diagnosed with UC. I was put on Pred at first but just couldn't get off the stuff - every time I even got near a low dose I would flare horribly again.
The doc tried me on Azathioprine at first, and although it worked really well to start with, it turned out I was allergic to it, so I was switched to Mercaptopurine (which is a different version of the same stuff). Since then I've been doing really well, and am very close to getting off the steroids (fingers crossed).
You can get fatigue and nausea with these drugs, but it varies from person to person. i had both with Aza, but none so far with Mercaptopurine (and the effects I had from Aza might have been due to me being allergic).
I'm not fully in remission yet, but my dosage is still being adjusted up to the right level - I would definitely say the drug has made a massive difference to me, as I can for the most part live a normal life at the moment.
It's definitely worth a try, even though it's a bit daunting. Good luck, and feel better soon.

Our son was put on 6MP when he was first diagnosed and it really helped him. It did take him a long time to get off the Pred (had to do it 2.5 mg at a time), but he did get off it after about nine months.

He now has anklosing spondylitis and is on Humira, so he's in the process of getting off the 6MP now. We've got our fingers crossed that it goes well.

I've been on Aza for over 2 years now. It got me off pred but it did take several months to kick in. I take my dosage at night b/c I do have some nausea if I take it earlier in the day. I tend to get sick more often since I started aza. But I don't know if I can play that on the aza or my preschooler!