HealingWell
Search Close Search
☰

Imuran and pregnancy

Support Forums
>
Ulcerative Colitis
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply
❬ ❬ Previous Thread |Next Thread ❭ ❭
Posted 12/7/2008 12:47 AM (GMT 0)
Hi!

Just a quick question:

Has anyone taken Imuran during a pregnancy?  I'm not currently pregnant, but we are trying again as soon as I get off Prednisone next month.  I'm tapering the Pred now, but when I got to 10mg a day I began to bleed again and have abdominal pain.  I saw my GI today and he wants me to do the preliminary bloodwork for Imuran this week.  He said Imuran is safe during pregnancy and I trust him, but there is just so much contradicting info out there I'm confused.

TIA!

Molly

Posted 12/7/2008 2:09 AM (GMT 0)
This is a topic I've been struggling with for awhile. If you search, you'll find numerous threads. Some say it's safe, some don't...I say trust your doctor. Mine said not to take Imuran during pregnancy and wants me on prednisone instead. To my knowledge, nobody has every actually posted saying "I took Imuran and it definitely affected my baby."

Just my two cents...if I can control the potential flares without potentially harmful drugs during pregnancy, you can bet I'll do it. Also remember that timing is crucial. If you're in remission when you conceive, supposedly you have a much better shot of staying that way throughout the pregnancy.

I wish you the best with whatever you choose! I know it's scary! shakehead

P.S. I just noticed you're another Molly. Whoohoo!
Posted 12/7/2008 4:26 AM (GMT 0)

I don't know about the future, but I took 100mg of Imuran (aza) throughout my whole pregnancy and my baby who is 6 1/2 months old is 100% healthy.

My Dr's told me it was better to take it and be healthy than to have a flare and possibly hurt the baby. But I guess every Dr has different information.

Now I am waiting on Remicade since I am still in a flare (not because of pregnancy, but because of other reasons) I am hoping that I can still get pregnant on that. I am doing all the research I can.

Good luck!! :o)

Posted 12/7/2008 2:41 PM (GMT 0)
Whoa, I'm on Remicade and as far as I know it has NOT been approved for pregnancy. (Which is one of my current heartbreaks...my doc is pretty conservative about all of this stuff)

The studies tend to sum up the issue as "it has not shown an increased risk for birth defects, but more studies are needed to determine if these drugs can be considered safe to use during pregnancy."

Has anyone found contradictory info that definitely states Imuran or Remicade is safe during pregnancy?

cry
Posted 12/7/2008 4:18 PM (GMT 0)
I've done a lot of reading, and I've read that it is not safe, but if it is, I will be thankful. My hubby and I are gong to start trying for a baby in the next year. I'm getting a new GI in Jan.
Posted 12/7/2008 7:48 PM (GMT 0)
my doctor told me that if I wanted to get pregnant, I can stay on the remicade. he said there is pluses and minuses. but he would rather keep me in remission. and there is no study that shows any risk from remicade.

also, I read that sometimes, pregnancy itself can put you into remission. something about hormones, etc.
Posted 12/7/2008 9:39 PM (GMT 0)
Yeah I read that too. If I have to go off the Imuran when my hubby and I start trying, I am going to go on the Maker's diet. I've heard good things about that diet.
Posted 12/8/2008 5:16 AM (GMT 0)
I took 150 mg Imuran and 5 mg Pred throughout my pregnancy. My GI Dr at the time showed me several studies that showed a comparison of women who had never been on Imuran vs. those who had been on it and went off before becoming pg, vs. those who went off of it once finding out they were pg, vs those, like me, who were on it for their entire pregnancies. There was no significant difference between the groups of women. I felt a lot better about getting pg once I read this study. My Dr at the time was at Cedars Sinai and I really trusted her. We have both since moved. My son is 5 years old and is fine. I had gestational diabetes from being on Pred. The perinatologist said it was quite mild, but to keep it under control through diet just to be safe. My Dr wanted me to be as healthy as possible going in to the pregnancy. You have to do what you are comfortable with! My husband and I were both comfortable with this decision, and it worked out fine for us. I believe the reason some of the sites say there isn't enough info about being on Imuran while pg is because there haven't been any drug studies of Imuran on pregnant women. Since they don't know how it affects a baby they can't say for sure. I've also read that the dose at which mice or rats or whatever lab animal is being tested on is a rate much, much higher than that of what a human would take.
I hope that helps.
Good Luck.
Jen
Posted 12/8/2008 6:20 PM (GMT 0)

hi girls,

I have not specifically been on either of the two mentioned drugs. I did take 6mp throughout my pg, and also took 40mg of pred during.

My suggestion is to go to a Perinatologist (a high risk pregnancy doctor). They will have better knowledge on how a certain med might affect pregnancy.  They also have better equiptment for ultrasound, ect so if you require better u/s due to possible effects of meds, they would be who to see.

Posted 12/9/2008 2:49 PM (GMT 0)
I know this topic comes up periodically, and it's always comforting to know there's a lot of us struggling with it! I'm currently on a low dose of 6MP (25mg/day) and Remicade every 10 weeks - I'd like to stop the 6 mp, have one more shot of remicade in march and then wait another 2-3 months before my husband and I start trying to get pregnant... that, anyway is the PLAN (and those of us with UC know all about best laid plans!) I've heard lots of conflicting info on 6MP/Imuran (there are some schools of thought that say it's better not to breastfeed with 6MP/Imuran, so you should stop in the second trimester), but the consensus does seem to be that a fetus is more endangered by a flaring mom than the drug.

While 6MP has been on the market since the late 70s, Remicade is VERY new - it's only been on the market for crohn's/UC for a year or two. Docs really don't know what the consequences of this biologic drug are on babies. I'm not willing to be on Remicade, but I've also heard about the very dangerous allergic reaction that can happen if you stop and then re-start Remicade later...

It's a lot to digest! I'm wishing well for all of us and our babies.

Jones

--------
Female, 31. Dx'ed left-sided colitis 2003
In remission since March '08 (longest stretch ever!)
Remicade every 10 wks, 25mg 6MP
Fish pills, zyflamend, probiotics, multi-vitamins, 2,000 D3/day
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply