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Anyone had prblems with Azathioprine?

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 5/5/2011 10:19 PM (GMT 0)
Hi im new to the site and am looking for some advise  ... i was diagnosed with colitis in 1994 and have had flare ups for past 5 years 'iv been prety much on pred steroids for last 12years with no brake 'Not good i no :( 'i got put on Azathioprine 4 weeks ago and since Sunday iv felt terrible 'i take 3x 25mg in evening with food and 10mins later i feel very nausius for about 5 hrs then the next day i have terrible trapped wind all day and a tighness in my chest also i used to suffer panic attacks but havnt had one in years and with all this strange things happenin to be in such a short time i feel they may come back. Has anyone been on this drug and if so have they ever had these symptoms 'dont think i can handle it much longer :(. Im thinking of coming off this new drug and trying a whole new aproach and changing my diet and maybe trying some new herbal remedies? Any help would be very much apretiated :).

x
Posted 5/5/2011 10:34 PM (GMT 0)
Sorry I can't help you with this one.  I am on Azathioprine and have never had a problem with it.  Your doc will keep on the look out for pancretitis, elevated liver enzymes, etc...  You should definitely touch base with him.  It is also typical for those that can't take Aza to have problems early on.

MyUC

Posted 5/5/2011 10:48 PM (GMT 0)
Thankyou MyUC :) im going to speak to my doctor tomorow see what he sais but i seem to be getting worse as the days pass 'i read up about Pancretitis and got worryd so foned my local 24hr hospis num and they said it didnt sound like that as i would be in alot more pain. I also today started getting diarrhea sorry if to much info :(.
Posted 5/5/2011 11:12 PM (GMT 0)
I have had fatigue, restless sleep and I've had increased liver enzymes. I do think it helped me get off prednisone on the positive side. I have tied adjusting my diet and taking supplements and probiotics and it didn't help me at all. What dose of prednisone are you on? If you reduce the dose, do you have UC symptoms?
Posted 5/5/2011 11:20 PM (GMT 0)
Im on 7mg a day and 6 asacol tabs a day also 'everytime i get down to 3mg prednis i start to get UC symptoms. Im actually really worrying about the pain in my chest 'it feels like trapped wind in centre of my upper abdomen 'i get worryd tho when i read about things like Pancreatitis :(.
Posted 5/6/2011 12:44 AM (GMT 0)
I took it a few weeks ago. At first it started out with fatigue and nausea. A few days later it was extreme stomach pain and vomiting. It was terrible. I was only on 25mg to start. I will never take it again.
Posted 5/6/2011 1:32 AM (GMT 0)
I had horrific migraines while on it and I never even made it to a high enough dosage to help my UC at all. I hate that stuff.
Posted 5/6/2011 2:10 AM (GMT 0)
I got pancreatitis from Azathioprine. The pain would come in the middle of the night, really sharp and intense in the middle of your chest just around the sternum. It would radiate to my back I would feel like I couldn't breathe and then it would slowly fade away. I eventually started vomiting which is when I went to the ER and discovered from simple blood tests that it was pancreatitis. So moral of the story is, get a blood test done before it gets worse.
Posted 5/6/2011 4:16 AM (GMT 0)
Severe allergic reaction. Virtually instant headache, fever, dizziness, malaise, and my liver labs were off the charts, even on a puny little dose.
Posted 5/6/2011 11:17 AM (GMT 0)
I was on Azathioprine for a few months with no probs, but for some reason it turned on me - projectile vomiting, headache, feeling generally really rubbish. I got switched to 6MP and have had a lot more success with that, and very few side-effects (although I'm currently on a break from it as it was raising my ALTs and GGT a bit too much) - generally I've found it works well for me.
Like Liz3 said, definitely get some bloods done to rule out a possible case of pancreatitis - abdo pain in the centre under the sternum or just to the right, with nausea / vomiting is a fair sign something's not quite right.
Keep to a low fat diet if you can, as that puts less stress on the pancreas (I've had a couple of attacks and afterwards was told to keep fat content low for a while). Also, try not to drink any alcohol until it's ruled out, as that aggravates things.
But try not to worry too much - although I reacted badly to Azathioprine, it wasn't that which gave me pancreatitis attacks, and so what you're feeling could just be your body saying it's not happy with the meds. Have a chat with your doc about switching to 6MP (Mercaptopurine) if it looks like Azathioprine isn't agreeing with you.
Posted 5/6/2011 2:27 PM (GMT 0)
I definitely had the nausea you are feeling. However it kept me out of flares so well I dealt with it, and within a few months the nausea no longer occurred. I thought it was a whole lot better than being on Prednisone so often.

In the meantime I can only say to take your Azathioprine after a big meal, and perhaps split it into smaller doses.
Posted 5/6/2011 3:12 PM (GMT 0)
i was a bit short of breath when i 1st stared imuran it passed i was also a bit anxious too, coming of the pred does this too and i was worryed about taking imuran, im on it now about near 3 months and things are good,plesae try and wait to c if it helps, but yes get your side effects sorted but hang in there, good luck and welcome,keep us posted
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