Imuran side effects?

Hey everyone. I'm new to this forum but not to IBD. Let me give a quick background and then I'll ask my questions. Sorry this is kind of long; I want to give as much info as possible.

I was diagnosed with severe ulcerative colitis 3 years ago when I was 17. I went on Prednisone and that kicked the UC into remission and I have been on Lialda(mesalamine) 4 pills a day (don't recall the mg) and Imuran(azathioprine) 3 pills a day which I believe is 150mg. I had one bad flare up and went back on Pred for a while and then decided to never take it again because it is the WORST! I had almost every side effect possible. I've just been on Lialda and Imuran for the past 3 years mostly symptom free except for some cramping and gas and a constant stuffy nose which I attributed to having a suppressed immune system. I used to have blood tests frequently and they always came back "fine" showing just anemia (iron deficiency) and B12 deficiency. I haven't had a blood test in about 3 months. I have had 2 colonoscopies and I think I need another this April.

Now here's my problem. I've had the following symptoms lately. I have lost a lot of weight over the past 6-8 months. about 40 pounds... I went from my normal 130lbs to 145lbs on Pred, but for a while I have been a super tiny 105lbs (I am 5'1"). I simply cannot keep up my weight, partly due to my low appetite. I've also been extremely tired and fatigued to the point of sleeping 12-16 hours a day when possible which isn't often since I am a full time college student. My knees are killing me and get sore when sitting or standing for more than a half hour. I have been taking prescription pain pills (Tramadol) to help with both joint pain and UC cramps. As I mentioned, I've had a stuffy/runny nose for a long time, and lately I have had blood in my mucus when blowing (sorry that's gross!!) along with a persistent but not terrible cough. I don't have a fever but my skin keeps getting very hot to touch, and I get chills and night sweats. My lymph nodes don't appear to be swollen but the ones below my ears are sore (not swollen).

My question is, do you guys think these are Imuran side effects or something more serious? I know having UC already puts me at higher risk for cancer and catching infections and things like TB. Also being on Imuran makes things more risky. I'm scared because I know I have many symptoms of serious complications but it could just be the Imuran acting weird. Should I maybe switch to another med? I am scared to do Remicade or Inflixmab because they sound like more trouble than good...

Have any of you experienced these problems with Imuran? What do you think?

I have a GI appt. this Friday with a new temp doctor since my GI guy for the past 3 years retired with basically no notice so I had to rush to find somebody I'm going to ask her to run a blood test, but I want to know what other UC and Imuran patients think and what I should ask her about.

lifesover - So you had these symptoms with just 1 tab/day(50mg). Our dr has put my 8 year old dd on this med. 50mg/25mg every alternate days. Should I be concerned?

Thanks

I am currently on 150mg Imuran and Remicade. I brought up the fact that I am extremely tired all the time to my GI last week and see seemed to blow it off blaming it on me being a college student and working. I completely 100% attribute it to the Imuran though personally since I know before I started Imuran I never slept nearly as much.