Opinions in Imuran

I've been diagnosed at age 13, now 35. I've always just tolerated my
Symptoms, I've tried the typically drugs with no great remission. about a year ago my symptoms finally got so bad I could no longer tolerate and had to go on Pred for the first time and of course got the worst side effects, since then, I've tapered off, tried Lialda which helped somewhat for about 6 months. I've just tried Uceris with hesitation because did I mention I hate prescription drugs and am so scared of the long term side effects. I've also tried the holistic route. So, now as I'm getting older and worried about the increase risk of colon cancer because of no remission colitis for 20 years, my Doc is recommending Pred, Imuran then taper Pred once the Imuran kicks in. After reading about the drug Imuran , I'm so frightened to take this drug, but am getting so tired of suffering. What is everyone's take on Imuran?

I have been taking imuran for 13 years now and find that I have never had any issues.. My liver function etc has always been fine..
I find when I'm in remission the doctors decide its time to reduce my meds and that's when I find my self getting into trouble and having a flare.. I am currently on 150 mg a day on imuran but have been as high as 200 mg. I really notice when I haven't taken it..

I'm on Imuran and I have no regrets. It gave me remission back in 2005 to 2007 and I flared once. My GI took me off of it. My new GI put me back on and I've been in remission since. The only side effect I have is nausea off and on. Especially in the beginning. It's a lot easier to treat than a flare however.

Be reasonable. You will go to regular check-ups in case anything is wrong.

I start Imuran on Monday. I too am a little scared but I also want to feel better! I've been doing research on the drug and looking up different posts on HW about Imuran. It has made me feel better. I am going to make sure I listen to my body and call my doc if something doesn't seem right, wear sunscreen/stay out of the sun, and get checked as my doc recommends. There are risks with taking any drug and there are risks if you don't take anything too. Best of luck with whatever you decide! (I'm planning to share my experience with Imuran on the forum, good and bad.)

CBon1978, what exactly scares you about Imuran? I ask this because Imuran is highly unlikely to give you side effects. It is true there are risks and benefits to all of the uc drugs. However, those drugs would not be prescribed unless the benefit far outweighed the risk. While it is true that Imuran/6mp/Aza increase one's odds of getting Lymphoma the odds are statistically small. The odds of the average person on the street (healthy, no illnesses, and on no meds) getting lymphoma is 2 in 10,000 (or 0.002%). The odds of somebody on Imuran/6mp/Aza getting Lymphoma are 4 in 10,000 (or 0.004%). So if you are afraid of those odds and loosing sleep over it, then I think you need a reality check. Where as the odds of Imuran helping you are well better than 0.004% (more like 60%). A good read is "Balancing the Risks and Benefits of Treatment
For Inflammatory Bowel Diseases" by the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America:

http://www.ccfa.org/assets/pdfs/risk-and-benefits-transcript.pdf

What Imuran could do is greatly improve your quality of life. Nobody likes having urgency, and other uc symptoms.

I've just gotten home from visiting with my Dad who's been in the hospital since Monday, mostly due to Imuran.   He's been on it for quite some time for his UC and everything has gone fine.  He's had no side effects, his bloodwork has been normal and his UC has been under control.  Here's the thing you have to be careful about - Imuran is an immunosuppressant.  In my Dad's case, his gallbladder was going bad and the Imuran prevented his body from showing any signs of sickness or feeling unwell until the infection got totally out of hand.  He started feeling a little "off" 2 weeks ago, drove 1,000 miles with my mom to spend Christmas with us.  On Monday we decided to take him to the ER because he was running a low fever (100.7) in the evenings, chill, bloating, indigestion.  After CT scans, ultrasounds, MRIs, they found out that his gallbladder was so inflamed it had fused with his liver causing a liver abcess and his bile ducts were full of gall stones.  So Monday was the ER, Tuesday he had a drain put in the liver abcess, Wednesday was the ERCP (?) to remove the gallstones from the duct, Thursday was when they took out as much of the gallbladder as they could and ended up just tying it off and rendering it useless.   He's going to be in the hospital for a grand total of 2 weeks on IV drugs because the infection went crazy and he didn't feel all that sick because his body wasn't fighting the infection off.  The Dr told us today that if we had waited another couple of days he could have gone septic and it probably would have killed him.  Anyway, my point is that it can be a wonderful drug, just be REALLY REALLY careful.   If you start not feeling good go get checked out to make sure you don't have some kind of horrible infection brewing that the Imuran isn't allowing your body to fight. 

And keep an eye on your CBC and WBC. Lord, mine went dangerously low. It stunted my bone marrow and lowered my platelets badly.