Remicade + Azothioprine ? please suggest !

biologics definitely work better when paired with an immunosuppressant. i'd give it a shot. if it doesn't work out, there are a lot of other biologics to try, too.

You have a higher risk when you combine it and are a male. Also depends on how long you've been on it.

You need to look into your family history to see if there is lymphoma and skin cancer. I was told not to go on any biologics or immunosuppresants because of my reaction to the drugs and the family cancer risk.

High cancer risk?

Yeah, both Aza and remi increase one's odds of getting lymphoma, but we are talking really statically small numbers here. You need to put the risk and benefits of treatment with remicade and aza into perspective. The odds of remi helping are good 60%+ of people initially respond well to Remi. The odds of a healthy person on the street (no meds, no diseases) of getting lymphoma is 2 in 10,000 (or 0.02%). When you add aza to the mix at uc dosages the odds of lymphoma increase to 4 in 10,000 (0r 0.04%). Add in aza and remi in at uc dosages and your odds of lymphoma increase to 6 in 10,000 (or 0.06%). So yeah the odds increase slightly, but still small enough that I don't loose any sleep at night, worrying about it.

The stats above are from the "Balancing the Risks and Benefits of Treatment For Inflammatory Bowel Diseases" document from the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America:
http://www.ccfa.org/assets/pdfs/risk-and-benefits-transcript.pdf

Thank you all for sharing your thoughts and experience on the subject.
There is no family history of any cancer in the family so that is ruled out
I am getting prepared to try Aza with Remicade and experience REMISSION for once and see how it feels to be normal or close to normal.
Please keep sharing your ideas, you guys are doing wonderful job. I thank you.

Regards
Raj

That's a desicion for you to make Raj.
I am currently on Remicade. If I don't get into remission from it, I will add Aza.
If that doesnt work I'll keep my fingers crossed with Vedo.

Then I will SKIP the other biologics (though Simponi seems really promising) and go straight to surgery.
Which is just my personal preference/choice.

Surgery is a huge deal. If you have the 9months-year to spare having multiple surgeries and recovering... then by all means... get this nasty diseased organ out of you :D

but if you want to try a couple more things first, that makes sense too.

Raj, surgery is a very personal decision. Some want to exhaust every possible uc treatment option before undergoing surgery. Others, are against the hardcore uc drugs (biologics and immunosurpressive meds), fear statistically rare side effects such as lymphoma, and opt for surgery before putting those drugs into their bodies.

In the end, it is a matter of risk versus benefits and what will give you the best quality of life. There is risk to the uc meds and there is risk in the surgery. Which will give you the best possible quality of life? You need to do your research and come to the best answer that feels right to you. Surgery can improve the quality of life for many, but one is never truly normal again after it: 4-6 bms a day without urgency, risk of further complications pochitis (fairly rare and easily treated), and additional surgeries down the line (adjustments needed to prior surgery). Surgery has a 95% plus satisfaction rate, many wish they had done it sooner. But certainly it isn't an operation to take lightly, it is pretty serious undertaking.