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How serious is this? Imuran dizziness

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Posted Yesterday 3:18 PM (GMT 0)
Has anyone else experienced dizziness with Imuran? I've been on 100 mg for about 3 weeks. My first round of bloodwork came back and looks fine. Up to this point, I've been having the usual fatigue and nausea, but this morning, I woke up with a lot of dizziness. Otherwise, I feel normal.

I drank a lot of water and ate some toast in case it was related to hydration or blood sugar. No change. I know that dizziness is listed as a "severe" side effect, but I'm hesitant to go to an ER for something that may be related to fatigue, etc...

What do you guys think? Did you experience dizziness when you started Imuran?
Posted Yesterday 3:35 PM (GMT 0)
Do you have a device to check blood pressure?

That would be a med I wouldn't take....but dizziness is something i have in attacks, and can honestly say that if medication made it worse...I would go off it or change it. 6MP is a possibility for you to try?

Definitely see your doc or ask to see an ENT to rule out viral or BPPV if it continues.
q
Posted Yesterday 4:05 PM (GMT 0)

quincy said...
Do you have a device to check blood pressure?
q

Blood pressure is fine too: 118/65. Temp is okay too.

I can't get a hold of my doctor's office today, but the dizziness is terrifying enough that if it doesn't go away by this evening, I'm stopping the Imuran on my own.
Posted Yesterday 4:32 PM (GMT 0)
I experienced dizziness while taking 6mp (similar to Imuran) years ago but also had dizziness un-related to UC meds or anything. My husband also had dizziness (he has no medical issues at all) that was unrelated to anything and his doctor showed him and did the "Epley maneuver". It reboots your inner ear and worked great for both of us at different times. He's done it at home and so have I. He also got some pills but rarely used.

Google Epley maneuver and try it, maybe look at a video to get the idea. Having someone to assist helps but not totally necessary.

If your dizziness continues talk to your GI but be aware of what your next RX alternatives are. 6mp did not work for me and I did not want to proceed to higher level drugs so I got super serious about diet modification and supplements.

Good luck.
Posted Yesterday 8:39 PM (GMT 0)
I got dizzy on Imuran too and it just would not go away so my doctor had to take me off of it. The nausea did subside a bit.

I would take your blood pressure lying down and then standing up. It could be Adrenal fatigue. My doctor did that when I was fainting a lot and there was a significant difference.
Posted Today 3:07 PM (GMT 0)
i've had dizziness & intense nausea too but it subsided with time after my body got used to imuran, not sure if it is related but try to be patient with imuran, i would try to get an opinion from my GI if i were you.
Posted Today 3:10 PM (GMT 0)
It does sound like it could potentially be dehydration. Water isn't really the best thing for dehydration. You need a supplement with proper electrolytes. Water goes right through you. I've been using this in my water
www.amazon.com/LyteShow-Electrolyte-Concentrate-Rehydration-Magnesium/dp/B00EISFBYA
Posted Today 3:34 PM (GMT 0)
I skipped my dose of Imuran last night because the dizziness was still severe enough that I couldn't really get out of bed. I'm fine today and of course, have loads more energy from missing a dose.

I'm going to resume taking it tonight. I've been trying to give it at least two months to see if it helps, but between the fatigue, the come-and-go rashes, and now the dizziness, I don't know how long I can keep this up. I'm fine with the nausea and hair loss, but I need to be able to drive to work and I couldn't even stand yesterday.
Posted Today 3:39 PM (GMT 0)
You should try reaching out to Andrina or looking up some of her old posts. She had a really hard with with nausea and dizziness from Imuran and she was able to manage it over time.
Posted Today 3:44 PM (GMT 0)
Quick question: Did any of you split up your dose? I'm taking 100 mg at night before bed with food to help with the nausea and tiredness, but I'm wondering if 50 mg late afternoon and 50 before bed might help?

Any thoughts?

Thanks, notsosickly. I'll see if I can get in touch with Andrina.
Posted Today 5:46 PM (GMT 0)
What's your blood sugar like? Sometimes eating Popsicles or freeze pops makes it easier to get more fluids.
A bonus if you need the sugar or calories
Posted Today 7:52 PM (GMT 0)
My blood sugar is fine. I fast sometimes to control symptoms, but consistently throughout yesterday. It didn't impact the dizziness.

Alice - I tried the Epley Maneuver with no luck, but I also wasn't positive I was doing it correctly and the video I watched said to only attempt it once a day. I may try it again in the future.
Posted Today 8:37 PM (GMT 0)
The Epley maneuver is for pushing through crystals or sludge through the canals...the most common one affected is the posterior. You HAVE to know what ear is affected so that the starting position and ending position has them cleared out...otherwise don't do it.

If you have no dizziness at this point, then it's probably the Imuran. How to check is to go back on it of course.
If it does continue, then get referred to an ENT to check for all the possibilities through testing.

Hope Imuran's the only reason...because having it for most any other reason absolutely SUCKS. I've had BPPV since 1966 (not a typo), and many of those attacks have been hell. The Epley and Semont maneuvers have been lifesavers.

Keep us posted.
q
Posted 11/30/2015 12:05 PM (GMT 0)
Rachel, how long have you been on Imuran so far? As notsosicklygirl mentioned, I had a hard time in the beginning too. My side effects subsided about 3 months into it. I bascially lived off of Phenergan until then (Zoloft didn't touch it).

I'm not sure about dizziness. I had some vertigo attacks last January which lasted about 20 minutes each. The ENT gave me some meds for it which made me super tired so I just deal with it. Thankfully the spells don't last as long anymore. ENT had brought up Meniere's in my case.
Posted 11/30/2015 1:38 PM (GMT 0)
You HAVE to know what ear is affected so that the starting position and ending position has them cleared out...otherwise don't do it.

I didn't know which ear was affected and it helped me get rid of dizziness, been a while but faintly remember doing both sides. I have never read anywhere that it could hurt a person doing it although getting up if you were dizzy would be a problem. Having someone help you is a good idea but I did mine solo when spouse wasn't home.

edit to add: Wikipedia (fwiw) says this:
The entire procedure may be repeated two more times, for a total of three times.

And I remember doing it at least twice per time.
I had an advantage that my husband had it done in-office by his GP and was told to repeat it at home in a day or two. He came home with a print-out "how to" (which Wikipedia details) and I followed hubby's instructions. Video would be very helpful because reading the "how-to" is tough since you need to proceed through the steps in a timely way and stopping to read might interfere.

Wiki also says some chiropractors can do this but I no longer use chiro's (no need). My hubby drove home from his doctors appt after Epley so guessing it's safe to do that. Wiki says not to do a lot of bending over/laying down afterwards to retain the integrity of the re-positioning.

Post Edited (imagardener2) : 11/30/2015 6:54:12 AM (GMT-7)

Posted 11/30/2015 3:28 PM (GMT 0)
No..it won't hurt you at all...but it might not help or make it somewhat worse (symptoms) if the crystals or sludge is stuck in a position. If you do both sides, it could help or just keep stuff in the canal moving back and forth.

It's shown on YouTube...some use a pillow under the shoulders, some use the bed. If the Left side is affected, do it on the right side of the bed so that the roll over and head position is correct. If it's the Right side affected, do it on the left side of the bed.

I had it done once in the specialist's office and have never gone back to him...who wants to wait 2 weeks to 3 months for that???

When I'm "off" I do the maneuver. I've done it in succession usually twice, or a few times a day.

The one thing for sure is to wait till the spell ceases in each position. or if there's not a spell but just off feelings, wait at least a minute in each position and do the next, etc.

It won't help, however, if crystal/crystals are stuck on the cupula. The Semont maneuver is helpful for that.

Regardless....at least there's something we can do for OURSELVES!!! it's good you have another option to gain you relief.
I've found sinus rinsing extremely helpful to keep the fluid/inflammation of that area/ Eustachian tubes down as to not influence those crystals from getting ticked off..lol.

q
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