Elevated CK and UC meds?

Hi all,

I’ve been on a combination of Lialda (4 pills/day) and Azathioprine (200mg) for almost a year. Recently, my doctor dialed back my Azathioprine to 50mg and added 100mg Allopurinol because I wasn’t getting into the therapeutic range. After 8 weeks, I do feel like it’s starting to improve my symptoms.

I’ve also had to have my blood checked regularly. For the past 6 months, my AST was around 100 U/L and ALT was around 60 U/L both of which were considered high. When I switched to Allopurinol, the doctor felt my AST/ALT should drop, but it didn’t. This led to a series of tests for liver disease and other checks, where it was determined that my CK was also elevated (600-700 U/L range, normal is 46-171 U/L) and therefore causing the AST/ALT to increase.

So my doctor said to stop all alcohol (I don’t drink much as it is) and also stop exercising to see if my CK returns to normal. After 1 month, my ALT has dropped to 42, and my AST is now 69, which is slightly elevated. However, my CK is still high (recently 712).

My question…has anyone had a similar experience like this? I exercise a lot (6 days a week/1-2 hours day) and have been doing this for almost 30 years (I am 48). It's not super intense, but enough to work up a sweat. Stopping exercise has seemed to have no effect my my elevated CK. My doctor wants me to now see a rheumatologist to see if there is any sort of muscle damage. Could any of these medications cause an elevated CK?

Thanks in advance.

Hi...thanks for the response. No muscle aches to note other then nagging arthritic knee pain that I had for years. I was on pred for almost a year (stopped last Jan) and my AST/ALT levels were fine up till then. Since the AST/ALT was tied to CK, the doc believes that the CK was kept in check because of the pred controlling the inflammation. I have poked around a lot on the web and really couldn't find anything definitive. Next stop is a rheumatologist later this month.