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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 5/6/2008 4:14 AM (GMT 0)
Hello all,
so i am def. flaring again. I just tapered off the pred today. Started bleeding a week and a half ago and its getting worse. My Gi said that if i stared flaring again then he would put me on 6-mp because i have basically been on pred for almost 2 years. So I see people discussing imuran on here, as well as 6-mp. I was wondering what the difference between all the immunosuppressants was. \
I cant take asacol, but colazal was my wonder drug for a little bit there, and i dont want to get on the wrong immunosuppressant, like i was on the wrong 5 asa at first.
thanks!
Posted 5/6/2008 5:02 AM (GMT 0)
Hi...although I've never been on immunosuppressants...I don't think we can know what's the right one or the wrong one until we try them.

I hope the 6-MP works for you.

q
Posted 5/6/2008 11:03 AM (GMT 0)
Usually the doctor should run a few blood tests to determine which one you will most likely respond to - either the Imuran or the 6mp. And if you should have any adverse reactions to it, it's can be caught rather quickly because you will have to go in for weekly blood tests until your doc tells you can do them farther apart. When I first started 6mp, I had the initial bloodwork for the baseline and then I had to go in 3 days later, then a week later and I did the weekly blood draws for a short time then it became every 2 weeks and so on. Whenever he had to increase my 6mp, I had to start the cycle over again.
Posted 5/6/2008 12:15 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Winni,

Are you using the cortifoam 2 x a day like it says in your signature? I wonder if that is helping with the bleeding. I find that it works if I'm really diligent about using it.

I've been on 6MP since Feb 2006. It took nearly 6 or 7 months for me to feel that it was working. I nearly stopped taking it around month 5 when I got really discouraged. I'm glad I stuck it out though because I really feel that it's my safety net. I still flare but it's not as bad as it was before. It's raised my baseline, if that makes any sense. I was in remission for about 8 months but the rest of the time I've been up and down in minor flares. So it's not my miracle drug but I think it makes a difference. The worst I've been on 6MP is no where near as bad as I was before.

By the way, it took some time to get the dose right. You just need to get your blood checked regularly. The one test that can tell you whether the drug is being metabolized correctly can be done by only one lab in the U.S. (as far as I know) which is Prometheus Labs in California. That test is expensive if your insurance doesn't cover it. That's one of the downsides. But if you're insurance doesn't cover it, you can get a discount for pre-paying by credit card. That's something that even my doctor didn't know and I found on the Prometheus website. (Just something to keep in mind if you need to pay for the test yourself! I think it's about $225 with the discount.)

I don't know the difference between Imuran and 6MP. Your doctor should be able to explain why s/he is choosing one over the other for you. I don't think you can ever know ahead of time which drug is going to work for you. We all get to enjoy a lot of trial and error. What fun for us, right?
Posted 5/6/2008 12:50 PM (GMT 0)

Hi Winni

I just started Imuran. It's been 4 weeks. Asacol and Colazal made me feel worse.Cramps,gas, more blood then when I went off those drugs. I know it usually takes a while for these drugs to kick in. I feel much better in only a month. Still bleeding, but a lot less. I added Probiotics,Turmeric and Boswellia to the mix. Hope this was helpful. Faith

Posted 5/6/2008 1:57 PM (GMT 0)
Imuran and 6MP are very similar. In fact Imuran is metabolized in the liver into 6MP and then into 6-TGN and 6-MMPN. Some people do not properly metabolize Imuran into 6MP. For them 6MP would be a better choice. 6-TGN is the active ingredient that suppresses your immune system and 6-MMPN is associated with hepatotoxicity and can cause liver problems. The Prometheus test measures 6-TGN and 6-MMPN levels and your dosage could be adjusted depending on the results of the test. I had a similar test done at a lab here in Toronto. I was on 6-MP at the time and the test showed that the 6-TGN levels were far too low to be effective and the 6-MMPN levels were too high that I was risking liver problems. This meant that my dosage could not be increased so I had to stop the drug.
Posted 5/6/2008 6:43 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you all for the info!
Yes I am doing the cortifoam twice daily, and 9 colazal, probiotics, aloe gel, omega 3 oil, tumeric and a vitamin e enema a day and only eating well cooked veggies and fish and eggs. still bleedng, cramping etc... its rather discouraging.
hopefully 6 mp will help. but i was on it briefly a year ago, only for a week or so, and it gave me migraines.
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