Am I being unreasonable

Am I being unreasonable, I don't know. 

When I am in a flare I go maybe 8 times per day with urgency, maybe once during the night. I have a lot of pain throughout the day and have very little energy.

When I am on pred to get me over a flare up I have one solid BM per day without pain and feel great, normal again like before I had UC.

After I am off the pred and in between flares I wake up in the am and the pain starts I go to the bathroom and am relieved off the pain.  I go anything between 2 - 4 times per day. Loose BM's no blood, sometimes urgency but sometimes not and I can function pretty much normally.

My doctor started me on Azathioprine but I haven't noticed any difference. I was thinking that taking this scary drug I would at least see some benefits and thought I would feel like I do when on pred but I am back to the 2 - 4 times per day. Should I have to just deal with this, I just don't ever feel like I am in complete remission but I get the feeling that my doctor thinks I am a drama queen and to just get on with it. I just feel that when on pred and only having to go once per day with no pain then that must be complete remission but at all other times I am not in remission. At the moment I am on 2.5mg pred, aza and steroid enemas. 

I know there are people out there who are worse than me my brother was one of them, he was always in a severe flare and had to have surgery. He is now 100% healthy but I feel like I am just plodding along at maybe 70% fitness & always worrying about being ill again.

Because my doctor said that he thinks it is working and that I have managed to get down to a low dose of pred.  I feel he doesn't listen to me as I said to him on my last visit I am no better than I was before -  meaning - before my flare up I was going 2 - 4 times per day then flared going 8 times per day pred and aza started back down to 1 Bm per day then tapered pred and back up to 2 - 4 times per day so no better than what I was before I started aza.  But he replied with "you were going 8 time per day so you are better"!!!

And he advised to start enemas and to stay on pred 2.5mg until next visit in 7 weeks. Now been using enemas for 2 weeks and no change in symptoms. See him again in 5 weeks time and think I will challenge him on the whole aza thing.

The goal of Azathioprine is usually to allow you to get of Prednisone before it rots your bones, gives you cataracts and diabetes. It sounds as if you're better than you were when the flare started, but still flaring. However, remember it can take up to six months for the immunosuppressants to fully take effect. If you don't think it's helping enough, though, there are other alternatives available. Just remember, even though the Pred makes you feel better, it will do irreversible damage if you take it for too long.

tums,
We are in the same boat. I don't think you are unreasonable.
I started Azathioprine before I was completely off Prednisone (which I had for 3.5 months). When I was on Prednisone I felt great. It's a miracle drug for me and it's the first time I used it.

I saw blood again 2 weeks after I was off Prednisone. I have been taking Aza for 2 months now but the bleeding went on. And I think the probiotics and Metamucil tablets ease off my urgency and Ds, not the Aza.
I have told my doctor that I didn't want to start Aza but she said I should give it a try. Now I'm really lost.
When I told her over the phone last week that I was still bleeding but it wasn't worse than before, she said, "That's good. Let's wait and see."
But the fact is I want to feel better. At least, no more bleeding.

By the way, I miss the days when I was on Prednisone. I could eat anything I wanted--ice cream, nuts, fruits... Without those ice cream and nuts I would never have gained back the 8 lbs I lost during those bad days of Ds. (I weighed only 98 lbs. pre-UC.)

The hardest thing to find is a doctor who not only takes our inllness seriously, but also listens to what we say, because it is our body that is suffering. I've had four GI docs, and I finally found a winner. If you're current doc isn't hearing what you are saying, maybe it is time to find a doctor who will listen. I know it is difficult to change docs, especially after you've gone through so much with him/her, but you are the best expert on what makes you feel better/worse, and if your doctor doesn't agree with that, move on.

You deserve better.

It took me around 2 months to get the full benefit of azathioprine, and it is a HUGE help for me. So give it some time before deciding you don't want it.

i've been on Aza for over a year now. It took at least 5 mos for it to kick in. I still flare up, but not so frequent and the severity of the flare up is so much less. So, I am doing much better than I was before. Since you have already started the Aza, just hang it there and make sure you get your blood work done.

Good Luck and Health

Donna