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6mp Side Affects Kicking In

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Posted 6/23/2009 1:02 AM (GMT 0)
I started 6mp on May 4th and my GI upped my dosage to 100mg about a week and half ago...over the past 2-3 days the side affects of the 6mp have hit with avengence!  I've been soooo tired and fatigued its crazy.  I took a nap on both Saturday and Sunday for the first time in years.  I also have this feeling like I need to throw up every 10 minutes but nothing seems to want to come out.

Has anyone had these types of side affects and when do you think its time to let my doc know?

Posted 6/23/2009 1:38 AM (GMT 0)

I told the doctor when I went on 75 mg. when I could hardly get out of bed - felt like I had the flu.  I just quit.  Tried again later and lasted about a week.  Unfortunately, in my case, 50 mg. (which I can tolerate) is not enough to do any good so my new specialist took me off.  No sense taking something that won't work because I can't tolerate it.  I am a senior and just did not think I could handle the side effects - rather handle the symptoms of UC.  Maybe yours will get better or you can back off the doseage and it will still work - blood tests cant tell your doctor that.

ElaineNY

Posted 7/1/2009 1:02 AM (GMT 0)
Shadam: I can relate! I, too, started w/6mp about two weeks ago and my GI upped it to 100 two days ago. UGH!!! I'm asleep more than awake and now indigestion has set in. I'm hoping Chamomile tea will relieve the indigestion; ginger tea is supposed to help, too. My GI says the effects of 6mp don't kick in for about three months. Not sure I can tolerate it -- one day at a time. I trust my GI so I'm going to try to stick with this for as long as I can.
Posted 7/1/2009 1:19 AM (GMT 0)
i know that 6mp takes a month to kick in.. does that mean that side effects take that long to start too or can they start as soon as you start takin the med?
Posted 7/1/2009 1:32 AM (GMT 0)
I was at 125mg and really started to feel the side effects of being exhausted. Unfortunately I am not benefiting from this medicine and have started Humira.
Posted 7/1/2009 2:12 AM (GMT 0)

sweetmelody - actually 6MP may take up to 6 months to kick in.  I was on nearly three months - starting at 50 mg. and was ok until I tried to take 75mg and then got very serious flu-like symptoms - tried that twice.  Blood tests showed that 50 mg. was not therapuetic for me so doctor took me off.

ElaineNY

Posted 7/1/2009 1:43 PM (GMT 0)
Oh just freakin perfect.... i can't wait that long :( i don't know how the heck i live my life as it is! IM not goin back on pred... im gonna cry.
Posted 7/1/2009 1:50 PM (GMT 0)
I've been on Azathioprine for 8 weeks now...the side effects started within a few days and gradually got better after a few weeks as my body got used to it. But it all seems to be reappearing now and I am reaaaally suffering with exhaustion and nausea/no appetite.

Posted 7/1/2009 6:01 PM (GMT 0)
Honestly, I couldn't wait to get off of 6mp.  The fatigue was so bad I had trouble getting up in the morning.  I am surprised I was able to function it was so bad.  It never got any better for me, but everyone is different.  I lost crazy weight on 6mp too.  My appetite really decreased.  Remicade has been the only thing in 4 years that put my symptoms in order.  Good luck, and I hope this works for you!
Posted 7/9/2009 12:21 AM (GMT 0)
I met with my GI today and he suggested that because my side affects are soo bad (I had to stay home from work the past 2 days), he wants to reduce my dosage from 100mg to 50mg.  My concern is that the 50mg wont do anything to help my UC. 
Posted 7/9/2009 2:13 AM (GMT 0)
I'm in the lucky position that 50 mg is doing the trick for me (although I am also a low responder due to that Prometheus Test). Started out with 75 mg, but that was way too much for me to handle and have been on 50 mg for almost 5 months now. I am usually flaring every 2 to 3 months and now I'm entering month number seven without a flare, wheee!

Long story short: 50 mg might help you too, just don't jinx yourself and assume it won't help. wink

Posted 7/9/2009 2:20 AM (GMT 0)
My mom has been in remission for years with 6mp. I hope it helps you too!
Posted 7/9/2009 8:40 AM (GMT 0)
Hi

I am now on 75mg of 6MP.  I too had symptoms of fatigue and even my hair falling out (more than normal) but after a while the symptoms faded away and improved.

When I first went on it, 50mg., same symptoms.  They went away until I was put up to the 75

Give it time and good luck.  For me, it was worth the wait until side effects went away

Chris

Posted 7/9/2009 4:00 PM (GMT 0)
I'm on 100 mg of 6-MP and am so tired I can hardly function. I'm also losing a lot of hair which makes me crazy. My doctor is a big believer in 6-MP so it's almost as if he doesn't listen to me when I say I am having these side effects because it's worked so well for his many other patients. I've been doing iron IV infusions to increase my hemoglobin and it's almost normal again so I thought I'd have all this energy but I just don't. Frustrating.
Posted 7/9/2009 5:15 PM (GMT 0)
Yeah, the fatigue is pretty annoying. I need at least 10 hours of interrupted sleep per night before I feel rested, but how realistic is that it happens every night?  I tried naps, but strangely over the day it is just feeling tired, but not being sleepy. Well, I can deal with the fatigue much better than flares and everyone around me understands that I am tired most of the time. And that helps a lot.
Posted 7/9/2009 7:13 PM (GMT 0)
Are all of you taking the entire dose right at bedtime? For me, that helped tremendously- I fist started talking Imuran (which metabolizes into the same drug as 6MP) in a divided dose & couldn't handle the fatigue. Then as my dose was increased, I started taking it before bedtime. It made a world of difference- I'm no more fatigued now than on any other day. I do sleep a lot, around 9-10 hours a night, but so what? It also took a good month for the side effects to ease up- but they did, & I believe that my high dose (150 mgs) of Imuran has done a lot to get me where I am now. Which is pretty darn good!
Posted 7/9/2009 7:27 PM (GMT 0)
Little correction on my previous posting: Of course I meant uninterrupted sleep, not interrupted sleep.

I take 6MP with my dinner no later than 6 PM, but I feel the most fatigue towards the late afternoon BEFORE I take my pill. I tried to take 6MP in the morning to see whether the big wave of tiredness shifts towards the nightime, but it doesn't.

Other than fatigue I can't really complain about side effects anymore. The thinning of hair has stopped, the acne is managable, the gum bleeding/sensitivity stuff can be dealt with. I am just so happy that I don't have nausea and dizziness anymore. Glad I toughed it out!

Good luck to everyone!

Posted 7/9/2009 8:18 PM (GMT 0)
Eva Lou - thank you for the suggestion to take the 6MP at night! I've been taking it first thing in the morning (that's when I take all my maintenance meds, so I don't forget otherwise) but I'm going to switch to nighttime. I just cannot continue to deal with this fatigue, but as someone else said, it is definitely better than the pain of a flare-up!
Posted 7/9/2009 10:03 PM (GMT 0)

I could only tolerate 50 mg. but tried 75mg long enough for the blood tests to show that it was not doing me any good so my new doctor took me off it - thank goodness.  If it was working (I took it four months and saw little difference) I would have tried longer.  BUT - those side effects on 75 mg. were hard to live with.  FLU - like - yuck!  I would rather have UC.

Rectal meds - LOTS are doing their job - slowly but hardly any blood, pain, urgency and never diarrhea (3 BM's at lost a day - mornings mostly unless I overeat).  However, glad I gave 6 MP a try.

ElaineNY

Posted 7/10/2009 12:38 AM (GMT 0)
I've been taking my 6mp dose right at bed time and still had the horrible side affects...hopefully the 50mg is enough or remicade here we come.
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