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back on track with imuran

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Posted 7/5/2011 4:52 PM (GMT 0)
Hi all just checking in to let you all know that my white blood count is back up and im back on 100mg imuran, everything going well so far and can eat anything,i just hope and pray, its stays like this for a while, [FOR LIFE] lol.. i see my GI in august he z he wants me up to 200mg tho my GP reckons if im doing well on 100mg 2 tabs,then leave it at that,i think hes right do any of u guys think if im doing ok on 100mg, i should keep it like that? THANKS guys and hope u all r doing well.  PS quincy im sorry if my writing is not up to scratch,but im 1 of those irish men that should have been listening instead of talking.lol.. only kidding,hope your doing well Q. wink
Posted 7/5/2011 5:29 PM (GMT 0)
Hey pauly, I was just thinking about you and wondering how you're doing. thanks for the update.

I don't think I would increase the dose if it's unnecessary. Have you been getting your levels checked? If you're in the theraputic range, I don't think there is a reason to increase the dose but I am not a doctor so I don't know. I also think at 200mg, you would be more likely to have your counts drop too low again. I guess you will have to wait and see what your GI says and his reasoning. If you disagree, just tell him you feel like you're doing well on the dose you're on.
Posted 7/6/2011 2:13 AM (GMT 0)
Hey Pauly, great to hear things have turned around! I'm hoping for similar results from the imuran myself. Still working on my prednisone taper so only time will tell.

Considering your question about dosage, I suppose I agree with notsosicklygirl - why fix what isn't broken? If you're doing fine on 100mg I say just stick with it!

Pauly or notsosicklygirl, what is this "therapeutic range" that I hear mentioned a lot? What exactly does the test measure?

On a similar note, how often do both of you have your blood counts done. I started imuran about 3 months ago. At first I was having my counts done every other week but after the third round of counts my GI said I could stop coming in to get my blood drawn. I have an appointment with my GI next week at which I expect to get tested again but had I followed that schedule it would have been like a month and a half since my counts had last been monitored. My mother happens to work in a lab so she tested my blood for me about halfway through that period. I guess I was surprised my GI let me go that long without being drawn. Just curious how often you both are being monitored.

Thanks!

And again, congrats Pauly!
Posted 7/6/2011 2:39 AM (GMT 0)
sconnie, it is a special test that is only done at certain labs. It's a blood test where they measure how much benefit you're getting from the medication. It shows the level of benefit against the level of liver toxicity. You want toxicity to be low and theraputic level to be middle. High theraputic levels can increase the chance of remission but can also lower the WBC drastically. It's a good test to guide you as to whether you need to increase or decrease the dose of 6mp/imuran.
Posted 7/7/2011 7:46 PM (GMT 0)
sorry for the late reply, thanks for thinking about me notsosckgrl,hope it was all good.lol.. yes i am getting my levels check and all good and i think your rite,i will tell my GI that i am happy and doing well on 100mg, Sconnie u say your on the imuran 3 months well it should b working for u, can u see any good results?
Posted 7/7/2011 9:55 PM (GMT 0)
With a bit of tweaking via simple blood tests, I was able to get into the "therapeutic range" with a relatively small dose of imuran .
After the initial break-in stage with imuran, I'm doing really great on it (8 years now).
Keep the dose as low as you can while getting the therapeutic effect, it seems to me thats the sweet spot with this drug.
Be well and best of luck.
Posted 7/8/2011 1:12 AM (GMT 0)
I am optimistic that it is indeed working! Its hard to say for sure since I am still taking prednisone and am surely seeing some benefit from that but I am at a point in my taper (10mg) where on previous attempts to taper I have always seen a return of my UC symtpoms. But so far so good and I'm hoping I can continue tapering without a problem! I have 4 more days to go at 10mg, then 10 days at 7.5mg, 10days at 5mg and 10days at 2.5mg. I can't wait to finally be off this junk!!
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