remicade without azathioprine effectiveness

i know this has been done to death guys but i was just wondering the effectiveness of remicade without azathioprine paired with it

i'm very close to starting remicade treatment as i have had no relief for 8 months and have been in a constant flare ranging from very mild to very severe for the last 5 years.

does anyone know if the risks of the nasty lymphomas (hstcl) are still present when just taking remicade on its own? or is it only in conjunction with azathioprine.

my doctor wants to pair the two together for 6 months but obviously i am scared

actually the only thing that azathioprine will do is prevent your body from making anti-bodies to the Remicade. It doesn't "help" the Remicade work at all. Due to the mouse proteins in Remicade, you eventually wind up making anti-bodies to it, which prevents it from wokring as best it can. So the theory is that the immune suppressant prevents you from making them. Sometimes it works, sometimes not- I was on 150mgs Imuran from about 6 months prior to starting Remicade, & am still taking it now, long after Remicade ceased to be effective for me. "I know you've been going back & forht for a long time about the biologics... I say give yourself a break now, you deserve a remission. But I know it's a tough choice. Just go with your gut feeling, all the research & stats & #'s in the world isn't going to make that decision for you.

If you are that worried maybe you should just have the surgery.  I am worried but I don't sit at my computer looking the stuff up and getting worked up about it. My theory is if I'm going to die from cancer then I will die from it, that is the way I was to go. This uc is not my choice or the drugs that we are offered but what are we to do? I will get my days one or two a month where it bugs me but I can live with it because if I think of surgery right now I don't want to do it.  If you go on just the remicade and it is still going to bug you all the time even if the drug works for you it isn't worth it.  I would be alot more scared in your situation(male and young) but if you can't have a life because of your Uc/crohn's and if you are going to worry about it if you are on it then that isn't a life either.  You say you should just have the surgery maybe you should.  Surgery is a done deal you wouldn't have to worry about your uc coming back or about getting some kind of cancer.  It is a choice you have to make but if you are so hesitant then I think deep down you know the answer. Have you went to any surgeons and talked to them about the surgery.  If you haven't maybe if you did that it would ease your mind.  So many people on here that had the surgery say they wish they would have done it sooner.  That they are happy with it.  I know this is a hard decision.  I completely understand.  UC sucks and the drugs we have to control it aren't good at all.  It is a catch 22.  Good luck on what you decide.  I feel for you.

Mine works fine without it. I stopped it before starting remi. It wasn't doing anything anyway.

I honestly can't remember. I think I may have stopped 6-7 months before. It was on my own though.

If you are not taking a large amount of bulking fiber daily you need to add that. I have even quit take my sulflasalazine and just take the fiber and remi. Tablespoon of psyllium morning and night does wonders.

Yeah, I was on a study drug similiar to remi at the time I stopped. I had no changes before, during, or after I stopped taking it.

GI wants me on both, but I stopped Imuran 2 weeks ago when I found out I had fatty liver disease from pred.  I had some high liver tests previoulsy don't know why and it seems like I get side effects from everything, so I decided it may help my liver and may help me not get cancer (just had my 4th remi on Friday).  GI said he only wanted me on it for a couple more months anyway.

I hope I don't build up the antibodies.

i know what ya mean, everytime you go anywhere the first thing you do is asses the area for bathrooms and once you've spotted one you can carry on with whatever you are doing.

yep concomitantly is at the same time so does that mean if i stop the aza the day before the risk is reduced hmm

I read somewhere(I don't remember, it was online) and it listed how many people got the t cell cancer that were just on remicade it was like 6.  The people that got it that were just on 6 mp was higher then the remicade.  The most of the people that got it were the ones that were on remicade(or something like it) and 6 mp(or something like it) together.  I think only like 43 people have gotten it so far. Most of them were on a combination of the remicade and 6 mp.  I can't find the article but I remember reading it.  When I was having my remicade infusion a rep for the remicade came by and was talking to all the people there that got the infusion and he was saying millions of people are on these drugs and 43 have gotten the cancer so far.  Like he said that is not high.  Hopefully this makes you feel some what better.

I don't like the surgery option either, lol.  I am scared of it also.  I am scared of the remicade also.  It sucks, period.  Tell your doctor you want off the 6 mp before starting the remicade if it will make you feel better.  That is all you need to say to him.  When my doc wanted me to go on both I said no she asked why and I said I wasn't comfortable with it.  I would drive myself crazy on both.  She said ok.  Her PA(who is kind of a b) was trying to talk me into it and said the dose is so low it doesn't matter and I said I'm not doing it period.  She shut up then.  It is your body if you don't feel comfortable don't let someone talk you into it.  Listen to your gut.  Also, I was very nervous like you are before I started it and I went back and forth.  After I made the decision to do it and now that I have been on it I don't worry as much.  It took a while for me not to worry about it so much but you will not worry as much once you make a decison and do it.