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Week 2 of Imuran

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 4/8/2012 5:22 PM (GMT 0)
Wow! What a difference a drug makes! I have been on Imuran (and off Lialda) for the last 2 weeks and I feel so much better!!! Day 3 I had what could be termed as an actual bowel movement for the first time in months. Softly formed, no mucus, tiny blood, a little pain, but it was one of those that afterwards you feel like you lost 10 pounds. Since then, I have had 1 pretty much daily.

With this comes the fact that I have been eating more foods with very little discomfort. I still avoid fried foods (except French Fries... can't avoid those), but for the most part I am eating what I want.

Now the hitch... I am still on 40mg of Prednisone til I go back to the GI on Friday. Had blood work done Thursday to see how the body is handling the Imuran. I KNOW that I have to start tapering soon, but I really hate it since I am feeling so much better.

Last time my doc said that before I could taper I had to go at least 2 weeks with no blood whatsoever. Well, usually when I have a bm I do notice traces of blood in the stool- not much, but a touch. Wonder if that will keep me from starting to taper? Will the Imuran increase as the Prednisone decreases or will I stay at this level of Imuran?

Anyway- I guess I will just have to see what the doc says. I hope everyone has a wonderful joy filled Easter!
Posted 4/8/2012 5:46 PM (GMT 0)
Don't want to burst your bubble, but never judge the effectiveness of a medication if you are currently taking a large dose a prednisone. The only user on here that I know which has great results with ONLY Imuran is MyUC, the dentist. He started with 200mg of Imuran. You started at 75mg which some GI would call this a tester zone to see if you have the enzyme to digest the medication.

Imuran should be effective at 100mg+...not below.


Only when the prednisone is out of your system, then you will truly notice the worth of a specific medication.
Posted 4/8/2012 6:48 PM (GMT 0)
I am happy that you're feeling so good about your progress. I think your GI wiill give you the go ahead to taper very soon. It sounds like you're ready! I do agree with Somedude to some extent, it's very difficult to gague the effectiveness of Imuran while you're on 40mg. I was on 40mg without any UC meds at all and I felt like I hadn't had UC in ages after just a few days of prednisone. I hope you're able to stay stable as you taper. Thinking positive is definitely helpful!
Posted 4/8/2012 7:08 PM (GMT 0)
I'm so glad you are feeling well, but I agree with Somedude. Imuran takes a minimum of three weeks to start showing effects and up to three months to reach full efficacy... whereas prednisone is fast and effective. For your sake I hope it is the Imuran that is helping, but you won't know for sure whether it's working until you get off the pred. The good news is that you seem to be tolerating it quite well. Many of us who have tried it have had such a bad reaction to the drug that we had to go off of it pretty quickly.
Posted 4/8/2012 7:19 PM (GMT 0)

Somedude said...
Don't want to burst your bubble, but never judge the effectiveness of a medication if you are currently taking a large dose a prednisone. The only user on here that I know which has great results with ONLY Imuran is MyUC, the dentist. He started with 200mg of Imuran. You started at 75mg which some GI would call this a tester zone to see if you have the enzyme to digest the medication.

Imuran should be effective at 100mg+...not below.


Only when the prednisone is out of your system, then you will truly notice the worth of a specific medication.

Somedude, MyUC isn't the only one on this forum who has benefited from Imuran. I am also on it and have gotten in remission because of it. Imuran is only beneficial to me at 50mg. Anything higher is too toxic in my case. I'm only on this drug.


Crashing, congrats! I hope everything turns out well for you.
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