Can too much Imuran make me sick?

It can be dangerous to stop imuran suddenly like that, make sure you talk to your doctor ASAP and let him know what happened!

Are you certain it was the imuran making you sick?

If imuran isint helping you at all at that dose however, its probably best to get off of it. Its a dangerous drug and really only warrants being taken if the benefits are significant.

I took myself off imuran after about a year on it. The side-effects were worse than any flare I've ever been in, so I don't blame ya.

Post Edited (Guardian7) : 5/31/2014 8:30:03 PM (GMT-6)

Thanks everyone. I'm not too worried about the Remicade aspect 'cause in all honesty, Remicade isn't working for me either. My GI is just scared to take me off of it because she fears that I'll develop antibodies to it and if I somehow need to go back to it in the future, I will not be able to. Apparently, I'm running out of options :( I e-mailed my GI's office yesterday asking about fecal transplant.

Imuran can cause liver failure, and severe vomiting can be a sign of that. You need to see your doctor right away. You should have been having blood tests to check your blood level of the drug, as different people metabolize it differently and the dosage is regulated partly through these blood tests.

My levels got too high and I was having severe, couldn't even swallow my own saliva vomiting. When it was lowered that cleared up. I was still on it when I started on Remi, but my GI took me off after a short time because the first studies were showing a correlation between the combination of the two and lymphoma; I think that association has proven to be not so much of a concern so many docs do use it again. I never went back on and have never developed any problems with the Remi. I do take an antihistamine before my infusions, but no steroids or Imuran.

When my daughter had lots of throwing up, it took time to get to any answers. Ended up being Appendix related, also small hiatal hernia and excess acid production. She still throws up easily and often when in pain. Perhaps they should do a quick CT scan to make sure it isn't another organ.It's is ok to stop Imuran quickly, btw. And yes, check out that blood work ASAP. Stay hydrated too.

I looked it up again, fearful that my experience with 6mp was slightly different. Maybe we are both right. This is from Drugs.com."Maintenance therapy should be at the lowest effective dose, and the dose given can be lowered decrementally with changes of 0.5 mg/kg or approximately 25 mg daily every 4 weeks while other therapy is kept constant. The optimum duration of maintenance Imuran has not been determined. Imuran can be discontinued abruptly, but delayed effects are possible."
This was under the RA dosing info, not UC tho. We have been on and off it without tapering.

Marauder93 said...
Are people sure its ok to stop Imuran right away like that though? Every pharmacist and every information pack Ive ever read says that you shouldnt... Are people talking based on personal experience or from actual medical advice?

There are no withdrawal symptoms. You can't build dependency with imuran because it's an immunosuppressant drug.

Even from personal experience, I quit taking the max dosage cold turkey. Nothing happened.

Oh I know there arent any withdrawal symptoms, Ive stopped it cold as well. But just because there are no withdrawal symptoms doesnt mean there cant be any unseen damage. Thats why I wanted to make sure it was actually safe, and people werent just making claims based of personal experience is all : )

Marauder93 said...
Oh I know there arent any withdrawal symptoms, Ive stopped it cold as well. But just because there are no withdrawal symptoms doesnt mean there cant be any unseen damage. Thats why I wanted to make sure it was actually safe, and people werent just making claims based of personal experience is all : )

I'm afraid you have it the other way around, Marauder.

Unseen damage will occur while on the drug... not off it. As you already know, it's very important to get bloodwork regularly when taking any of these class of drugs.

And I don't think anyone should be taking the max dosage unless the diagnosis really demands it. In my case, it was never needed and I suffered unnecessarily.

I can't help but think something similar is going on with baggravation here.

I was just reading about this tonight as I actually still take Imuran, but have noticed from time to time after taking it I feel a little nauseous or well, hard to describe. Sometimes I feel like my tongue and mouth get tingly or something... So I was looking up allergic reactions to Imuran.

Turns out if you're throwing up or nauseous it can be a sign that you're allergic to it. Apparently 2-5% of people are.

Anyway maybe ask about this. Not sure if there's a test other than stopping it...... I'm trying to figure out what to do as as well.