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Imuran Take 2

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 3/9/2015 4:07 PM (GMT 0)
So I saw my doctor today and he wants to try imuran one more time. He's thinking my body could not have liked the combination of imuran and prednisone together and wants to see how I am on just the imuran. If I start throwing up like last time then we're done. Just 50mg for now. He just said since my last colonoscopy showed I wasn't doing too great that the remicade wasn't enough to prevent a flare. Which is the whole goal right? Preventing a flare from happening? He says if it doesn't agree with me again that's fine and if I have a flare again we'll just do a round of pred like we've done before. He just wants to avoid that if possible with imuran.

This makes sense right? It's just hard to add another medication when I feel fine but I know in the long run it's the right thing.
Posted 3/9/2015 5:28 PM (GMT 0)
I have been o 6mp for two weeks now with 50mg split dose, mostly just fatigue issues.

I am on Uceris as well.
Posted 3/9/2015 5:40 PM (GMT 0)
It doesn't make sense, but I hope it works out for you. Keep us posted on how it goes.
Posted 3/9/2015 5:51 PM (GMT 0)

DMC2011 said...
I have been o 6mp for two weeks now with 50mg split dose, mostly just fatigue issues.

I am on Uceris as well.

I was on imuran about a month ago and it caused me extreme fatigue but the worst was the projectile vomiting lol.
Posted 3/9/2015 6:06 PM (GMT 0)
Was the inflammation on your colonoscopy low enough that you could see if its still prevalent with a flex sig?
Personally if the inflammation is gone with the short round of prednisone I would want to wait to add another drug IF I flared again.

I remember how sick you were the first round of Imuran.
Posted 3/9/2015 6:15 PM (GMT 0)
I'm not sure how far up the inflammation went. I have the pictures somewhere. His thing is he wants to prevent another flare from happening and if imuran can do that then awesome if not I'll stop it and just do pred whenever I have a flare.

I kinda felt the same way like why can't I see how long remicade keeps working on its own when I feel fine and there's no blood, pain, or increased bms. But the more I think about it the more it makes sense to me. Like if we can prevent another flare from even happening why not?

I was pretty sick before and he said I'll know if it's not agreeing with me again in which case that's it. Not gonna try and take it at different times of the day or anything. Just if it starts giving me the same side effects that's it.
Posted 3/9/2015 8:15 PM (GMT 0)
Flares cannot be prevented with uc, they are the yin to our yang. The frequency of flares can be reduced by being properly treated. Those with deep-tissue-healing have the longest periods of remission, and the least amount on flares. Which is what, I believe your gastroenterologist is looking to achieve, to get you into a clinical-remission.

I'm not sure/convinced imuran, round 2 will work. Give it a try and see.
Posted 3/9/2015 8:47 PM (GMT 0)
That's what I meant iPoop I was just being overly optimistic lol. If it can increase the time I have until my next flare and decrease the severity of it when it does come that would be awesome. I know a woman who has gone years without a flare (she's on asacol, not as severe UC) maybe even decades. If I could have that I'd be one happy camper lol.

I'm not sure it'll work either but I'll know soon lol. When I first started on 100mg it took about 2 weeks for the dizziness and nausea to start and on 50mg it took a week. So I'll know sometime this month if round 2 is just as bad lol. The second I feel the slightest bit of dizziness I'm done. Cuz then comes the nausea and the vomiting that splashes you back lol. Sorry for the nasty graphic but I'm sure you know what I mean. Where it's so violent you throw up in the toilet and it comes back and splashes you in the face lol. That sucks.
Posted 3/9/2015 10:14 PM (GMT 0)
iPoop- I know you're on 6mp, have you ever been on imuran? What was your deciding factor between the 2 or was it just the first one you tried and it worked? Cuz 6mp and imuran do the same thing right? Is it just their active ingredients that are different? I'm wondering if 6mp would work for me in the future if imuran doesn't work again and I need something else.
Posted 3/9/2015 11:29 PM (GMT 0)
I thought imuran and 6mp the same thing?
Posted 3/10/2015 12:23 AM (GMT 0)
DMC- For argument's sake they are the same thing. But they have different ingredients and some say 6mp metabolizes better in your body. Just wondering if anyone has tried imuran and didn't work but went on 6mp and had it work.
Posted 3/10/2015 12:30 AM (GMT 0)
Oh I see! Thank you!
Posted 3/10/2015 12:37 AM (GMT 0)
My gastroenterologist said next is Purinethol, generic 6mp. Never tried Imuran.

6mp and Imuran are very similar medications. One becomes the other after the body processes/metabolizes it.
Posted 3/10/2015 12:41 AM (GMT 0)
Yeah I read imuran has to break down into 6mp in the liver but 6mp just skips that step and breaks itself down. I wonder if that would make a difference for me though. Not sure what the nausea is caused by. Have either of you experienced nausea on 6mp?
Posted 3/10/2015 1:05 AM (GMT 0)
Me? Not yet. I thought it was happening but it was something else. So far just fatigue, but that could be the UC itself causing thaT. Not sick so far, and no pancreatitis yet, knock wood!
Posted 3/10/2015 1:13 AM (GMT 0)
That's good. I had fatigue on imuran the first time but I still felt kinda tired after I stopped it. Not as bad though. Yeah pancreatitis is not good. I also don't like the no sun thing and potential hair loss and liver problems, etc lol. I had hair loss due to iron deficiency last year and it was a huge self esteem killer. I know it's not a huge deal but it felt like it when I could pull out chunks of my hair at a time. It finally looks normal and is still growing back. Does it always cause pancreatitis? That can be deadly right? Yikes.
Posted 3/10/2015 1:24 PM (GMT 0)
No it doesn't always cause it and if it happens it happens up to around the 30ish day mark. So I am not out of the woods until a few more weeks. My dr days it's rare but it can happen and land you in the hospital for days.

Isn't it fun having to deal with this or any other disease!!?
Posted 3/10/2015 8:30 PM (GMT 0)
Haha you know it DMC! So much fun! Most people don't have to think about potentially getting cancer or another deadly disease when taking routine medications lol
Posted 3/13/2015 6:16 PM (GMT 0)
Ugh so I think the nausea is setting in again. It's crazy because it's not gradual at all. It's like one second I'm fine and then the next I don't feel good at all. Thought I was hungry... Nope! It's not horrible right now but I'm worried it's gonna be worse tomorrow and that's not good. I'm judging a competition for kids tomorrow and I can't run out while they're performing to go throw up because it wouldn't be consistent judging for all the teams. Maybe I'll bring a barf bag just in case. I guess it's better than a flare where I'd have to run to the bathroom to poop a bunch of times. Puke on the floor is easy to clean, diarrhea in your pants is another story.
Posted 3/13/2015 6:26 PM (GMT 0)
Can you take something for the nausea? When I was on azathioprine I took Zantac to help with severe heartburn & indigestion. It didn't eliminate it completely, but it definitely allowed me to be able to function. My understanding of these meds are that the nausea eventually stops once your body adjusts. In my case my liver didn't like it so I had to stop taking it.
Posted 3/13/2015 6:41 PM (GMT 0)
I'm not sure what to take though. Like over the counter. I'm not having heartburn so I don't think Zantac or something similar would help much. Or even tums or pepto. I don't know. It's not like I absolutely need imuran. He just wanted to give it another go to see if we can increase the length between flares. And I don't think I can wait until my body adjusts if I start throwing up again like last time. My doctor doesn't want me to stick it out either. I'll give it another day or 2 and if this lasts or gets worse I'm done.
Posted 3/13/2015 6:59 PM (GMT 0)
But there you go, you prob should stop taking it. How long have you been on it this time?

Yesterday and today i am feeling good but a little shakey, weird.
Posted 3/13/2015 7:10 PM (GMT 0)
Lol DMC yeah I'm done. Just threw up. Started it on Monday. Was fine all week and then today it just hit me. Now I don't have to worry about tomorrow! Thanks all! :)
Posted 3/13/2015 7:14 PM (GMT 0)
Just tried calling my doctor and I missed him by an hour. Grr. Oh well. He said if it didn't work I'd know and could stop it, he just wanted to know how I was doing on it. Guess I'll call on Monday!
Posted 3/13/2015 10:32 PM (GMT 0)
Well that sucks, but now you know!
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