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Azathioprine side effects anyone? I Need Info?

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Posted 1/24/2015 7:33 PM (GMT -8)
My doctor wants to switch me from Pentasa to Azathioprine. I'm kinda reluctant do to the side effects that I read about. My question is has anyone out there had any side effects from this durg seen how it is a kidney transplant drug. I have been on the Crohn's-Colitis web site and they list it.

I have been dealing with this since I was 11 years old, had surgery at 12, removed 3 feet of my small intestine. that was 38 years ago.

One other thing what do people do to deal with the pain of flare ups? What type of pain drugs/meds?

Post Edited (Electricman) : 1/25/2015 2:50:22 PM (GMT-7)

Posted 1/25/2015 6:23 AM (GMT -8)
It gave me pancreatitis, but that's a rare side effect.

I now do Remicade infusions. The biologics (Remicade, Humira, etc.) are some of the more effective, quicker-acting Crohn's meds. Azathioprine takes a few months to start working.
Posted 1/25/2015 9:17 AM (GMT -8)
Is this the same thing as 6mp?
That lousy drug made me nauseous for 3 months and then made my hair fall out a few months after that!
Posted 1/25/2015 9:39 AM (GMT -8)
I have been on it for over 1 year now and I haven't experienced any of the side effects. I have had CD for 20 years and I find that this drug works best for me.
Posted 1/25/2015 10:10 AM (GMT -8)
Hi,
Azathioprine known as Imuran or Azasan is a drug prescribed to me 6 years ago. Initially I was on Pentasa but it barely slowed down my first Crohn's flareup. The doctor was giving me Pentasa plus steroids. Only helped about 10%. So the doctor put me on Imuran. He said the first 4 months I would be nauseous and then one day I would feel fine when the chemical had kicked in with my body. Sure enough after 4 months I felt fine. Have not had another flareup in 6 years. Now if I eat greasy food or overeat then I will get diarrhea or an upset stomach and my intestine will hurt just a little bit. But otherwise I am not fatigued or sick like when I had the flareup.
All the best to you!
Bill
Posted 1/25/2015 12:52 PM (GMT -8)
Gave me pancreatitis within a week, also inflamed my liver. They say that's a rare side effect, but I sure see it happen to a lot of people with Crohn's. That was the worst pain I've ever had. Make sure you keep up on your blood work. Watch out for severe upper abdominal pain and vomiting.
Posted 1/25/2015 1:19 PM (GMT -8)
Jenn77 your on the mark. I had blood tests every week I started Imuran and then the doctor has tapered them to once a month. Now I get them 3 times a year. I am one of the lucky ones so far with Imuran. If I had pancreatitis I would stop taking it immediately! I have moderate to severe Crohn's. Until I got a diagnosis I lost almost 60 lbs. Then the 3 biopsy tests confirmed it and I started getting treatment and ended up so far with Imuran.
Posted 1/25/2015 2:57 PM (GMT -8)
I have been on azathioprine since 1995 except for 12 months in 2010 when my GI suggested I stop it. Worst thing I ever did. Had massive flare up and ended on Humira and azathioprine, the Humira gave me Lupus after 5 doses which I'm now stuck with. Only issue I have is get more colds/viruses but that is same for all immunosuppressants. Have blood test every 2 months and everything ok and has kept my CD under control. Does take about 3-4 months before you notice real difference. Compared to the biologics the possible side effects are no where near as scary or long. Humira has a4 piece of paper and one whole side is all possible side effects in small print.

Only you can decide what is best for you. Unfortunately, there is no 'one size fit all' when is comes to treatment.
Posted 1/25/2015 3:09 PM (GMT -8)
Stripey,

I think you have been on Imuran longer than anyone else I know with Crohn's. I have had doctors but are not GIs suggest I stop taking Imuran. But after having horrible problems with my first flare up I told them I will stick with Imuran for now. If it causes problems in the future then I will have to consider changing but for now it works. The 3-4 month time to kick in is the only part I hated. I was on Vicodin (Horse sized tablets) while waiting for the Imuran to take effect. That was a rough period. But once it kicked in then I felt a lot better.

All the best,
Bill
Posted 1/25/2015 9:35 PM (GMT -8)
There is for sure no one size fits all when it comes to this. The only thing Humira did to me was give me headaches, but no other side effects. Didn't really help either. I'm on Cimzia now and it is working, my colon has had a lot of healing. Just not enough for remission yet. Since I can't take Imuran or 6mp because of the pancreatitis my next step is Methotrexate. Which I'm not thrilled about. I feel like a guinea pig being tested on all these drugs.

I think it's great if someone can handle the Imuran and not have to take a biologic with it. Seems like they go hand and hand as some point. I must say I'd take a biologic any day over these immunological drugs like Imuran. Like I said, that pancreatitis was the most pain I've ever been in, and I gave natural birth to a 10 pound 3 ounce baby. Wouldn't wish that on anyone! It's so frustrating that we have to keep trying all of these in hopes it helps us, NOT makes it worse!
Posted 1/26/2015 11:10 AM (GMT -8)
Jen77,

I have had kidney stones and they are a +10 in pain. Sharp with cramps and comes in phases that rise and fall. Crohn's was a +7 but constant pain and never ending. Just steady pain. I hear that Crohn's patients have it better for treatment than 20 years ago but there are still a lot of Crohn's patients struggling to find the right treatment. I really feel for everyone since the one year in constant pain was brutal for me.

Bill
Posted 1/27/2015 4:55 AM (GMT -8)
Been on it for 14 years with no side effects. It's only a leveller though... And over the years has started to fail I fear. But I got many good years from the drug. That said I would stop if I could given its poisonous nature ... But then that's what most drugs are. As a consultant once told me - its a balancing act between the disease and the poison in terms of quality of life. Very much an individuals call.
Posted 1/27/2015 4:31 PM (GMT -8)
Duffle,

Glad to hear someone else has had some luck with Imuran. 6 years and counting for me.

Bill
Posted 1/29/2015 5:47 PM (GMT -8)
I too was terrified of the side effects of this drug. They figure out your dose by your weight. What you read about the effects and it being an anti rejection med for transplants is related to patients who take a much higher dose than what we with Crohn's would normally be prescribed. Ask your doctor about that and they should be able to explain more. The side effects list has to list anything and everything for legal reasons.

I've been taking azathioprine since 2009. I began Remicade in 2011 and then switched to Humira in 2013. Azathioprine helped get me in remission. It took about three months to work but when it did I was feeling great. I got pancreatitis from Lialda, before I took the azathioprine, and so far so good with nothing like that since being on azathioprine.
Posted 1/29/2015 6:38 PM (GMT -8)
I take 200mg per day of Imuran. I did not realize the side effects list are based on a much higher dosage than we take. Interesting.
Posted 1/29/2015 9:02 PM (GMT -8)
It had my lungs filling with fluid so I stopped. It felt like it was working on my crphns but I need to breath so I stopped it. Many people take it with no issues so you can't judge by what we say bc each of us is different and the people most likely to respond to this post are those who had a bad reaction. I would say to give it a try and carefully monitor yourself and if any issues, stop.

Take care!
Posted 1/30/2015 4:34 AM (GMT -8)
If you want to see huge list of side effects I suggest you look at those for Humira. When I was prescribed it I received with it a double sided A4 sheet of paper covered both sides in small print of all possible side effects. It was probably easier and shorter if they had printed what side effects it doesn't cause. In my case the Humira gave me Lupus which unfortunately was permanent whilst a lot of side effects rectify themselves once you stop using the medication. This means all biologics are now off the table but luckily azathioprine works well for me with no side effects so baring disaster I will stay on it for life. 'If it ain't broke, I ain't gonna fix it'.

All each of us can do is try things and see if they work. Any medication you put into your body can have some sort of negative effect (and this also includes natural remedies as too much of anything can cause issues even if it is natural), you have to weigh up treating the disease against side effects and which is better to cope with, obviously whilst finding something where the side effects are not serious and reasonable. Lesser of two evils.
Posted 2/6/2015 1:30 PM (GMT -8)
Hey

Every effective medicin has some more or less serious sideeffectrisks.
I got pancreassideeffects not nice but it went away as soon as I atoped taking it.
No I am on adacolumn apheres and it works!
I know that it isn't awailable everywere but I hope it will be because its a good altrrnativ and as with every other treatment some is helped by it some not.

Hope you find the treatment working for you.
Posted 2/6/2015 5:44 PM (GMT -8)
How do you know if you have pancreatitis? My daughter has been on aza for a while and has been complaining of abdominal pain. Now I do not know if it is from Aza or from crohns her abdominal pain.
Posted 2/7/2015 11:57 AM (GMT -8)
Its a diffrent kind of pain. For me it fellt like I had a cramp but a cramo that explodes not draws together. And I felt it ease if I standed on my knees and tried to womit. It was centered around or slightly benite the liver.
Posted 2/7/2015 2:13 PM (GMT -8)
It's a very severe pain, you KNOW when you have it. It's upper abdominal pain, right in the middle. Constant, never lets up. I also had severe vomiting with it. Very easy blood test to see if it's effecting her pancreas. It also caused inflammation of my liver. So you have to stay up on that blood work.
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