Hello all, I am new to this forum. My 6 year old son was diagnosed with mild UC about 6 months ago. His symptoms began after 5 days on an antibiotic which he was taking for strep throat. We first thought it was a reaction to the antibiotic. However, after multiple stool samples, blood tests (he has marker for UC) and a colonoscopy, we were told it was not related to the antibiotic. He was put on Pentasa which after a few weeks seemed to work, but after about a month the UC symptoms reappeared. We tried a couple of suppositories (can’t remember the drug names) none of which worked. He was then put on prednisone and taken off of the Pentasa. His UC symptoms went away pretty quickly, although at the expense of the prednisone side effects.
As the dosage of prednisone was being reduced we started Pentasa again, this resulted in another flare up. The Pentasa was then stopped and the flare up ended pretty quickly, all the while still on the prednisone. The doctor determined that he should not take Pentasa or any other drug in that category due to his reaction to the drug.
The doctor recently prescribed Imuran. After reading a little about this medication my wife and I are really very concerned, especially given our son’s age. This seems like such a strong medication to give to a 6 year old as a maintenance drug which could last indefinitely. Any opinions would be greatly appreciated.