6 mp is chemo?

[chanel_loraine]

So far in my treatment of crohn's (3 months) I have had two hospital stints, prednisone, pentasa (for a month), 3 remicade infusions, explosive diarrhea, low grade fevers, fatigue, bad days and those awesome good days though few and far between. I am now embarking on a new journey in taking 6 mp. I am ready to take this on- anything to feel better at this point. But in doing my research, I have been a little concerned in knowing that this is a chemotherapy drug. Maybe seeing that word overwhelms me esp
With dealing with everything else that's going on. Can anyone share their experiences with 6 mp with me please? Side effects, how long it took to get into remission, initial thoughts about the drug, etc. Was anyone here as nervous as i am about it being a chemo drug? Any sharing would be greatly appreciated. I'm just gonna take this one day at a time =)

 

[tiloah]

It's a chemotherapy drug but keep in mind when you take it AS chemo, it is a much, much stronger dose than therapeutically for IBD.

 

[AndiGirl]

That's good to know. I was a little freaked out after reading this. I've heard so many horror stories about chemo.

 

[deedee]

What diesanduhr said. The doses used for IBD are low. But it does work by reducing cell proliferation, which is what you want when you give someone chemo. That's why it can cause low blood cell counts.

In terms of personal experience - I've been on 6MP (and Remicade) since my diagnosis 11 months ago. I started on 100mg 6MP and had elevated liver enzymes, which is a relatively common side effect). They decreased my dose and my labs went back to normal. I also had a TON of nausea the first week or so, when I was taking 100mg once a day. I talked to my dr, and she recommended splitting the dose up and taking 50mg twice a day, and boom, the nausea went away. So if you do have side effects, talk to your doctor! The nausea has not been an issue since then, and I have no side effects.

Good luck!

 

[chanel_loraine]

Thank you so much deedee for sharing your experience with 6 mp. I haven't had any issues with nausea so far but I did heed my docs advice of taking it at night so that I could sleep through any side effects if there are any. Again, thank you for your sharing. It makes me feel not so alone in this =)

 

[Lydia's Dad]

6-mp

My daughter is just 12 and was diagnosed with severe Crohn's in 2009. She has had perianal fistulas and now has a stoma. Lydia has been on Infliximab and Aza for the last year and every 4 weeks she has severe vomiting - when she is of the Aza it stops. Her GI has decided to put her on 6-MP. Does anyone have any advice for a family close to breaking point in seeing their little girl in so much pain?

 

[Jennifer]

@ Lydia's Dad- I started taking 6MP when I was 12 and I'm still taking it now (I'm 29 and have been in remission for 12 years now). I've never had any difficulty with it. You have blood work done regularly (mine is done once a month) to make sure that its not affecting any organs negatively. All medication is through trial and error unfortunately so for some people it works great and for others it doesn't. If 6MP doesn't work then there are other medications/combinations to try.

 

[beth]

Lydia's Dad: 6mp is mercaptopurine, which is the active metabolite of azathioprine. Occasionally 6mp is tolerated better than aza, but it wasn't with me as I had spectacular vomiting.

Welcome to the forum, please put your daughter's story in a new thread in the "Your Story" forum where it will be picked up by more people.

 

[Shirleyb]

Hi Lydia's dad, I was on Aza for 1 month and spent most of that time vomiting. Was then changed onto 6MP starting at 25mg now on 50. Upped once to 75 when having bad flare up but felt very sick again so back down to 50. Still not feeling good so not sure if it is working but see consultant later this month. I really feel for your daughter, it is a lot to deal with at such a young age. Shirleyb

 

[Lydia's Dad]

Thanks to you all for your comments - my wife and I have felt very much isolated in all this - just hearing that others are going through the same really helps.

 

[Joleen23]

I've just started 6mp 2 days ago and have been reading up on it too, was a little freaked out bout the whole chemo drug thing too , so feeling much better after reading the above comments

 

[silvermander]

I will admit I was a bit freaked out when I was first put on 6MP. My hair did thin some, but that was more with Imuran. I had some vomiting, but little. More nausea and not wanting to eat. Coming off Prednisone and being in high school, I thought this was great! I got down to a decent weight by graduation because of it.

I used to joke that 6MP was the best diet I ever went on.

Eventually it got ahead of me and I had to come off due to having virtually no marrow left in my bones. Let's just say I was seeing a very bad doc and changed. When I change I found out I was supposed to be having regular blood work. The new doc put me in the hospital for a week to build me back up.

I won't say 6MP (or Imuran) ever put me into remission, but helped keep me in remission after surgery.

 

[sunflower]

Technically speaking, all medicines are a form of chemotherapy, even aspirin. It is a chemical used as a therapy to treat a condition. If you think of it that way, it isn't so scary.

 

[spcwife23]

im on it now at 75mg.. the doctor put me at 100 but soon as i went on the 100 that was it had to go back to 75mg.. i take it at night so i can sleep through the nausea.. when i first heard about this drug i freaked out and wasnt going to take it but to be honest for the occasional pain here and there i have been feeling really well.. im scared to up the dosage for the whole thing about the falling out of my hair and the side effects i seen others have.. but i think since im doing well on the 75 im staying there..

 

[slevan]

I had great fear in taking it as well. I started in July 3 and just stopped it on Tuesday. It caused me to have pancreatitis, which my dr warned me would be the most common thing to happen. I am recovering very well from pancreatitis but am now very worried as there are few drugs I have left as an option. Everything else, except prednisone, has failed. Good luck to you....don't be scared--though I know its easier said than done!

 

[chanel_loraine]

I started 6 mp on July 1 and stopped this past Tuesday after a long bout of nausea and vomiting. My Dr wanted me to get some type of relief, and to eat something and zofran wasn't helping so he stopped the med for now. Slevan, I sincerely hope you get better! Pancreatitis seems like such a scary thing and i'm sorry you had to go through yet another trial! What was your dosage?

 

[25times]

I haven't been on 6mp yet, but I am on aza, which is somewhat like 6mp from what I've been told. I consider myself very, very lucky not to have had alot of side effects from the aza. No nausea (although I take zofran with it) no vomiting, nothing. When I was first put on it, I was taken off about a week later because my GI thought I was having an allergic reaction to it. I had alot of chest congestion in the mornings and more stomach pain. Turns out, it was just c-diff and probably the cigarettes. I've been back on it for about a month now, and I can't say whether or not it's working, but I don't think it's doing any damage either. I get the blood tests every week, and nothing bad so far.

@Lydia's dad: I'm so sorry you have to watch your little girl in this much pain. I've had crohns since I was 6, undiagnosed. I suffered through alot of it silently, because I didn't want to worry my parents and any time I did complain about my symptoms, they were misdiagnosed. My parents (mom especially) feel very guilty now that they didn't deal with it better and that I went so long undiagnosed. I definitely wouldn't be as sick as I am now if I had been diagnosed and treated earlier. You should feel good that she has a diagnosis and is being taken care of, as opposed to havign no answers and no relief. I can't imagine what you're going through. I know what it's like to be sick, but not really what it's like to watch someone you love being sick. I think it would be harder. I know what I can handle, and I consider myself very strong. But if I had a loved one going through what I'm going through, I would probably feel just as isolated, scared and worried as you. I don't have any advice to give you, but I'm glad Lydia has such a caring dad who loves her. That's the best thing you can do for her.

 

[LindaS]

I was on 6mp and it worked great. Unfortunately, I had problems with my liver while I was on it, so I had to go off of it (and my liver problems went away pretty quickly). That is why you have to have your blood work while you are on it. Other than the liver issues, I had no day to day side effects from it.

 

[ThanksP]

I've been on 100mg since Feb with no problems until recently. Just got back some labs and my white blood cells and neutrophils are way too low. So I have to cut the 6mp back to 50mg. But until then, I hadnt had any side effects from the drug.