6mp: a.m. vs p.m. and fatigue

[InkyStinky]

Hi everyone – I know I was reading a thread a while back about taking 6mp in the morning vs. at night, but now I can’t find it! Anyway, I saw my GI 3wks ago, and asked if I could switch from taking my 6mp in the morning to at night because I was so fatigued. He said he didn’t see why the time of day would make any difference, but I could try taking it at night to see if it helped. So I switched to taking it at night, and the fatigue got worse. A lot worse. The next day I could barely get out of bed. It takes all my energy to drag myself out of bed in the morning, and I can barely function during the day.

If anyone switched from taking their 6mp in the morning to at night, did the fatigue get worse before it got better – if it got better? This is the worst my fatigue has been in a while, and I’m really sick of doing everything I can think of (exercise, stretching, sleep-aid, drinking lots of water, staying at a healthy body weight, getting fresh air and sunshine, etc etc etc…) and I still can’t even function.

 

[dreamintwilight]

Sorry you're experiencing this, Sabrina. I have no help to offer as I am on Imuran, as you know. I hope someone has answers for you though!

I have a related question...when did you start feeling fatigued from 6mp? From the beginning or did it take a while? I have yet to experience any fatigue yet. *Fingers crossed*

 

[uab grad student]

Hey Sabrina...

Unfortunately I don't have any advice on getting around the fatigue problem. I am also on 6-MP and after the first week I just felt so exhausted--I'm also flaring so some of it might be the Crohn's and not the meds. I also take it at night, but I was told as long as I take it the same time every day it didn't make a difference.

Have you had your iron and hematocrit levels checked? I tend to be anemic already but I've heard 6-MP can make it worse. I'm taking iron and B12, which helps a little...

 

[kenny]

I have fought a bit with this while taking the prodrug Imuran which produces 6 MP in my system.

I would get busy and miss a dose or take it the next morning instead of at night and it was making me very weary and lethargic. As soon as I got back on my regular schedule of taking it with my dinner I got my energy back. Some people say take it at night to help with any Nausea but I found that after a few weeks all the initial side effects went away. Although I can still get feeling lethargic if I mess with the schedule.

 

[InkyStinky]

Thanks you guys.

Marisa - the fatigue started in Nov, 2mths after starting the 6mp - I was taking it in the morning. Before I switched to taking it at night I'd have good days and bad days - now for the past 3wks (since the day after I switched to taking it at night) the fatigue is so much worse. I'm seeing my gp today (because he's in town and I can get in to see him) because I'm kind of getting to the desperate stage. I slept nearly 12hrs last night and I'm still a total zombie!

Ashlee - yeah, my GI said that the time of day shouldn't matter so long as I'm consistent so maybe I'm just weird! I had a cbc done about 3wks ago and I'm not anemic. I've been taking a multi-vit with iron and a b-complex regularly for nearly six mths - argh!!!!

Kenny - after that first day of switching from a.m. to p.m. I've been careful not to miss any doses - I have this huge pill-sorter (4 slots for each day - said but true that I use them all!) that sits on my table so I don't forget about it. I'm really trying to stick with taking it at night to see if it helps the fatigue, but I'm starting to think that if it was going to help it should have done so already; it has been 3wks!

If my gp has anything helpful to say about all this I'll post it later.

 

[dreamintwilight]

I hope it works out for you Sabrina! Being a zombie is no fun

 

[InkyStinky]

Thanks Marisa!

Ok, so my gp thinks I should talk to my GI about switching from 6mp to something else - my gp thinks it's just the med causing the fatigue and not the time of day I take it at. I wanted to try something like an anti-depressant stimulant, but my gp said I can't because it increases my risk of internal bleeding and I'm already on a super-high dose of Warfarin (anti-coagulant because of blood clots). Argh.

So now do I try to get my GI to switch me from 6mp to something else and risk a flare-up or stick with it and see if the fatigue magically gets better???? If the 6mp didn't work so well for my innards I'd try something else in a heartbeat. Argh. That's my word for everything at the moment: argh!!!!

 

[dreamintwilight]

If I were you I'd stick it out with the 6mp for a couple more weeks if I could. But sounds like you've been dealing with it for a while, so not sure if you want to stick it out. It's a tough call to make, for sure!

 

[Silvermoon]

6mp is one of the very few meds I haven't been on, so I am not sure about side effects, but on the note of fatigue...:

I notice that I get REALLY tired and headachy if I don't drink enough water. A lot of us (LOL MOST of us I think) suffer from diarrhea, and have a tendancy to run a bit on the "dehydrated" side of life. It may not help at ALL, but maybe increase your water intake (or any non-sugar, non-caffienated, non-sodium beverage for that matter) and see if that helps? Just an idea... :redface:

 

[InkyStinky]

Thanks Silver - I though I drank a lot of water, but I started actually keeping track of it today and I don't drink as much as I thought I did (only about 4 cups so far today) so I'll chug some more

 

[katiesue1506]

Ok. I used to take my Imuran EVERY morning before 9 am with toast, but my last semester in college screwed with my ability to take the pills in a timely manner and if I forgot them before I left for the day, I couldn't take them because it was too late. I was consistently forgetting them so I switched to the nighttime. I've not noticed any difference in fatigue and I'm on 200mg (been on them since July 2009).

Hope I've helped!

 

[InkyStinky]

Thanks katiesue - that does help. I'm wondering if the increase in fatigue/switching to night is just a really bad coincidence....