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Azathioprine and constipation anyone???

Hi All, I am new to this forum and am in real need of advice at the moment. I was diagnosd with UC 15 years ago shortly after the birth of my first child. At the time I was very unwell but meds got it under control fairly quickly and I was in remission for a few years. I kept the UC at bay with Asacol suppositories. Although I had a few flare ups over the years the worst have been since being pregnant with my son in 2009, I have been on Mesalasine for the last few years along with the Asacol and it had kept it at bay, however since September 2012 I have been in my worst flare yet and even the Prednisolone cant get it under control. I am currently on 30mg Prednisolone, 100mg Azathioprine, 4800mg Mezavant and 2 Asacol a day with no releif. To top all this off I am now constipated, I am putting this down to the Azathioprine as I only started it a week ago. Has anyone else experienced constipation with AZA?????? and if so what did you do to go? usually I complain that I go too much and this is completely new and not pleasant. While i'm here I'd also like to know how those of you on Azathioprine felt in the first weeks as I am extremley tired and emotional (not sure if this is down to the Pred) Any advice is welcome. Thanks for reading. :ysmile:
 

Angrybird

Moderator
Location
Hertfordshire
Hello and welcome to the forum.

Both times I was on the Aza I did not have any problems with constipation, we have a sub forum for this med that is worth checking out to see if others on this have had this problem: http://www.crohnsforum.com/forumdisplay.php?f=64. This can take up to 12 weeks to kick in so would not yet have had time to start working on the tum, when did you last see your doc? Are you able to get in contact with them to let them know you are still having problems with the tum? I would also say they need to check your vitamin levels to help confirm whether a deficiency in this area is causing your fatigue and feeling emotional or if it is the meds. Also what type of diet are you following at the moment?

Wishing you all the best and please keep us updated on how you are getting on.

AB
xx
 
Hi AngryBird,

Thanks for coming back to me, at the moment I am following a low residue diet as advised by my consultant but to be honest I am struggling just to eat a small amount to enable me to take my meds.... I just have NO appetite, people at work say it would be lovely not to have an appetite, ha if only they knew how I felt! I am due to see my consultant on 18 March so just over 3 weeks time and it was only 3 weeks ago that I saw him. I have blood tests due on Monday which will be the first of my weekly ones due to the Aza so maybe they will test for defficiency also??????

I must say we have a dedicated IBD nurse ay my hospital and she has been a god send.

Hoping that the AZa works for me and I dont get any of the nasty side effects but I guess only time will tell! You say you was on Aza two times, is this because it didnt work for you or because you went into remission and then flared again?
Thanks
Loulou B:ybiggrin:
 

Angrybird

Moderator
Location
Hertfordshire
Vitamin levels are not usually part of the bloods they do for monitoring but your nurse should be able to add this request for you, you can also keep them updated on how you are doing. Both times I was on the Aza it did a fab job at settling my tum, unfortunately it was down to it causing issues elsewhere that it had to be stopped. I am now on it's 'sister' drug and am doing very well. I know what you mean about appetite, in the few months leading up to my op I lost a little over 20kg due to not being able to eat and the big D, I joke with my friends that crohn's can be the best diet around, you lose weight without even trying!
 
hiya loulou,

i am on aza and have been since september 2012, ive never ad problems with constipation while on it but i have no appetite and constantly feel tired, i was on iron tablets which helped loads and thats when i was constipated so i had to take movicol, now my gp has taken me off the iron tablets and im back to being tired all the time again so waiting for my crohns nurse to phone me to tell me what i need to do, other than no appetite and tiredness i have been fine while taking aza xx
 
Hi Nicola,

Its good to know that I'm not the only one suffering with extreme tiredness although in the same breath i'm sorry that you feel it as it is very tiresome (ha ha) :ysmile: Why did they take you off the iron tablets if they were helping? seems a shame when you were doing so well.

I think if having no appetite and feeling tired are the worse symptoms I get I will be happy (providing of course that they do the job they're suppose to do) fingers crossed that nothing else starts as I have been told that some side effects dont come on until two - three weeks in????

Thanks for your input :ybiggrin:
 
hi loulou,

i havent a clue why my gp has taken me off them this is why im waiting for the nurse to phone me back, like u im on 100mg of aza but i should be on 150mg but my body couldnt cope with that amount of aza as i was constantly itching and came out in a rash on my right side to which they thought it was effecting my liver but a blood test was done and it wasnt effecting my liver, so they have kept me on 100mg. i have to take calcium chewable tablets too as my calcuim levels are low im not sure whether this is due to aza or not, id ask ur doctor about movicol for the constipation as it did help me when i was constipated xx
 
Hi I am also on Aza , yes they do make you feel tired for a bit till you get used to them, thankfully it didn't last long for me. It can be worth playing with the times you take them to see if that helps.

It is quite possible that it is the low residue diet which is causing constipation as it is designed to reduce the amount of work your digestive system does.

I also try to eat low res but will add in a bit of dried fruit or something if I find myself a bit bunged up (apricots work everytime - but I avoid figs and prunes at all cost !)

Make sure you drink plenty of water as that can help keep things moving too.
 
Nicola, will deffo ask Dr about Movicol as Lactolose is doing nothing for me... I was advised to take Lactolose as I have UC in the lower part so am likely to get constipated but Lactolose has stopped working. Anyway I will ask the Dr and see what they say. I am currently on 100mg Aza but consultant wants me on 125mg so will be upping in a couple of weeks depending on blood results.

Hope the nurse comes back to you soon re the Movicol xx
 
Hi Beach Bum, Yes I think it is down to the diet and the fact that I am not really eating, I am however terribly thirsty so have upped my water intake anyway and am constantly in the toilet (number 1 not 2 ha ha )

Think I might give the dried fruit a whirl as I am missing it and hopefully it will get things moving. xx
 
Hi there

I got constipated with 6mp after a while. I know I have stricture issues that can cause constipation and bloating, but it was all definately worse with the drug. Low res makes less poo, so less to go through (hey that rhymes!), so that could be part of the issue. It's down to how you feel with it, if I was really uncomfortable I would take a gentle laxative, but not so much as to upset the balance and drink loads of water. Also I found that coffee could either make me go one way or the other, which was a pain and unpredictable! I think it can make you pee more so you get a bit dehydrated, or aggravate your bowels.

Hope you feel better soon xxxx:hug:
 
Hi AngelZig, Usually my morning cuppa gets me started and then I dont stop all day but for the last week that has all changed. The only thing I am doing differently is taking the azathioprine and eating less, even though I am not going to the toilet I am still managing to pass a lot of blood and mucus :ack: but I guess that is all part of havinig UC and you'd think I would be used to it after 15 years.

Thanks for the input, at least its Friday so I have the weekend to try and relax :ybiggrin: xx
 
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