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How often should we be having lab work done when taking Imuran? I began taking it in April and doc added Humira in May. He has yet to order labs to check levels. Is this ok?
Been a long time since I was on it, but what Catherine said rings a bell! I think I did weekly for a while, then biweekly and then month, finally moving to every three months. You should definitely be having regular blood work. All your doctor!
The regimen Catherine has quoted for routine bloods is pretty stock standard for the commencement of Imuran. It will eventually lengthen to 3 monthly and I would not leave the interval any longer than this. Thiopurine metabolites is more discretionary and in our case with stable results the GI would normally order 6-12 monthly.
I see you also asked about Humira. In your case the fact that you have just commenced Imuran would override the normal monitoring regimen of Humira as Imuran has more rigorous requirements. Just as a comparison though, my son has been on Imuran for a few years and commenced Humira 3 weeks ago so in his case the Humira regimen is what we are following. He has just completed his loading doses and is due to have bloods this week, so 3 weeks in. He is then set down to have bloods again in 6 weeks time. Assuming all goes well he will then return to his 3 monthly cycle.
So I finally spoke with the nurses and they said the doc has been just using my labs from an Iron Infusion study I've been participating in (weekly labs) instead of making me have more blood drawn and me having to pay additional co-pays. Whew! Doc said my levels are great!