Debating switching 6-MP to Humira??

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texasagg02

texasagg02

Joined
Sep 24, 2013
Messages
37
History: I was diagnosed a year ago (almost to the day!). I tried Pentasa which worked great until August when I flared, so they added entocort. They tried to wean me off that in January and 3 weeks later I flared. Went back on full dose. They thought my flare in Jan might have just been a bug since one was going around my house. Tried to wean again very slowly this time and I still flared 3 weeks after the wean. That is when I went back to the full dose and added 6-mp, (still on entocort and pentasa).

Tried 6-mp and got really sick after 5 pills. Took a break and started again like my dr wanted me too. I am now 10 pills in and still feel bad. It is not horrible but I have ZERO appetite, just feel yuck and run down, get tired really easily and have to sit down. This is really getting old, I have a 7 and 5 year old that I can not parent the way I want because of how I am feeling.

So…. big question do I stick with 6-mp and deal with not feeling good or do I switch to Humira???? What would you do????

Thank you for any opinions!!!!!!
 
I had a similar situation as yours. I was on pentasa for awhile and then it stopped working. I then went on Imuran and it put me in remission for almost 10 years, then I stopped it when I was pregnant with my son, after I gave birth I went back on it but it didn't work. At that point I started humira and have been in remission for 3 years.
Is Imuran a option for u? Or just humira?
I know how u feel, it's tough to be sick when u have young children. When my son was 14 months I was hospitalized for a few days and it was horrible.

Let me know if Imuran is an option, if humira is your only option, I will tell you what made make the decision.
 
I was originally on Pentasa and would occasionally be put on prednisone during flares. Except, like you, the moment I would wean off of prednisone I would get sick again. That just shows that your current medication isn't strong enough.

I would definitely recommend going on a biologic, either Remicade or Humira. They often will have you on those while also taking 6mp/Imuran.
 
Imuran put me in remission for close to 10 years. Goes to show us everyone with the same disease is different. So crazy.
 
Hi texasagg02. I'm a Texas gal too. I am new, but I was started on sulfasalazine or Imuran along with Prednisone for a month, with no results, in fact I got sicker. Then they started me on 6MP. After 3 days, my heartrate dropped to 42, my left arm hurt, and being an old RN, I was worried. But I was still walking and talking, and I reviewed CPR with my hubby, lol, so I quit taking it for a week, until I got back into my doctor, and he insisted that what had happened was NOT a side effect. So I went back on it, and went to a cardiologist, who said I had a 10% pericardial effusion! which can be from chemo! OR auto-immune disease itself. I stayed on it, and I now have diarrhea tween 2-6 x's a day, instead of 20. So that's good. But I also feel like I have the flu most days, have started Zoloft, d/t unrelenting anxiety, and have had a few days of flares, including today. I, TOO have been thinking about what is Crohn's and what is chemo? I am also wondering what, if anything new I should do. Every new thing brings weird new stuff. I "think" I'm feeling better than I was, but I sure don't feel good. I will be interested to hear what you decide and if you feel better, and of course, I'm wishing that for YOU! I'm a grandma, and I admire all of you coping with this Crohn's AND being moms too! You are tough chicks! My best to all. Allison
 
Thank you Allison! I appreciate your kind words. I always tell myself that I take things one day at a time, I have a 4 year old son with life threatening food allergies, full time job, and Crohn's disease. One day at a time is what I can manage right now.
 
theOcean said:
I was originally on Pentasa and would occasionally be put on prednisone during flares. Except, like you, the moment I would wean off of prednisone I would get sick again. That just shows that your current medication isn't strong enough.

I would definitely recommend going on a biologic, either Remicade or Humira. They often will have you on those while also taking 6mp/Imuran.
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Do you feel a lot better on the biologics, theOcean? I have been reading case studies, and it seems they think that the biologics have increased remission results. What was your experience?
 
Allison M said:
Do you feel a lot better on the biologics, theOcean? I have been reading case studies, and it seems they think that the biologics have increased remission results. What was your experience?
Click to expand...

I definitely did! Remicade I could really feel the moment it entered my system -- even with high antibodies, when I was at my worst last summer, it actually really helped me get well enough to get out of the hospital and worked well for my fistula. I later stopped it because my allergic reactions became too much and switched to Humira, which I have no antibodies to, thankfully. :) I was already in remission by the time I started on Humira, so I can't make the same comparison -- but it does wonders for my fistula and I haven't had any Crohn's problems since starting it!

I've actually dropped Imuran because of some odd side-effects (constipation, which my GI didn't even believe because he found it so unusual), but have been on Humira on its own for about a month and still feel really good. I've been on it since last November. I don't seem to get sick since going on biologics, either.

So, while I know they can sometimes scare people, I think they're well worth the risk. My Crohn's is very severe but now I can't even imagine getting back into a flare. (Especially with how attentive my new GI is.)
 
theOcean said:
I definitely did! Remicade I could really feel the moment it entered my system -- even with high antibodies, when I was at my worst last summer, it actually really helped me get well enough to get out of the hospital and worked well for my fistula. I later stopped it because my allergic reactions became too much and switched to Humira, which I have no antibodies to, thankfully. :) I was already in remission by the time I started on Humira, so I can't make the same comparison -- but it does wonders for my fistula and I haven't had any Crohn's problems since starting it!

I've actually dropped Imuran because of some odd side-effects (constipation, which my GI didn't even believe because he found it so unusual), but have been on Humira on its own for about a month and still feel really good. I've been on it since last November. I don't seem to get sick since going on biologics, either.

So, while I know they can sometimes scare people, I think they're well worth the risk. My Crohn's is very severe but now I can't even imagine getting back into a flare. (Especially with how attentive my new GI is.)
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Oh God, thanks! I'm going to ask. I may have to go to new GI. I'm still with my colo-rectal surgeon, and he is following a conservative approach, from what I've read. But I'm still so sick! I didn't get told til December, but I've been sick 4 years now. It's so crazy I never thought of it myself, because I was a nurse, but I delivered babies. I'm ready to feel better! Thanks for answering!
 
Allison M said:
Oh God, thanks! I'm going to ask. I may have to go to new GI. I'm still with my colo-rectal surgeon, and he is following a conservative approach, from what I've read. But I'm still so sick! I didn't get told til December, but I've been sick 4 years now. It's so crazy I never thought of it myself, because I was a nurse, but I delivered babies. I'm ready to feel better! Thanks for answering!
Click to expand...

Yeah, if you feel like your GI is being too laid-back, either express that or find another doctor. I know my last one was far too passive, which was how I got so sick for so long in the first place!

If you have any more questions or concerns about biologics, you can always feel free to PM me about them, too! Good luck. :hug:
 
Thank you for all the replies! I am adjusting to the 6-mp and am tying to tuff it out and not have to switch. I am doing much better. Yesterday was great I actually felt normal ALL day!!! My husband asked me how the meds made me feel and I sat and thought about how to express it then it came to me… morning sickness!! It makes me feel like I have all day sickness. It does take my body some getting used to meds since I generally do not take anything. I have turned a corner and hope that this is strong enough for me so that I can get off the steroid. Tomorrow is my 1 year anniversary of getting diagnosed what a year! 2 hospital trips and I hope to have none in year 2!
 
Imuran and 6-mp are essentially the same thing. Imuran/azathioprine break down into 6-mp in the body so switching between the two will not really make much of a difference, probably.
 
texasagg02 said:
Thank you for all the replies! I am adjusting to the 6-mp and am tying to tuff it out and not have to switch. I am doing much better. Yesterday was great I actually felt normal ALL day!!! My husband asked me how the meds made me feel and I sat and thought about how to express it then it came to me… morning sickness!! It makes me feel like I have all day sickness. It does take my body some getting used to meds since I generally do not take anything. I have turned a corner and hope that this is strong enough for me so that I can get off the steroid. Tomorrow is my 1 year anniversary of getting diagnosed what a year! 2 hospital trips and I hope to have none in year 2!
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I remember from when I was on Mercapterpurine in jr. High that the mornings were the worst. I'd wake up and have morning sickness and also sensitivity to smell. But that and sulphasalzine got me into remission and I was off meds for 6 years. But then last year I flared. Then I finally got it under control with pentasa and prednisone and them I flared when I was being weened off of pred. I was started on imuran after my pred was jacked back up and I started to improve slowly. Then one day I got really sick again. By day two I was on so much pain I was in tears and I had to have my gf drive me to the hospital. The imuran tanked my immune system and I contracted a stool infection called c-diff which gave me all of my crohn's symptoms back. Now I'm off of imuran and after my colonoscopy I had Tuesday I found that I had several inflammatory polups as well as my inflamation that I had a year ago. I hope to get the results from the biopsies today. And I have an appointment next week and hopefully I'll be able to start humira. If the humira doesn't work...then I'll have to have a slight bowl resection but as long as damage doesn't get worse I shouldn't have to have a colonostomy.

But from what the ocean has said on several threads that humira seems to work really well. I'm hoping it works just as well for me.
 
theOcean said:
Well, we do have a fair amount of medication overlap! And I think we both end up spending a lot of time forum-browsing on Tapatalk.
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Sadly it is both because our sleep schedules have become so messed up and in know for me everyone I know is asleep at this time of night. Lol.
 
LCATC945 said:
Sadly it is both because our sleep schedules have become so messed up and in know for me everyone I know is asleep at this time of night. Lol.
Click to expand...

Yuuup, that's pretty accurate. I even went to a sleep study the other night because my sleep's gotten that bad.

Also, OT: I added you as a friend awhile back, but I'm assuming the reason you haven't added me back is because it's not available from Tapatalk. :p
 
theOcean said:
Yuuup, that's pretty accurate. I even went to a sleep study the other night because my sleep's gotten that bad.



Also, OT: I added you as a friend awhile back, but I'm assuming the reason you haven't added me back is because it's not available from Tapatalk. :p
Click to expand...


I'm confused on the second part of that reply
 
Saw doc today. Polyps they removed during the colonoscopy were benign. I have to set up a CT scan and I have to get a bloodtest today. I have to get the bloodtest done before I can start humira. But I will be starting it. And there's a boat load of info on it. I'm not looking forward to it. But I'm just glad I'm finally able to get the ball rolling. The ct scan will have to be scheduled but I don't necessarily have to have it done before I start humira. Dr. Wants me to drop down to 30mg of prednisone after I get my started dose of humira. All the polyps were benign but all my issues are in the small bowel. My colon was fine.
 

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