Hair loss and kidney stones on Mercaptopurine

[farfalle5]

Hello to all,
My daughter started Mercaptopurine yesterday and listed side effects for it was hair loss and kidney stones if you do not drink enough water. Has anyone had these problems before. To add to this thread her dr really wanted to do the Humira instead but my husband and I felt more comfortable with the 6MP because it has been around longer. What are your thoughts? Thank you as always for your input!

 

[crohnsinct]

Sorry my daughter has never tried that drug.

IMO all these drugs stink. There really isn't one I would raise my hand and jump up and down and say "ooh, ooh give me that one...I want that one". If you are comfortable with the risk profile of a drug then I would say go for it. Make sure she is watched carefully so you can quickly access whether or not it is working because you do not want to leave her with simmering inflammation.

The one thing I would say about the biologics is that once you try them you can't willy nilly go off and on otherwise you risk allergic reactions due to antibody buildup. So if you are going to try a biologic then make sure you are ready to really commit. With the other drugs you can abandon them for a time and come back or combine them with the biologic etc.

My daughter is on Remicade and it has been working very well. We added low dose of Methotrexate 8 months ago and she is still doing very well.

Good luck with the mp! My friend has been on it for 20 years and is doing very well.

 

[dodie74]

My son has been on 6mp for 3 years and no hairloss, hes been doing well on it up until now and we may need to move to methotrexate shots. best of luck with the 6mp though. xx

 

[Mehita]

My son was on Azathioprine, the sister drug to 6MP, and he did have a little bit of hair loss. I only really noticed because when I would clean the bathroom there was more hair than usual on and around the counter. In looking at him, you'd never notice anything different.

He is horrible at staying hydrated, but still never had any issues with kidney stones.

6MP can work very well for some. Keep in mind that it can take 3-6 months to be therapeutic though so be sure you give it a fair chance. Personally, I think it's a good move to give it a try first and save the biologics. These kids have their whole lives ahead of them still with limited medications available. Unfortunately for us, Azathioprine wasn't strong enough and we had to move to Remicade last month.

Also, some insurance companies require you to step up with meds in order to have coverage. You can always appeal this, but it is a factor for some people.

Good luck with 6MP. Our GI has several patients who've been on it successfully for 10+ years.

 

[my little penguin]

DS was on 6-mp for 8 months - no kidney stones or hair loss.
IT was not strong enough of a med for him.
He is on humira now without any real issues.

 

[Jenn]

My son has been on 6mp twice, for about a year each time. The first time, he had some hair loss, not terribly noticable, but was a lot thinner. It wasn't controlling his disease either. I didn't notice any hair loss the 2nd time, in combo with Humira. No trouble with kidney stones either time.

 

[Sascot]

My son is on Mercaptopurine and so far has no side effects. Good luck, hope it works well.

 

[farfalle5]

Thank you to all the responses and I wish all your children good health!