Humira and 6mp

[Tony H]

Hi got a call from my IBD nurse to tell me that in addition to Humira I'm going on 6mp , she said I had some antibodies in my last blood test and the 6mp would help with this and my joint pain and make the Humira work better ,

I got the script and told my gp and was told by my gp that I cant take 6mp and sulfasalazine at the same time , so I haven't started taking the 6mp yet as the IBD nurse cant be contacted at the moment to confirm this ,

I would love to hear of anybody's experience if they have been taking both drugs (humira and 6mp) at the same time .

Thanks .

 

[Johnnysmom]

I think the usual protocol is Humira and Methotrexate. My son is on 6mp and is being moved to Humira and his GI mentioned he might do a low dose Methotrexate as well. The 6mp carries a higher lymphoma risk than methotrexate and they both work pretty well so usually Methotrexate is chosen. There of course could be situations where benefits out weigh risks and the dr decides on 6mp. I only mention it because my son is treated at one of the best Childrens hospitals in the world and is seen by the head of the department and he recently told us he wanted my son off 6mp because the risk is less than with methotrexate.

 

[Tony H]

Thanks Johnnysmom , I have tried the methotrexate already and could not tolerate it , took my first dose of 6mp last night and so far so good , i took 4mg on zofran at the same time and had slight nausea this morning but nothing I could not put up with , Ill give the 6mp 4 months (depending on bloods every 2 weeks ) , hopefully it will help with my joint pain .

 

[Tony H]

Had to come off the 6mp , had a very bad effect on my bm's ,went from twice a day to over 20 times after only 3 doses , just getting back to "normal " now .

 

[Teacrumb]

I have taken 6mp for about two years now, and I started humira a few months ago. As far as 6mp goes, a couple things:

(1) Starting 6mp sucks. I suffered from really severe side effects the first three weeks everytime I started it - extreme nausea, vomiting, feeling like death generally. The side effects generally went away after the first few weeks and I was able to function normally again.

(2) Keep up with your blood tests. After about a year of 6mp, I started feeling sick. I had been behind on my blood tests. I finally got one done, and we found out the 6mp had started affecting my liver. My doctor took me off 6mp and later halved my dose, and I have been back on it and doing fine since.

6mp can take several months or more to start working. The change will be very gradual - not sudden. So consistency is important.

Overall, I like 6mp. I wish I had been more consistent with my blood tests because I could avoided a lot of the bad experiences I had with it. I'm still on it and doing well.

I haven't noticed any complications taking it in combination with humira. Humira has not had nearly as many side effects.