Humira or Imuran?

[amymarie]

So apparently I have steroid dependent Crohn's disease and have been told I need to start either Imuran or Humira. I'm pretty anxious about doing either. I'm 37 and have a 5 year old and a 7 year old and honestly the side effects scare me. Does anyone have any advice for me? Is one less dangerous than the other? Is there any chance I could handle my Crohn's by just doing the SCD diet, taking turmeric, and CBD oil? And staying on the Pentasa I'm already on while stopping the prednisone? Thanks for any advice!

 

[CallieS]

I posted the information below in another thread, so it may seem familiar to some:

If you haven't already been tested for TPMT, I would recommend it. My doctor was thinking about putting me on Imuran, but had me get blood work done to test for TPMT first. My results came back indicating that I wouldn't be able to process this medicine properly, so he recommended a biologic instead. Here are some links describing this:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17654066
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19129430

This article is much longer and more detailed:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK100661/

 

[shamrock15]

If you are given the choice between the two and have good insurance, I would go for humira. I actually take remicade and imuran at the same time as remicade alone didn't quite do it for me. Right now, you couldn't pay me to stop remicade.

 

[ronroush7]

I agree with the above. I would go for humira vs. Imuran.

 

[irongulch]

I was on both for 8 years until the Humira stopped working. I did not suffer any side effects.

 

[takcot]

I was on both for 8 years until the Humira stopped working. I did not suffer any side effects.

I have been on Humira for 5 years now. I am prescribed one shot every week. Don’t let what you read scare you, I have never even had a mild side effect. Best to you.