Imuran effects

[Trysha]

I started Imuran eight days ago, dose 50mg/day.
Following advice from the forum I have taken it with breakfast cereal.
The first few days I had a fleeting nausea then it seemed ok.,but had a feeling of great fatigue after a couple of hours.So I went for a short walk and seemed to overcome it.
Yesterday and today I have been feeling quite light headed and faint, not a nice feeling unsteady on my feet..Two nights running I have been wakened by pain and almost fell getting out of bed. Not my usual self.
Relaxing in a comfortable arm chair seemed to help, but I remained cautious
and stayed indoors after church today in the air conditioning..
Being an active person and going to the gym three times a week has been good for me although the pain is there especially on the recombant bike.
What I would like to know is if the way I am feeling is due to the Imuran.
I have had blood work after the first week and have to have this for the next four weeks after which the bloodwork will be once a month., if I can tolerate the imuran.
The dose will increase to 100mg after the first 4 weeks at 50mg.
My GI was confident that it would not cause any ill effect, but its easy for him to say that since he does not take it!
There is no advice to call regarding any possible side effects and I hesitate to call at this time.
Maybe if it gets worse or does not go away then may be the time to seek advice from the medics.
I am not happy to have to take this drug.Any advice would be most welcome
trysha

 

[Bill41]

I'm starting at 250mg per day, on a week so far, I take them at supper and I've been waking up around 4 am with the worst headaches ever...I also get tired quickly but no nusea at all. Blood test tomorrow...

 

[Trysha]

Hello Bill,
Headaches are something I forgot to mention and I have been getting more migraines than usual,could be the weather though for me.
If you don't usually get headaches then this is something you should tell your doctor soon.
Trysha

 

[Rebecca85]

250mg a day? Are you sure you have the dosage right? Most people don't take that much when they step up to the full dosage!

Trysha- is the pain a usual symptom for you? Or is this something new that has only started on the Imuran? Because if it's the latter, contact your doctor because I have heard of people getting things like pancreatitis when they first start taking Imuran. Better to be safe than sorry!

 

[Trysha]

hello Rebecca,
Thank you for the comments.
I am getting some pain which is not usual for me in the upper stomach area.
Last night the pain was unbelievable and extended from the lower right side and up across the midsection and down the left side. It felt burning and searing like it was on fire.When I got up today I felt weak a nd unsteady again but had a tepid shower and felt a litlle better. The pain subsides during the day but is still there to some degree. It is worse lying down so I sit in a recliner to relax. I did call the GI office this morning ---no response so far.Absolutely no appetite but did have breakfast cereal this morning.
Trysha
I have decided not to take the imuran today and see if it helps.
trysha

 

[Trysha]

clerical person called from GI office and said to stop taking the imuran.
Had expected a call fromthe GI in view of symptoms but guess he had no time.
Hope tonight is better
trysha

 

[e13 boy]

I started Imuran eight days ago, dose 50mg/day.
Following advice from the forum I have taken it with breakfast cereal.
The first few days I had a fleeting nausea then it seemed ok.,but had a feeling of great fatigue after a couple of hours.So I went for a short walk and seemed to overcome it.
Yesterday and today I have been feeling quite light headed and faint, not a nice feeling unsteady on my feet..Two nights running I have been wakened by pain and almost fell getting out of bed. Not my usual self.
Relaxing in a comfortable arm chair seemed to help, but I remained cautious
and stayed indoors after church today in the air conditioning..
Being an active person and going to the gym three times a week has been good for me although the pain is there especially on the recombant bike.
What I would like to know is if the way I am feeling is due to the Imuran.
I have had blood work after the first week and have to have this for the next four weeks after which the bloodwork will be once a month., if I can tolerate the imuran.
The dose will increase to 100mg after the first 4 weeks at 50mg.
My GI was confident that it would not cause any ill effect, but its easy for him to say that since he does not take it!
There is no advice to call regarding any possible side effects and I hesitate to call at this time.
Maybe if it gets worse or does not go away then may be the time to seek advice from the medics.
I am not happy to have to take this drug.Any advice would be most welcome
trysha

Hi Trysha,

During the first 6 weeks of imuran i had many of the problems you mention in your post.I started on 75mg.The side affects slowly got worse for me.I tried as hard as i could to tolerate these problems as it was starting to bring the CD under control.After approx 4 months the Dr's increased the dose to 150mg.Within a week of increasing the dose i finally got a formed BM but the side affects were awful.
Severe fatigue,Violent headaches(24/7),vomiting,dreadful flu like symptoms(aching,sneezing etc).I always felt my complaints fell on deaf ears with the Dr's(comments like 'is it really that bad' 'can't you cope with it').I felt like i was talking to a brick wall.
Once my white blood count was below the safe level they told me to stop taking it.I couldn't have carried on as it was knocking me out.Within a week of stopping the drug i started to feel better............but the CD started again(looser BM's etc).They switched me to 6mp.The side affects were even worse for me.
A few months on i decided to try AMP.Thankfully it helped me gain remission without any side affects.

I hope you start to feel better & find a treatment to give you remission.

Best Wishes

 

[digital]

I've been on Imuran (100mg/day) for about 5 months now, and so far so good. The best advice I can give you is to take it right before you go to sleep. I've tried taking it when I wake up, and I feel like I've been hit by a train all day. If I take it right before sleep, I have no side effects at all.

 

[Bill41]

250mg a day? Are you sure you have the dosage right? Most people don't take that much when they step up to the full dosage!

Oh, he didn't write the dosage on the script so pharmacist held it to call his office, went back next day and pharmacist told me to call because there was confusion and they weren't that helpful...I called and the receptionist told me to take one 250 mg pill a day...so I went and got my pills and they were only 50mg each..called her back and asked her to ask the doctor exactly what it is I have to take, later she calls back saying to take 5 at a time!
I'm going to send my blood sample to Prometheus Labs to get an opinion on if I have Crohns, hope they can give me an answer.
Now I really don't trust this guy!

 

[mohammed]

i start with 50 mg one month ago and i have sever fatuge but with time it improve
now i am taking 100 mg after the lunch with cbc chek every week and i hope it will work and bring my cd to remission

 

[Trysha]

Thank you Bill and Mohammed for your intersting information.
I do hope you have some good results with the imuran, it certainly works for a lot of people from what I have read in this forum.
Unfortunately it is not suitable for me.,which makes me sad .
I am still recovering from the bad reaction, seems to take a long time, but nearly there.
It is so good to have this forum very grateful it exists.
trysha

 

[jaggartini]

Trysha,
I had a reaction to Imuran just like yourself a few months ago and had to go off it. I've never reacted to any medication; my experience was horrible and I probably should have gone to the ER. My back ached worse than when i was in labour with my children, my legs came up in welts and I had a horrible fever.
My GI is trying to figure out what to do next; I'm so skeptical about taking anything else. They all seem so toxic.