Imuran Side effects

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rasone77

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Apr 8, 2010
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I started imuran recently and I was just wondering what kind of side effects people have been having.

I'm getting minor joint pain in my knees and back but the pain is easily controlled with some Tylenol other than that my crohns is well under control. Do you think that my side effects are dangerous if they're just minor?
 
Hi rasone

I was on Azathioprine (Imuran) some years back and the only side effect that I got was urticaria (hives) really angry, itchy bleeding sores all over my legs. I don't remember any joint pains with it, but having said that, I always have joint pains in my knees, shoulders and elbows during a flare.

http://www.medicinenet.com/azathioprine-oral/article.htm

this link says muscle and joint pain as a side effect
xxx
 
I just started four months ago. The only side effect I have really noticed is fatigue, but I'm not entirely sure it is the imuran that is to blame. I have also noticed a few more itchy bumps than usual on my body, but nothing out of control. Again, not sure if it is the imuran or not.
 
I am still taking the dose as per my sig. I had headaches and bit of blurry vision for the first week or two but all that stopped. I am side effect free and feeling better than I have in the past 10 years. I sure hope this keeps working :)

Oh btw I work as a Green house Tech and Nursery retail person. I have been pulling 100 lb+ trees around the past two weeks and don't feel any fatigue. I think I did for a while but I worked through it. I believe what they say about the more active you are the more energy you have.
 
I've lost count of the number of years I've been on Imuran. I go in and out of remission, staying on the drug the entire time (in combination with Remicade for the vast majority of it too), so I don't know if it is even doing anything for me... only way to find out would be to stop and see if I go downhill or not. I'd rather just stay on it and hope it is doing something. =)
 
Dustin said:
I've lost count of the number of years I've been on Imuran. I go in and out of remission, staying on the drug the entire time (in combination with Remicade for the vast majority of it too), so I don't know if it is even doing anything for me... only way to find out would be to stop and see if I go downhill or not. I'd rather just stay on it and hope it is doing something. =)
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I have been on and off Imuran for several years and I was wondering the same thing...is this drug really doing anything for me??? I have been in and out of remission as well. Sometimes I wonder if the suppression of the immune system doesn't have more of an adverse effect on the way I feel than I realize. I get fatigue and a lot of the times I get very light flu-like symptoms...not enough to keep me down, but enough to make me feel kind of crappy.

Does anyone have any "Imuran has been my Godsend" stories? I know how many feel about Remi and Humira...not too sure about the Imuran (aziothioprene).
 
When I was first put on it, I was told the Imuran was a long term drug to maintain remission. That being said, it probably did a decent job, as my Crohn's hasn't been overly bad for the last few years - quite a few bumps in the road, but not requiring surgery since 2003. Since I don't get any side effects (at least that I can attribute specifically to the Imuran), I shall continue on it, because it must be doing something.
 
Shadycat said:
I have been on and off Imuran for several years and I was wondering the same thing...is this drug really doing anything for me??? I have been in and out of remission as well. Sometimes I wonder if the suppression of the immune system doesn't have more of an adverse effect on the way I feel than I realize. I get fatigue and a lot of the times I get very light flu-like symptoms...not enough to keep me down, but enough to make me feel kind of crappy.

Does anyone have any "Imuran has been my Godsend" stories? I know how many feel about Remi and Humira...not too sure about the Imuran (aziothioprene).
Click to expand...
Well one thing that stands out to me. Chronic inflammation in the colon is why us Crohnies have such a high incidence of Colon cancer. I think we are about the top risk group from the reading I have done and our 10 year outlook is about equivalent to that of the life time risk in the general population. I could be wrong interpreting the data but that is the way I read it anyway. So my take on this is Azathioprine greatly reduces the inflammation and thereby greatly reduces the likelihood of displasia resulting in colon cancer. This is how I have rationalized my experience with it and why I think the theoretical risk of lymphoma is trivial.

There is a very real possibility for everyone to develop colon cancer and it is even more likely with Crohn's patients. Anything that cuts that down is a win in my books. Also I will say that in only 4 months I have noticed a HUGE reduction in allergic reaction I had with lifelong environmental triggers as well as an almost total elimination of acute rheumatoid arthritic attacks in my hands, knees and feet. This was a real problem for me over the past 10 years. (The allergies since childhood) and so far the Imuran has been my wonder drug :)

a page about IBD/cancer risk for reference to what I mentioned.
http://www.ccfc.ca/English/info/cancer.html
 
I took Immuran for about a year and it put me in remission. I stopped taking it and stayed in remission for about 3 more years. So for me it was a godsend. I am on it again with the remicade and I hope it induces another long term remission. I dont notice any side effects really. The prednisone gave me joint pain. I get headaches now but I am not sure what that is from.
 
Some don't undergo side effects when consuming Imuran. If hassles occur, they are usually mild and easily treated. Some of the most common side effects include leukopenia, infections, and nausea or vomiting. Contact your healthcare provider if you develop more serious side effects, such as unusual bleeding or bruising, signs of an infection, or liver problems.
 
I was on it for a couple of years and never noticed any side effects. I stopped taking all meds for two years following it and never had a flare up. Now however, two years later, I have had a flare up in the last month and am back on it. The only side effect of this Imuran is the effect on my wallet. The pill is cheap, the blood tests arent; I have no insurance. The only drug I ever had serious side effects on was prednisone, that stuff taken in amounts larger than 30-40mgs a day makes me insane!
 
The only side affect that I can really attribute to Imuran is I had hair loss when I first started it. After a month or so it went away though.

Regarding the question about if Imuran is really working, or whether it's the Remicade. I am also on both and from my understanding the Imuran is there to help the Remicade. To prevent your body from developing antibodies to the Remicade. It's used to keep your immune system suppressed. That may seem like a bad thing, but when you think that us with Crohns have an over active immune system, with all these drugs it's most likely just making us normal :D

(I mean I'm sure it's doing more than just that, but that seems to be the reason why immune-suppressants are used in conjunction with Remicade)
 
I have been on it since Nov 2010, increasing my dosages. I am currently at 250mg and the doctor says with my labs I would probably be able to do 300mg but really doesn't want to do that. For side effects i get some headaches now and again, but not sure if its from the Aza/imuran or not. My pain has lessened but its not gone by any means. I still flare up about every 2 wks.
 
Since my last post my dosage was upped from 100 mg/day to 200mg/day. After about 3 weeks at 200 mg/day I began to get headaches. Currently at 100 mg/day until I talk to my GI
 
rasone77 said:
I started imuran recently and I was just wondering what kind of side effects people have been having.

I'm getting minor joint pain in my knees and back but the pain is easily controlled with some Tylenol other than that my crohns is well under control. Do you think that my side effects are dangerous if they're just minor?
Click to expand...


I have been on imuran for almost a year now and I think its helping - I have been in remission for a few months now and havent had any problems with my ibd for almost as long as Ive been on imuran - I know what you mean with the joint pains - I dont know if its a side effect of the ibd or of the imuran though cause Ive had them for like over a year! A few months ago I had some really bad episodes and because I cant take nurofen or anything like that there was not much I could do about it - the joint pain meant taking a few days off school here and there because I simply could not move - had really bad pains in my hip for a couple days once, had terrible leg and foot pains that resulted in me taking a couple days off school and then going on crutches for almost a week because I couldnt put any pressure on it without me nearly fainting from the pain - had some shoulder, knee and back pains too - all conquerable so doubt they were dangerous so dont worry about it!

Has anyone found that they get sick really often (I mean like common cold/flu and bug sick) as a result of imuran - it seems as though every time I come across someone who is sick irrespective of what they have or how long I spend with them, I get it - I am constantly sick which is SO annoying because its so hard to study when you feel this crappy all the time and Im doing my last few months of year 12 - frustrating!! Are others finding that they are often/always sick too??
 
I am so scared to be going on Imuran. I am not completely sure that is the drug the Dr. said and I won't know till my appt on the 25th cause when he first told me about it I was too fraked out finding out I had abcesses etc and the Crohns was getting worse to really listen anymore. I have 3 teenagers and I cannot be sick all of the time cause I need to be there for them. I just don't really know what to do.
 
Hi Debb. You made it here :) I think it's only natural to worry about taking a drug like this, but unfortunately, many of the meds for Crohn's are strong drugs with possible side effects. With Imuran, you have the tests beforehand and once on it, you'll be monitored closely t make sure you're body is tolerating it. As you'll see from the posts here, not everyone has side effects.
Maybe before your appointment, you could have a look at the other med clubs here i.e. Humira, Remicade etc. Discuss your concerns with your doc and with this information, you might be able to have more input into what your treatment will be.
 
I have been taking Imuran for nearly a year now. Although it is working wonders on the Crohn's I am suffering from the side effects of the drug. Fatigue, headaches, mouth/lip sores, cough, hoarse voice, nausea and vomiting.
 
I had a very rare reaction to the Imuran barely two weeks after I started it - Acute Pancreatitis. I was hospitalized for four days. I was so sad as I had such hopes for it.
 
Long term for me ! Dx CD in 1989..... After a year on Pred, I was put on Imuran and remained on it, totally flare free for many years. Was taken off of it middle of last year and by the back part of the year, the flare up's started again !

By June this year, I had surgery and, after a spell on Pred, I'm now on Aza again. Unsure as to how much taking me off of it caused me to go downhill again but it certainly feels that way ! So happily back on it with few side effects thus far in again :)
 
Tired

MapleLeafGirl said:
I just started four months ago. The only side effect I have really noticed is fatigue, but I'm not entirely sure it is the imuran that is to blame. I have also noticed a few more itchy bumps than usual on my body, but nothing out of control. Again, not sure if it is the imuran or not.
Click to expand...

:rof:I am just decreasing my dose of Prednisolone from 30mg a day dropping each week by 5mg.

At the moment I am on 25mg and also started taking Azathioprine at a rate of 50mg a day for a week and then 100mg a week and then 150mg, then it's back to the docs.

Now wether it's the decreasing Prednisolone or the Azathioprine I don't know but I don't have any energy, I can wake in a morning, have breakfast, then sit down and fall asleep again, I just feel so tired all the time.

No other real symtoms apart from I seem to have developed a iregular heartbeat.
 
Last edited:
Hey rasone, i have only recently started imuran and noticed that my crohn's feels better, but my knees ache when I wake up in the morning, have to hobble in pain until they free up and then its ok. If i sit dowm for a while and then get up the same thing happens. To test whether it was the imuran, i skipped my dose that night, and hey presto, limited to NO pain the next day, so I can safely say that the imuran is affecting my knee joints. This is the only side effect I have noticed so far.
 
i've been on 50mg of imuran for less than a month now, and i am already seeing side effects...first off, i got bronchitis and lost my voice. i haven't had bronchitis in years!
i'm getting sores inside my bottom lip..
i get nauseated at times...
my hair is falling out..
and the worst is the fatigue. i was already fatigued with crohn's, but this is really making me super fatigued. my last day off from work i must have slept close to 19 hours!
i'm going to my dr next week to see what he thinks...
 
Within a week of starting Imuran I was barely able to move due to the pain in my back, knees, neck. Took myself off it and have appointment this week to discuss next option. My body also rejected liquid B12 (bad cramps) so worried that my bodies just rejecting everything put before it!

Imuran = pure evil
 
Hi. I tried azathioprine (imuran) when first diagnosed 10 years ago but had some sort of liver reaction after afew weeks and had to come off it. I'd like to try it again now, does anyone know if it is possible to have a second attempt which works, or if 6mp is a good alternative in that situation. It seems azathioprine is the best of all the Crohns meds.
Thanks
 
Sometimes you can take a lower dose of aza, and take allipurinol which interacts and makes the aza effects stronger. Or sometimes people can tolerate 6mp but not aza (and vice versa) so I would say it's worth a try, make sure you have blood tests at least every week for a while though!
 

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