Is Imuran the best option?

[kmakchan]

My daughter was diagnosed with Crohn's disease when she was 13 and we've been through many different medications including Remicade, Humira, and finally Lialda. In addition, she did have one surgery at the age of 16 to remove part of her intestines. After the surgery, she started on Lialda and was in remission for some time. She is 22 now and is having a flare up. The doctor started her on a low dose of Prednisone and wants to begin Imuran. She is very nervous about starting Imuran and I've read all about the drug and have mixed feelings myself. She had a cat scan and small bowel follow through recently which didn't show any major issues. They completed the Prometheus blood testing and even before the results came through, the doctor was recommending Imuran. While I believe the doctor thinks the benefits outweigh the risks, he didn't even discuss any of the risks/side effects with my daughter which led me to start researching and I found this forum! It seems like a Imuran is a big leap and I'd love to hear from anyone who has any insight related to Imuran. Thanks so much in advance.

 

[D Bergy]

I take Imuran presently. Luckily it does not give me any noticeable side effects.

My first choice was Low Dose Naltrexone, and I used it for about three years. Either because of my habit of missing doses or for some other reason, it did not work for me. I had fistulas develope and had to switch to Imuran.

I personally think LDN is a better treatment option if it works for you. The side effects are few and minor and it protects you from other autoimmune diseases and cancer at the same time.

The answer to the best treatment option for myself is the safest method that I have available to me that is likely to work. There is no guarantee that any of them will work for any particular person, so why not start with the safest first? LDN is by far the safest option if it works for you.

Good luck

Dan

 

[Crohn's Mom]

Hi Kmakchan and welcome to the forum!

There are a ton of people here that take Imuran/6mp.
Here is a link to our Treatment section for it; maybe take a look around and read of others experiences ~ and feel free to ask any questions !
Also, there are several parents here who's children, some grown like yours and mine ~ my daughter is almost 20 years, and on Cimzia and Imuran combo
Here's a link to our parents treatment club as well.

Again, welcome and hope to hear more from you !

 

[Sascot]

Hi and welcome. Meds are certainly a minefield. Over here I would say that Imuran is a step down from the meds your daughter has taken. Our docs start with Imuran before moving to the "heavy duty" drugs such as Remicade. My son will be starting the 6mp this week, so hoping it goes well! Good luck with your decision. I agree LDN is something worth looking into if her doc is willing to try it.

 

[hawkeye]

I've been on Imuran since 1991 (I was 17 then), about 6 or 7 months after being diagnosed. It's kept the Crohn's mostly in check since then with the occasional stint of prednisone for a flare.

 

[my little penguin]

DS used 6-mp for about 8 months .
No real side effects .
It raised his ast and alt plus did not relieve all his symptoms so....
We switched meds

 

[Twiggy930]

My son has been on Imuran for a year now. He has had no side effects and it seems to be keeping his Crohn's in check.

 

[kiny]

With imuran you need to stay out of the sun, that's the most important thing. They know this from patients who got transplants where imuran use is really wide-spread (to avoid rejection of the organ). DNA damage can be repaired while on imuran, but if you are exposed to sunlight all the time it's really hard to keep repairing the DNA damage, which is how some people get skin cancer on imuran. Avoiding sunlight will avoid this issue.