I tried to find a post that would answer my question but I couldn't find anything...Recently I have been really unwell, not so much with my CD but with anything that I come in contact with. I have had 3 or 4 colds, kidney stones, a chest infection and an ear infection and just been generally unwell in the last month. I have been on Imuran and Salofalk since I was diagnosed in Oct 2012 and my specialist increased my Imuran in February this year. What does everyone do when they keep getting sick like this? I am so sick of it. I am booked in to see my specialist in 3 weeks time so hopefully she has some answers.
Low Immunity
- Thread starter Meganrose
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One thing you need to remember to do is constantly wash your hands when you're on imuran. Way more than just before/after eating and using the bathroom. In the winter, when illnesses run rampant, I wash my hands obsessively. I also try to avoid touching things that don't get cleaned often, like elevator buttons, door knobs, etc. I also don't handle cash any more, because you'd be amazed at how filthy it is! I just use my credit card and pay it off each month.
I hope you can find something that will help keep you from being sick so often.
I hope you can find something that will help keep you from being sick so often.
Cross-stitch gal
Moderator
I'm afraid that imuran is an immune suppressed drug. It can work very well, but like Linda said you need to be careful and wash your hands often with this medication. I've been on it once before and it worked well for me. But, I too needed to be careful. Here is some info for you about this medication in hopes that it will help you some. Take care. :hug:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azathioprine
There is a support group for those on Imuran. I'm thinking that they may talk about some of this in there. Here is the link to that as well.
http://www.crohnsforum.com/showthread.php?t=47938
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azathioprine
There is a support group for those on Imuran. I'm thinking that they may talk about some of this in there. Here is the link to that as well.
http://www.crohnsforum.com/showthread.php?t=47938
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Sorry you are feeling lousy.
Did your doctor run labs several times after increasing your dose of Imuran? If not, you may be having some excessive immune suppression and not know it.
If you are getting too much immune suppression you might ask your doctor about taking you off the Salofalk. It may be increasing the amount of Imuran that's affecting you. It interacts with the Imuran and increases the amount of 6-TGN in your body. So that might be something to try instead of reducing your Imuran dose.
Do you take any vitamins? Do they ever check your vitamin levels? I suggest you get your B12 and B6 levels checked along with Zinc, folic acid, iron and ferritin. This would help guide the extent to which you might benefit from vitamin and mineral supplements.
Did your doctor run labs several times after increasing your dose of Imuran? If not, you may be having some excessive immune suppression and not know it.
If you are getting too much immune suppression you might ask your doctor about taking you off the Salofalk. It may be increasing the amount of Imuran that's affecting you. It interacts with the Imuran and increases the amount of 6-TGN in your body. So that might be something to try instead of reducing your Imuran dose.
Do you take any vitamins? Do they ever check your vitamin levels? I suggest you get your B12 and B6 levels checked along with Zinc, folic acid, iron and ferritin. This would help guide the extent to which you might benefit from vitamin and mineral supplements.
theOcean
Moderator
I'm glad to hear you're seeing your specialist soon... if you've been getting sick that often, it's definitely time to check in with them.
Checking vitamin levels is not done very often by most doctors for some reason. So you might check the labs that were done while you were in hospital to see if they did that. Otherwise you will have to ask your specialist specifically about having them checked.
