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I am starting 6-mp tomorrow, and feeling pretty nervous about it. Any tips or advice? Thanks!
Starting 6-mp tomorrow
- Thread starter mama21princess
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Just be prepared that you may get nausea with it.
Cheers D.
Cheers D.
CrohnsChicago
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I was terrified and cried a lot leading up to starting 6-mp.
But it turns out there was really nothing to be concerned about in my case. The first few weeks I experienced some very mild nausea and some fatigue but they faded rather quickly as my body adjusted to the medication. I haven't had any other symptoms since and I have been on it for about a year now and in remission via 6-mp for around 6 months now.
My main suggestion would be to keep your doctor appointments and get your routine blood work and TPMT testing done to make sure your body is not at risk of rejecting the medication and developing liver problems or other complications. You should be getting these tests done at least every couple of months. This will let your doctor know if he needs to adjust your dosage or take you off of it entirely for whatever reason.
If you are in a hot/sunny climate. Be sure you wear a good sunblock and protect your skin. Also your immune system will become a bit weaker from using this medication so take care to not get sick if you can avoid it (though I haven't had many troubles in this case there are some people who tend to catch a lot of colds, flus while using this medication)
If you start to notice any out of the ordinary symptoms make sure your doctor is aware. I hope 6-mp turns out to be a success for you! :hug:
But it turns out there was really nothing to be concerned about in my case. The first few weeks I experienced some very mild nausea and some fatigue but they faded rather quickly as my body adjusted to the medication. I haven't had any other symptoms since and I have been on it for about a year now and in remission via 6-mp for around 6 months now.
My main suggestion would be to keep your doctor appointments and get your routine blood work and TPMT testing done to make sure your body is not at risk of rejecting the medication and developing liver problems or other complications. You should be getting these tests done at least every couple of months. This will let your doctor know if he needs to adjust your dosage or take you off of it entirely for whatever reason.
If you are in a hot/sunny climate. Be sure you wear a good sunblock and protect your skin. Also your immune system will become a bit weaker from using this medication so take care to not get sick if you can avoid it (though I haven't had many troubles in this case there are some people who tend to catch a lot of colds, flus while using this medication)
If you start to notice any out of the ordinary symptoms make sure your doctor is aware. I hope 6-mp turns out to be a success for you! :hug:
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I have been taking it for over 2 years now. It has controlled my crohns so far from flaring up.
The med does give alot of side effects. With this drug you will be under close surveillance with bloodtests in the beginning. They checked for if my liver was responding well to it etc etc and they told me I had to keep an eye on it in the beginning when getting ill.
Also my white bloodcell count has been dropping alot in the past year with this drug so they had to reduce the dosage a few times and then up it again a bit.
As long as yoy have regular bloodtests you will be fine.
Side effects I have are very very dry skin all over and rashes, headaches, tired, mouth ulcers. But the last 2 can also come from low white bloodcell count and crohns itself.
I wish you the best of luck, in my opinion all this is a small price to pay for controlling the flare ups.
Just make sure they test your blood and you will be fine
oh and try to stay away from people coughing and sick people.... I get a cold just by looking at someone with a cold... VERY annoying...
The med does give alot of side effects. With this drug you will be under close surveillance with bloodtests in the beginning. They checked for if my liver was responding well to it etc etc and they told me I had to keep an eye on it in the beginning when getting ill.
Also my white bloodcell count has been dropping alot in the past year with this drug so they had to reduce the dosage a few times and then up it again a bit.
As long as yoy have regular bloodtests you will be fine.
Side effects I have are very very dry skin all over and rashes, headaches, tired, mouth ulcers. But the last 2 can also come from low white bloodcell count and crohns itself.
I wish you the best of luck, in my opinion all this is a small price to pay for controlling the flare ups.
Just make sure they test your blood and you will be fine
oh and try to stay away from people coughing and sick people.... I get a cold just by looking at someone with a cold... VERY annoying... 
My eight year old daughter has been on 6mp for about a month now. She was diagnosed with Crohn's in March. She did vomit the other night for the first time. We can't be 100% what caused that, but my guess is from the med. she had blood test yesterday so just waiting to hear back from the doc. I have to say in this month I've noticed a positive change in Emily. Her happy personality is back. She has missed three months of school. This week is Spring break. Today she played with her friends in the neighborhood and rode her scooter. Today life felt normal and it felt good.
Good luck to you.
Good luck to you.
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Yes, 6-MP is known for causing really powerful nausea and it's just about the only side effect that isn't something that may need to be discussed with your doctor if it isn't a sign of something worse. If it keeps happening, especially if it happens just after she eats, it would be worth discussing with your doctor.
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My son has taken 6mp for almost 3 years now and is doing very well. He takes it at night before he goes to bed so that if there is any nausea, he sleeps through it. He had a bit of nausea when he first started it (maybe for 2 weeks). He took zofran if it really bothered him but it only did once or twice. When they upped his dose the nausea started again and was intense (he never vomited) and the GI told us that is usually an indication that the dose is too high for you. It turns out that dose was too high for him and once lowered the nausea went away completely.
Our first GI gave us instructions not to eat one hour before or two hours after taking 6mp and never to take with milk products, as it is less affective. Our new GI agreed about the milk products but said it was okay for my son to eat with it. I did notice my son's blood levels of the drug went up when he didn't eat with it and went down when he did. The GI saw the trend too, but didn't think it was from not eating with the dose. He couldn't explain it though.
Keep in contact with your Dr about how things are going in the beginning, it can take a while to get the dose right and if you are having side effects it can be helpful info for them and there are things they can do to help reduce side effects.
I hope it works well for you, let us know how you are doing!
Our first GI gave us instructions not to eat one hour before or two hours after taking 6mp and never to take with milk products, as it is less affective. Our new GI agreed about the milk products but said it was okay for my son to eat with it. I did notice my son's blood levels of the drug went up when he didn't eat with it and went down when he did. The GI saw the trend too, but didn't think it was from not eating with the dose. He couldn't explain it though.
Keep in contact with your Dr about how things are going in the beginning, it can take a while to get the dose right and if you are having side effects it can be helpful info for them and there are things they can do to help reduce side effects.
I hope it works well for you, let us know how you are doing!
CrohnsChicago
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Yes, avoiding milk products around the time you take this medication may make the medication less effective. My doctor also advised me of this. Taking the medication 1 hour before or 2 hours after eating is also a suggested instruction for this medication.
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That would have been good information for my doctor to share. He didn't tell me anything about eating or not eating. He never tells me anything. The sticker on the bottle from the pharmacy just said this medication may be taken with or without food.
At the moment, I am not taking it. I started getting a rash and welts and itching all over. I was miserable. The GI had me stop taking it, and I am supposed to go see him tomorrow. We will see what the next step is.
At the moment, I am not taking it. I started getting a rash and welts and itching all over. I was miserable. The GI had me stop taking it, and I am supposed to go see him tomorrow. We will see what the next step is.
My daughter has been on Purinethol for a month now. The last couple nights she has been itching and scratching. She takes her medication before bed and during her sleep seems to be the itchiest part of a 24 hour day. I had to give her Benadryl to help with the scratching. I called the pharmacist and just said, if it persists to call back or called the doctor. Well, this happened on a Friday night so try getting ahold of her GI...yeah right. I have his email. Would this be a silly reason to email him?
As of now I don't see any rash. I had to email her GI earlier this week because I read where when you first start this medication you should have weekly blood test in the first month. I picked up the lab orders late Wednesday afternoon and blood was drawn. Thursday, Friday has now past and I don't know her results.
Also Emily's eyes seemed a little red and puffy yesterday. I'm not sure if that was due to interrupted sleep due to scratching or the medication? My sister saw her yesterday and even mentioned how her eyes looked.
Also Emily's eyes seemed a little red and puffy yesterday. I'm not sure if that was due to interrupted sleep due to scratching or the medication? My sister saw her yesterday and even mentioned how her eyes looked.
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I would give the GI's office a call tomorrow morning and mention her itching.
