Wartpalooza on 6MP. Anyone else???

[mom5272]

I've had CD for 23 years, been on 100 mg of 6MP for many years with minimal flares. No surgeries, no hospitals. When I flare, I take prednisone for a few days and I get better. The Problem is.. I have 100s of warts popping up all over. Nothing is helping.. I go to the dermatologist and they burn some and they grow back so fast and are spreading like wildfire. I'm worried now that I'm going to get skin cancer because my skin looks a mess. I guess the years of being on immunosuppressive therapy is taking a toll.

Has anyone had warts and skin issues like this? If so, has switching meds helped? I can't imagine that switching from one immunosuppressive therapy to another would improve these warts. I'm so worried and embarrassed.......It sucks because I've been fairly healthy on 6MP.

 

[DougUte]

I have never heard of anything like this happening before. So Sorry.

 

[ronroush7]

Talk to your GI about a replacement medication.

 

[mom5272]

I made an appointment to discuss with a new GI. I've been reading a lot of bad stuff about skin issues on long term suppression meds that sometimes lead to cancer. YIKES

 

[user 424396]

Hi mom5272,

Made an account just to tell you about my experience, since it sounds so similar to yours.

When I was on 100mg of 6MP I had loads of warts on my fingers, and a couple of deep clusters of warts on the soles of my feet. Sustained cryotherapy treatment didn't really seem to help. If I recall correctly, I had never had a single wart before I started my treatment.

Months later my internist suggested reducing the 6MP dose to 50mg, since I was practically symptom-free as far as Crohn's was concerned.

After some time (I think it was a matter of weeks), all my warts disappeared.

I discussed it with my internist and he thought it was interesting. Said he'd file a note somewhere in case some student would approach him for an interesting research subject.

So if there is a connection between 6MP and warts, I think it might not be well documented. But of course, the correlation in my story might just be coincidental.

Good luck with it!

 

[mom5272]

Thanks so much! When I was on 50 mg, They started to appear and got worse when they increased the dose. Lucky for you they went away. Thanks so much for replying. Wish me luck!

 

[shamrock15]

I have had some really minor issues with them when on imuran. They seem to be older ones that just decided it was time to grow. I have been able to keep them pretty much under control with over the counter meds. I will watch out for them now that there seems to be something more to it. Thanks for the heads up on this.

 

[ronroush7]

I haven't thought a lot about them but I do have some warts. In the past, I have had them froze off.

 

[Evoblitz]

I was on Azathioprine some years ago now (about 20) and suffered with warts on my hands and feet (lots of them!) as fast as they could burn them away new ones appeared.

I never had them before I started treatment and within weeks of stopping Azathioprine they went away and never came back!

The Doctors had no idea it was the Azathioprine causing them.

 

[mom5272]

@evoblitz what did the doctor put you on? Did they come back? I'm looking for different med options.

 

[Evoblitz]

I tried pentasia after that (didn't help me much) I then spent the next 20 years on lomatil or loperimide (daily) with the odd spell of prednisolone, and they have never come back. I have since been told that it's the herpies virus that causes them and due to the azathioprine lowering the immune system this can be the result? (I don't know how true this is tho)