What dose IMURAN are you on? and your weight?

[fewdalord]

I took IMURAN years ago and did well. Went into remission. But now I need to get back on it and am curious what doses people are taking. I'm 188. Please respond w your weight too. Thanks.

 

[It takes Guts]

I've been on this since June. Currents weight is 51 kg (113lbs). They put me up to 100mg but I was suffering extreme nausea and fatigue - in fact complete exhaustion describes it more accurately. They have since put me down to 75mg which I take as 25mg in the day and 50mg at night. So far it seems things are slowly improving with this lowered dosage.

I'm interested to hear how long you were in remission.

 

[fewdalord]

I was in remission for 4-5 years I believe thanks to maintaining g a vitamin d level of around 50-60. Been taking ibuprofen for a couple years against my better judgment and I think it has stirred things up. By the way I take 50,000 of vitamin d twice a week. I had much success with IMURAN when previously on it.

 

[It takes Guts]

This gives me heart. I've been told of this doesn't work soon they will put me on inflixab. Which means more side effects to overcome!

I take vitamin d a couple of times a week but need to up it.

And I too was warned against ibuprofen.

Good luck - I hope you experience improvement soon!

 

[fewdalord]

Good luck w the IMURAN. It was a wonder drug for me. Totally effective.

 

[Catherine]

My daughter is on 200mg at 54kg.

 

[alex_chris]

The recommended dosage long-term is 2.0 to 2.5mg per kg bodyweight of azathioprine (brand name IMURAN). In individual cases you can go above and below that range, but statistically any dosage specifically below the 2.0mg per kg is not likely to be effective.

I am on 150mg per day at 76kg bodyweight.

It is also important to know that the effects of taking azathioprine orally work on a specific timescale, that is the highest concentration of azathioprine in the blood occurs at 90 minutes to 120 minutes after oral intake and the half life of aza (and 6mp which aza is converted into to work in our body) is 3 to 5 hours. This means, people who only take azathioprine once per day have an effective dosage only half a day, because after about 12 hours only about 10-15% of the initial dosage remains and after 24 hours virtually nothing remains, while people who take azathioprine in the morning and evening have a more constant level of aza in the blood, which will work more evenly and better.

 

[fewdalord]

Thanks for the information. I was not aware of the advantage of taking it twice a day. I thought that was not lessen side effects. Good to know. Good luck w your crohns. It's a beadt but can be tamed.

 

[alex_chris]

Thanks for the information. I was not aware of the advantage of taking it twice a day. I thought that was not lessen side effects. Good to know. Good luck w your crohns. It's a beadt but can be tamed.

I find it generally interesting how many people are not aware of the half life of medications they take. Or in other words, while people easily accept that it does not make sense to say take all the azathioprine only on Monday and then wait until the next Monday, it is much harder to convey the message that it is equally important to also spread it out over the day (due to its short half life).

Or in other words, there is a reason why the desription of the drug says "if you forget to take a dosage once time, do not take the pills you forgot at the time the next dosage is due" - this is directly related to the half life of aza/6mp. You do not want wild up and down swings of the concentration of the drug in your blood, but rather a sort of smoothened average concentration which goes only slightly up and down.

 

[nikimazur]

72.5 kg (160 lbs) and 150 mg of Imuran. I only started Imuran when I was diagnosed with Autoimmune Hepatitis on top of Crohn's. Started at 50mg daily and worked my way up. Discontinued for 2 months, but recently restarted back at 150mg. Take a 50mg pill 3x daily. When I try to take full dose at one time, I get incredibly nauseous.

 

[MissCadenza]

50mg Imuran and I weigh 136 pounds, whatever that is in kilos. I know it's a low dose but meh, doctor seems to be happy with how things are going.

As for spreading out your dosage of Imuran throughout the day, that's a lovely idea if you want to go through your day feeling like you want to vomit. I was told to take it at night to lessen the side effects. I did try splitting the dose so half in the morning, half at night and I thought I was dying at one point. Since I started taking it only at night, I've been just fine as I tend to sleep through any sick feelings.

So you can go on about half life all you want, for some of us taking it all in one go is the favourable option!

 

[hawkeye]

Related thread is here - http://www.crohnsforum.com/showthread.php?t=67217

I am off of it post surgery but was at 150 mg daily at weights ranging from 80 kg to mid 50 kg range.

 

[ccerulean]

I am just about 110lbs and am on 100mg daily. Took two weeks at 50mg to check tolerance and now I have been on the full dose for just over a week.

Follow up: those who have had success with Aza-- how long was it before you noticed a difference in your health?

 

[SarahD]

I weigh 49kg and am on 25mg Aza with 100mg Allopurinol. I don't process Aza in an optimal way, so the Allopurinol helps me to produce more of the good stuff from the Aza and less of the harmful stuff.

 

[Carrie171087]

110kg taking 200mg

 

[alex_chris]

Follow up: those who have had success with Aza-- how long was it before you noticed a difference in your health?

Noticable difference 3 months, although when I started aza back in 2003, the dosage I was on was too low (100mg for about 70kg bodyweight), which meant that I had some symptoms reoccurring for years. Since I have been on aza again starting in 2010, I have generally been good, am on 150mg aza now with 76kg bodyweight.

Or let's put it this way, 3 months to start working and ... 9 years for me to get the hang of Crohn's being supported by aza.

 

[lisadc1]

I was n it for about 6 weeks-ish, and was on 50 mg. I am glad it wasn't bumped yet as I developed pancreatitis and was just released from the hospital this evening. I try not to worry about all the listed side-effects of all the meds I am taking for this new life I have with Crohns, but this opened my eyes immensely. Wish the rest of you much success!

 

[bettyboop12]

57kg and on 100mg. Trying to lose about 9 pounds though which I put on since last Christmas! Unfortunately, I'm in a flare now so don't think will be too hard to lose a few pounds at this rate.