Community Forum

Have a question, or want to share your own tips and experiences? Join the discussion in the community forum. You must be registered to participate. Our forums are moderated by Crohn's & Colitis Foundation staff to facilitate a safe environment.

imuran


Mon, March 26, 2012 12:01 PM

Hello everybody,

My daughter was diagnosed with Chrones back in Novemeber. Dr put her on Pentasa 500mg/6 pils a day. After taking this meds her inflamation still there. Dr recomended to take Prednesone for a month and then Imuran. She just finish her stereoid course, but i dont hink help much. She only gain waight and got some pimply face.  After me reading Imuran sideeffect, Im not sure if i want to give this to my daughter! Im so scared and afraid!!! Please, if anyone took it before and have ANY Feed BACK for me, please share with me!! 

THANK YOU so much!

FPO lovemykids
Joined Mar 23, 2012

Wed, July 04, 2012 2:08 PM

Hello! My son was diagnosed with Crohns in 2008 at age 7.  In 2009 he started Imuran after Pentasa alone was not enough.  Imuran has done wonders
him!  He has been symptom free, gained his weight back and is very active.  He has not experienced any side effects.  I know the side effects are scary
but being on a medicine that works allows him to be a kid again. It takes a few monthes to get the Imuran at a good level so be patient.  I hope you see the same
results we have.  I will keep your child in my prayers.  Take care!!

FPO loving mother
Joined Nov 28, 2008

Sat, June 30, 2012 7:42 AM

 Reply posted for lovemykids.

I use SCDophilius from www.giprohealth.com It is SCD compliant (the IBD diet) so it doesn't have any sugars in the case or anything that might aggravate the candida even more.
The activia would work because there is speculation that crohn's has to do with overgrowth of bacteria in the bowel (also the reasoning behind the SCD diet). The acidopholis helps balance that.  Activia has more live active cultures than other yogurts, but the sugars in it could still aggravate the candida. 
the SCD diet recommends making your own yogurt and incubating it at least 24 hours so the lactose is minimal and the active cultures are maximized. no commercial yogurt sits that long, only 4-6 hours or so. it is so easy.. you can get a yogurt maker which is the easiest way or use your oven. there's lots of recipes on the SCD websites to look at. it's cheaper than buying store bought, too!

FPO jessicamagoch
Joined May 17, 2012

Mon, May 07, 2012 2:26 PM

 Reply posted for lovemykids.

Please do not hesitate to contact me by email...I can provide a lot more info there....good luck with the apt.....I look forward to hearing from you.  :o)

FPO manzos
Joined Oct 9, 2011

Mon, May 07, 2012 1:58 PM

 Reply posted for loving mother.

Thank you! She is on it now, it has been 2 weeks, going back to GI Dr to chk her blood. Will C! I really want her off of it!

FPO lovemykids
Joined Mar 23, 2012

Mon, May 07, 2012 1:56 PM

 Reply posted for Manzos.

Thank you so much! Your story is amazing! 

My daughter is on Imuran right now, it has been two weeks. Day after tomorrow we going to c her GI doctor to check her white blood cells. I will ask him to take her off of it, it makes me nervessad. Im also going to c holistic dr. Ill keep you posted!

Thank you so much!! 

FPO lovemykids
Joined Mar 23, 2012

Mon, May 07, 2012 10:29 AM

 Reply posted for lovemykids.

Hello....our daughter was diagnosed in Sept of last year.  She has only had to take mesalamine as she is on two natural supplements that are helping her.  You can read her story on Personal Stories ...Manzos...My 15 year old daughter...is how it starts.  I had told her doctors I did not want her on prednisone or any harsh crohns drugs.....so far thanks to the supplement we have been able to avoid that!  She is healing and it is amazing.  I hope to hear from you.  :o)

FPO manzos
Joined Oct 9, 2011

Sun, April 29, 2012 7:37 AM

Hello there!  My son has been on Imuran for 3 years.  Pentasa was not enough for him.  He has Crohns and is now 10 years old.  Imuran has worked for him.  I recommend that you give it a try.  It takes a while to get therapeutic and initially he will need frequent blood draws but after the therapeutic dose is reached the blood draws are less and the doctor will monitor for any side effects.  Hope it works for your family! Take care.

FPO loving mother
Joined Nov 28, 2008

Mon, April 02, 2012 3:24 PM

 Reply posted for lovemykids.

My husband has been on Imuran for about 8 years with very few flare ups and with no side effects and my son has been on it since his diagnosis in January 2010 except for a short 2 month span when we switched to methotrexate only because we were having a hard time reaching theraputic levels on the imuran and he had some bad side effects from the methotrexate (bronchitis and some pretty bad bleeding rashes) so back on the Imuran and added a dose of allipurinol to make it work better and he has been in remission for the last 18 months! He has grown 2 inches and gained 5 pounds in the last 6 months (finally!).

FPO jmrogers4
Joined Nov 12, 2010

Mon, April 02, 2012 11:11 AM

 Reply posted for lovemykids.

I did, and they helped with an earlier flare, however when I had another flare, they were little help. I would recommend looking into a whole bunch of treatments. I know a lot of people have found success with the SCD Crohn's diet, but I found it didn't work for me. One of my first GI Doctor's patients took almost every medication available, with no success and was about to have surgery. He tried Activia yogurt and somehow got better. My GI doctor said he had no idea how that happened, but was glad that the guy had found something that worked.  That's what one of the major problems of Crohn's is, some treatments work well for some, but not for others. Basically I'm a firm believer in the fact that you should research what treatments are out there, ask as many questions as you want, and decide based on what you believe to be correct. Don't let people bully you into believing a drug is good or bad, and remember, all medicines, diets, and treatments are going to have their side effects, their good, and their bad. Good luck and I hope your daughter feels better soon! :)

FPO ash
Joined Feb 22, 2011

Thu, March 29, 2012 7:48 AM

 Reply posted for Ash.

Thank you so much, ill try.. Have you tried any Probiotic?

FPO lovemykids
Joined Mar 23, 2012

Wed, March 28, 2012 9:27 AM

 Reply posted for lovemykids.

I'm on Azathioprine (Imuran) right now, and have just gotten my first dose of remicade. I also now down to 10mg of pred and will be down to 5 this friday! I know the hard hitting drugs for crohn's sound terrifying when you look at the side effects. I was one of those people who flat out refused to try the higher drugs for a myraid of reasons, to include the side effects. I switched to a doc that wanted to do the higher drugs as a last resort, and he ended up telling me that I really had no other option, so I tried them. And now that I feel MUCH better, I wish I had tried them earlier.

So, my advice is to first, take a deep breath. I know the side effects look bad, but have you ever looked at the side effects for tylenol and advil? They are so commonplace no one does, but man, just reading those can scare people . . . who knew there were so many side effects? Then, make a list of issues, concerns, and questions you have with Imuran. Make sure you write them down, and address each one of them with your daughter's doctor. He/She should be familiar with the fear of the high power drugs and be able to explain why they think the benefits outweigh any of the issues. Also, for Imuran, make sure they test to see if she will be a good candidate for the drug (they tested my liver enzymes and bone marrow production by doing a simple blood test).  Also, Imuran normally takes a couple of months to kick in. Ask your doctor what other meds she will be on until Imuran fully takes effect.

Imuran has been a good drug for me. I know there's a lot of hate out there against it, but it really helped me! Don't let the horror stories out there scare you, just do some research, talk it over with your doctor and make the decision you believe to be best!

FPO ash
Joined Feb 22, 2011

Related Topics

Trying to support my husb...
Author Image jessers
Joined Mar 1, 2022

Hi, My husband is 46 and was diagnosed in 2019 ....

read more

Legal system
Author Image Kimdanon1
Joined Apr 20, 2024

My son has Crohn's and is currently in jail. T....

read more