mario

I just had a bowel resection for Crohn's and my MD wants to put me on 6MP.
When I read the side-effects of this drug they scare me. Does anyone out
there have experience with this med. Tell me about the positives and the
negatives.

mario

marlena v

I was initially on 6-mp and switched to Imuran which is in the same
family of drugs. My initial side effects were a lot of joint and back
pain. I've been on the medication for almost two years and most side
effects have gone away. Or, I've just gotten used to them. I, too,
was very scared about getting on the medication and put it off for a
long time. Since it is an immune suppressant, I still worry a lot
when I am around sick people (colds, etc) that I am going to get
their illness. I'm not sure if this is true or not, but it's in my
head when I know someone can possibly be contagious. I also worried
about getting a flu shot but the dr. said this wasn't a problem.
Winter time I noticed I was sick a lot with colds and it took longer
than average to get over anything. But, like I said, this is my
experience with it and the gains are much greater than the risks if
you are very sick.

Take care,
Marlena

marlena v

I would much rather have the side effects of 6-mp than prednisone any
day! :-)

annieluvrose

hi mario
i am on 6mp and praying i dont have to go off of it
the really serious side effects will be found quickly by blood work..u
have to go fairly often at the beginning..i was going every 2
weeks..then when things seemed ok i was going every 6 weeks..now
something has shown up and its back to every 2 weeks..
the only side effect that i "noticed" was horrible nausea..but i was
given compazine for that...and after a few months that stopped...
i was doing pretty well on the 6mp and not needing prednisone tho i am
still on asacol..but then i had a bad flare..but i was doing a LOT of
traveling by plane which can make ibd worse(cabin pressure)..so i was
put back on the pred which i am still on...and now the 6mp is starting
to possibly affect my liver..but like i said..that shows up in
bloodwork before it become too serious..thats why they monitor u so
closely on 6mp..i would say GO for it..try it..and give it time..it
takes about 6 months to even have a positive effect..but i did quite
well on it..well enough that i hope i can stay on..
good luck..
annie

lesley isaac

I have been on it for a few months and like you didn't feel happy about is esp as my GP calls it a 'nasty' drug. My GI says it is a serious drug for a serious condition! IMHO Hard NOT to feel scared but important to keep perspective.

I am still not on beneficial dosage for weight and am still taking 20 prednisone per day plus a lot of pentasa.

Side effects for me - incredible nausea, tiredness and joint pain plus my liver function is deteriorating. I can't catch the sun either or a blotch up bigtime and feel most uncomfortable. I see my GI on 7th August when I guess I will be upped a dose or taken off because of liver. I was previously on azathioprine but was taken off as my liver function dropped beyond a reasonable level. Still having weekly bloods at this stage.

On the plus side I heal better (cuts etc) than when I was on Azathioprine and although the immune system is supposed to be impaired I have not yet caught anything despite it being mid winter here and I have had contact with heaps of sick people <g>. I also had my usual flu vaccination with no ill effects.

Hope fully I can build up to beneficial dosage and drop the pred and pentasa with time and gointo remission.

Good luck
Rgds
Lesley
in New Zealand


When I read the side-effects of this drug they scare me. Does anyone out
there have experience with this med. Tell me about the positives and the
negatives.

mario

curiousabyss

check w your doc to see if you are one of those who suffer horrible fatigue, D
and mailaise from pentasa (5 asa meds) It may be the reason or a contributing
factor to your condition

rr

Same here right after my resection the dr wanted me to go on 6mp. I happen
to be one of the unlucky few that had a bad reaction to 6mp.

My wife had a cold at the time and after I started 6mp I got really bad flu
symptoms, joints ache and it got very difficult to move
(I am 40 with no prior joint or muscle problems). High fever and chills, I
figured it was the cold from my wife but after the 4th day I called the dr
and got a blood test and then he said to stop.

Btw if you have a problem with 6mp and they may want you to try 6mp's cousin
Imuran, unfortunately I had a worse reaction to that.
So now I will be trying remicade soon, and hope for no reactions. Best of
luck and get keep well.

robert

mario

Thank You to everyone who answered my posting about 6MP. I have my GI
appointment today and will be talking about going on the 6MP with him. I'll
put together what he has to say with what I know and what I learned from you
all and make a decision.

Thanks, again.

mario

curiousabyss

ditto