Hi,

I had a similar situation except I'd been on colazol for several years vs asacol. The colazol stopped working and so after trying Lialda ,which did nothing, I went on Imuran. That was almost 5 years ago and I've been in remission since. I've not had any serious side effects. I did have a headache almost daily for the first couple of months after starting it which was more of an annoyance than anything else. I think I was a little nauseous for a bit too, but that went away.

You will have to have regular blood work done while on Imuran to make sure your liver levels are normal. I have that done every three months.

So for me it's been successful. I hope it is for you too.

I had to stop Imuran (Azathioprine) because of poor liver test results. Initially I had headaches, joint pain and mild nausea the first few months but stuck it out because it takes awhile for the drug to start working. When it seemed it was helping my UC, I had to stop, dang it.

Thank you both for the replies.
I have been doing my research on it and am a little nervous taking it.
I have filled the prescription and have it in front of me but I have a weird feeling about it.
A large part of me knows that I will take it because I want the symptoms to go away and to feel normal again. But there are so many side effects. The one that scares me the most is the increased risk of cancer. Having UC already puts me at an increased risk and then there's history of numerous types of cancer in my family. Ugh.

I have the sheets already for blood work once a month for the first three months and then I assume it will be less but still regular. Hopefully the benefits outweigh the bad for me!

I get the cancer fear. My brother, mom and dad, plus aunts and uncles have had several types of cancer. But they have to list the serious side effects that could possibly occur, but also you have to look at the percentage of people who get these serious side effects. They're relatively low.

Not everyone is comfortable taking it and I'm not saying go for it. But I don't think decisions made out of fear are the best decisions. So just gather all the facts so that you're well informed, reach out to your doc if uncertain etc. Good luck!

I must admit I was scared of cancer too, and in the beginning I was frustrated, the risk versus no effect. But then, after close to 4 months, I felt the effect. And I have been in remission since then. I had hardly no side effects, a little nausea in the beginning. I think it has given me a new life, I was really miserable when the effect kicked in. Only my stubbornness kept me out of hospital. And the life then... I guess it exposed me to so many other cancer risks, and risk for heart attack and also a major risk for my mental health. I would love to stop Imuran, but compared to the alternative, the effect outweighs everything.
I hope it is as effective for you as it has been for me, and I cross my fingers for a long lasting effect, I don't want to go back...

I am taking it. I decided in the end that the benefits for me outweigh the risk.
So far I am only experiencing headaches when taking it and nausea a vomiting if I don't take it with a larger meal. I tried taking it with just a yogurt but it was too hard on my stomach.
I really hope that my blood tests come back normal and that I can continue taking it!! =)
I know that I don't want to be on it TOO long term. But for now, if it does it's job I will be happy taking it.

Hope it works for you!

You need to give it time, I saw bo effect for three months, but after four, things had changed.