Hi davidmg ,

Having been on this wonderful med lol for a few years I can tell you that the side effects for me were that I got a few more infections than usual and from time to time some stomache issues , cramping , pain .

It can cause changes in your skin , lumps , and swallowen glands as I was constantly reminded by my neuro that if any of these symptoms came about notify her asap.

Very often Imuran can be dispensed wrongly meaning to much or not enough as its based on your weight. Im 175 lbs and was taking 150 mg daily. Its about 50 mg per 42kg of body weight.

Also and this is super important is to get your blood count checked regularly , your neuro will want to keep an eye on that. Not to scare anyone but I was also told that it can cause serious blood disorders and easy bruising .

Im certainly not an expert but hope this helps in some way..

Cj

That's exactly what I wanted to hear, real people.

I weight 180 and he is going to ramp me up to 150 mg daily. He has blood tests to be done in 6 weeks from today and will monitor me.

When you said more infections than usually, what kind of infections are we talking about? And how many was normal and what is the few more now? lol :)

I appreciate the response a lot. I actually noticed that the prednisone over the last few months has made it easier for me to bruise. Not sure if others notice the same thing or not, but I never ever bruised before I started with the whole MG thing.

In regards to infections , it occurred twice in my mouth with infections , and two other times were minor cuts became infected. Keep in mimd at mt young age of 51 haha that I've had few cavities and never have lost a tooth so its things that make you say "hmm " .I work in constrution so I was always getting cut at one time or another and always cleaned myself up . So its very subtle at times infections as an example so be your own advocate always.

How long have you been on pred ? Traditonally but not always etched in stone is bruising as an example is usually more of a long term effect along with " thinning of the skin " which I still have to this day.

I am on prednisone currently 2.5 mg (from 20 mg) and Imuran. Thankfully, I have only had a reoccurring infection that wasn't too bad. (three times) I wash my hands all of the time. I refuse to be around someone that is sick. One time a coworker came to work sick, complaining as he came in the door. I left almost immediately. I don't have small children or grands to be around either. Just use all of your precautions and be careful. Rest when you need to. Good luck.

I would start teaching those small children to wash their hands when they come in from going anywhere or playing outside. They can learn good habits too. Most children will comply to new rules if they think they are helping. I envy you...I love small children. Some people on here have picked up every sickness a small child had, so be careful. BIG HUG!

You are so correct on hygiene Barbell and we mgers need to be as vigilant as possible and proactive. My frustration occurs where I am VIGILANT and my immune system gets compromised. I guess there will always be other factors environment the air we breathe and food we eat and lol riding the railroad an hour each way plus the nyc subway system round trip to work.

We all have our cross to bear and i sometimes contemplate wearing a mask haha like the chinese did during the scars epidemic . seriously you can never be safe .

Cj

Immune suppression can make you more susceptible to infection. It can also mask infection symptoms until you are very sick.
I was on imuran (azathioprineand) it dropped my white count dangerously low thus the importance of regular blood work. My Dr told me to call when my fever got above 100. I had a fever over 100 and went to the ER as directed after a phone call to my internist. I had a serious infection and low white count which caused a week long hospital stay. I eventually had to get off of imuran but many just get off of it until their white counts rebound.

Some people have a purine metabolism variant (gene difference) that causes the white count to drop precipitously when on Imuran. Watching white counts will catch the problem, but if you have the variant it would be better not to take it at all. I was tested before starting and have the usual genetic metabolism, so had no bone marrow problems, but did have elevated liver functions. b.

The pros, again, this is why I asked you. But now I have more questions.

Bweeds, what test can I have my doctor run to confirm I don't have the gene variant? I mentioned this to him about bone marrow suppression specifically about something I had heard about methotroxate but didn't know what the test was and he had never heard of it.

You're laughing about sars masks but I already have them. I keep one in my jacket pocket, the car, etc. If someone is hacking anywhere near me I put it on. I actually have a couple and if I cannot seem like a dick, I'll ask them to put one on too.

I agree whole heartedly about people coming to work sick. They want to use their PTO for vacations so they come to work any make everyone sick. That always made me mad before. Now with where my immune system is at, it makes my blood boil.

David, this is a pretty exhaustive recommendation. I had my test at Vanderbilt.. I am not sure where your doctor would send yours, but you can copy this article and take it to your doc (always keep one for yourself). Some of this information may actually be in the drug insert that comes with the drug.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK100661/

If you have any problems with the link or information, let me know. b.

The only thing I have noticed being on Imuran is that when I get a cold it takes a lot longer to get rid of than before. I don't catch any infection that is going around but I usually get one cold a year and it stays for months. Takes forever too shake it. I get regular blood tests and so far my levels are just in the top end of the "normal" range.

I ask everyone who comes into our house to wash their hands immediately before saying hi. I have hand sanitisers planted throughout the house for the sneezers and nose blowers. Has helped.

Hey , I was borderline being able to take imuran, so I was given it , but only took about 3 months as my count did drop. Good luck to you.
Annette

Link worked, thank you. I'll see what I can find out.

Dave Imuran is generally well tolerated when introduced slowly as it can upset the stomach initially. I was on it for 4 years for Chroins and did develop a reaction to it and switched to Cellcept which is a "newer" stronger version of Imuran.

Imuran is used to treat many autoimmune conditions and has been around for a long time (since the 50's). In my 4 years on it I really did not get a cold or even the flu or infection. The studies show that the risk of developing cancer while taking Imuran are very low for treating an autoimmune disease. The only group of patients that had a slightly higher incidence of cancer were those taking Imuran to prevent rejection of a transplanted organ.

Overall it works well for most, start slowly and be sure that you have your blood work checked often as the one issue long term is that your white blood cell counts go too low (leukopenia)

Joe