Imuran for Ulcerative Colitis

Filed in archive Digestive Health on April 6, 2007

I saw the specialist on Thursday and she has put me on another drug. She took me off Asacol a couple of weeks ago. I've been taking up to eight 400 mg asacol a day for years. It was doing nothing for me.

For the last two weeks, I've been taking prednisone and using Salofalk enemas and suppositories. The colitis appears to be in remission. The trouble is, from my experience, that once I'm off the prednisone, it will reoccur. My doctor is trying the drug Imuran (azathioprine) in the hopes that it will keep the disease in remission.

The Mayo Clinic has this to say about Imuran:

Immunosuppressives (drugs that suppress the immune system) treat ulcerative colitis by blocking inflammation. The most commonly prescribed are 6-mercaptopurine (Purinethol) and azathioprine (Imuran). They are very effective but may cause side effects such as nausea, vomiting, liver problems or pancreatitis. Long term they work by suppressing the bone marrow and, as a result, the immune response.

I hope they work for me with few side effects.