Imuran
Moderators: Rosie, Stanz, Jean, CAMary, moremuscle, JFR, Dee, xet, Peggy, Matthew, Gabes-Apg, grannyh, Gloria, Mars, starfire, Polly, Joefnh
Imuran
I'm so discouraged! II'm getting nowhere. I'm been on Budesonide since Jan. 27. I've been on a combination of Budesonide and Mesalamine, which made the diarrhea worse. I've been on Questran, but that didn't work, so my GI took me off. I take Imodium and Lomotil. sometimes they work; other times they do not. My GI wants to take me off of Femara (ant-cancer drug) for a week to see if it has any effect on the diarrhea. If not, she wants to take me off of Losartin (blood pressure med) for another week to see if it is a cause for diarrhea. If being off n them has no effect, she wants me to go on Imuran, which I read has horrible side effects. Anybody take this immunosuppressant?
Daba
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Gabes-Apg
- Emperor Penguin
- Posts: 8332
- Joined: Mon Dec 21, 2009 3:12 pm
- Location: Hunter Valley NSW Australia
hi Daba
welcome to the group
looking at your other post about food / eating out etc my thoughts are
- medications have a limited scope of success if we are still eating high inflammatory ingredients
- medications and healing will have limited success if you are low on key nutrients needed for healing such as Vit D, magnesium, protein etc
- healing takes time - months not weeks. you are only 5 weeks into the healing journey and in this time tried many options. (and some of these may have inactive ingredients like lactose that may be hindering not helping) and you have been trying to eat out etc
- other than food, the other major trigger is Stress. whether that be mental, and/or emotional and/or physical.
my suggestions
- stop breathe.
- the healing journey is not about 'fixing' things to be perfect again or like it was before the MC diagnosis
- spend some time reading key posts aimed at new people - there is lots of information to assist you in the healing journey
guidelines to recovery has key information, eating plans, information about the mental journey of life with MC etc etc
- read some of the posts in the Success Stories area - here you will see what others have done and the time it took.
I wish there was a quick fix, but only a very small percentage of people (ie 1-5%) have speed resolution of symptoms
and like the advice of others in your post titled food - for now avoid eating out etc. one meal with just one ingredient that is a major trigger for you, can undo weeks of healing.
hope this helps
welcome to the group
looking at your other post about food / eating out etc my thoughts are
- medications have a limited scope of success if we are still eating high inflammatory ingredients
- medications and healing will have limited success if you are low on key nutrients needed for healing such as Vit D, magnesium, protein etc
- healing takes time - months not weeks. you are only 5 weeks into the healing journey and in this time tried many options. (and some of these may have inactive ingredients like lactose that may be hindering not helping) and you have been trying to eat out etc
- other than food, the other major trigger is Stress. whether that be mental, and/or emotional and/or physical.
my suggestions
- stop breathe.
- the healing journey is not about 'fixing' things to be perfect again or like it was before the MC diagnosis
- spend some time reading key posts aimed at new people - there is lots of information to assist you in the healing journey
guidelines to recovery has key information, eating plans, information about the mental journey of life with MC etc etc
- read some of the posts in the Success Stories area - here you will see what others have done and the time it took.
I wish there was a quick fix, but only a very small percentage of people (ie 1-5%) have speed resolution of symptoms
and like the advice of others in your post titled food - for now avoid eating out etc. one meal with just one ingredient that is a major trigger for you, can undo weeks of healing.
hope this helps
Gabes Ryan
"Anything that contradicts experience and logic should be abandoned"
Dalai Lama
"Anything that contradicts experience and logic should be abandoned"
Dalai Lama
In addition to what Gabes posted, the main problem could definitely be the losartan. Angiotensin II receptor blockers have a history of causing collagenous colitis and similar issuesfor some patients. Why doesn't your doctor just prescribe a different type of blood pressure medication? There are at least several different types to choose from.
It could also be the Femara. Mc is very senitive to hormonal changes.
We have several members who have taken or are taking Imuran. It appears that in most cases, the patient was able to get reasonable control of the MC symptoms, but they usually had to continue avoiding gluten and possibly other food sensitivities in order to do that. By itself (without diet changes), Imuran didn't always bring relief.
Personally, I wouldn't want to take an immune system suppressant. I want my immune system to be able to fight off colds, flu, and varfious other viruses and other infections (including cancer). That said, I don't recall hearing any complaints from the members who are taking Imuran.
Tex
It could also be the Femara. Mc is very senitive to hormonal changes.
We have several members who have taken or are taking Imuran. It appears that in most cases, the patient was able to get reasonable control of the MC symptoms, but they usually had to continue avoiding gluten and possibly other food sensitivities in order to do that. By itself (without diet changes), Imuran didn't always bring relief.
Personally, I wouldn't want to take an immune system suppressant. I want my immune system to be able to fight off colds, flu, and varfious other viruses and other infections (including cancer). That said, I don't recall hearing any complaints from the members who are taking Imuran.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Hi Daba,
As you mentioned the side effects/ consequences of an immune system suppressant are alarming and since you are a cancer survivor I just feel compelled to say, please be careful. It may be prudent to check with your cancer docs first if your GI doc insists Imuran is the way to go. Your GI doc is only looking at stopping the D. You are the one who has to deal with the long term outcomes. If I recall correctly members here who took Imuran also had other autoimmune diseases besides MC, like fibromyalgia or arthritis.
LIke Gabes said keep your diet strict and clean. Not everyone gets quick relief from Budesonide and diet changes. It may be that it will take longer for those changes to have an impact. i hope you get some relief soon.
Best wishes,
Carol
As you mentioned the side effects/ consequences of an immune system suppressant are alarming and since you are a cancer survivor I just feel compelled to say, please be careful. It may be prudent to check with your cancer docs first if your GI doc insists Imuran is the way to go. Your GI doc is only looking at stopping the D. You are the one who has to deal with the long term outcomes. If I recall correctly members here who took Imuran also had other autoimmune diseases besides MC, like fibromyalgia or arthritis.
LIke Gabes said keep your diet strict and clean. Not everyone gets quick relief from Budesonide and diet changes. It may be that it will take longer for those changes to have an impact. i hope you get some relief soon.
Best wishes,
Carol
“.... people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Maya Angelou