Azathioprine

villier

Has anyone ever used this DMARD. My Neurologist(still waiting to see a Rheumatologist) is suggesting putting me on this as every time I try to reduce the dosage on my Prednisolone my pain returns(PMR). I know we are all different and all react in different ways, I am looking for advice and tips as I know I will get from my knowledgeable forum friends. xx

dreamdaisy

Hello Villier, I haven't tried this particular med so cannot help as such, but I do recall the difficulties with reducing prednisolone - it ain't easy and probably more so for you thanks to the PMR. I hope you will soon see a rheumatologist - any idea on timescales for that? If pocket duties are required then count me in. ((( ))) DD

Mat48

Hi - I too am perhaps going to start either this drug Azothioprine or Mycophenolate. I think it is generally quite well tolerated as far as I can gather although my GP said something about tummy upsets being a potential side effect. Worth a try if your consultant thinks it might help and get you off the Pred perhaps? Mat x

villier

Thanks DD, I think I may have slipped through the net, the Neurologist referred me to Rheumatology last September she phoned them a couple of weeks ago as I still wasn't in the system. I think it will be about six to eight weeks before I get an appointment. xx

villier

Thanks Mat I will give it a go, anything to get off the steroids, hope whatever one you get put on works for you. xx

Starburst

I was offered azathioprine and leflunomide and chose the latter because it's similar to MTX and I got on well with that. However, my mum recently started azathioprine for ulcerative colitis. Her disease has not responded to any other medications, except steroids, but this one has done the trick. She's had no side effects and a very good response.

Wishing you the best of luck.

scattered

I was on azathioprine along with Humira, hydroxychloroquine and pred about 5 years ago. I think I was on that combo for about 2 years. I had very few side-effects from the AZA, but because the RA is a wiley beast we had to keep increasing the dose. When I got to the highest dose possible, my white cell count disappeared, which led to much panic and upset. Up until that point everything had been fine though. It might be worth a go.

Good luck with it.

ichabod6

Four years ago I was taken off prednisolone statim and
precribed azathioprine in its place. It has worked for and
is also a prescribed medication for another blip in my life,
crohns disease.

villier

Thanks guys for your replies it is always a bit scary when going on to new meds as everyone is different, it is good though to hear about other peoples experiences. xx

Ichabod sorry to hear about the crohns xx

stickywicket

It is, indeed, scary, especially when we take a whole cocktail of meds. You might find some former threads if you put it into the little blue search facility under the actual search engine. Good luck with it, Marie.

Mat48

I've remembered something else about Azothioprine Marie. The connective tissue professor I saw last year for a second opinion said that if MTX didn't work out then it might be worth me trying this one as an alternative although it might not be enough for the arthritis side of things with me. He said it has a good track record for autoimmune skin and nerve symptoms. Mx

villier

Thanks Sticky and Mat, I have done a search as Sticky suggested and have come across a lot of positive posts so looking good. xx

ichabod6

Thanks for that villier.
Just one more blip in life's basinful.
And for every blip there is a handful of goodies.

As5567

I took this many years ago, sadly for me once the dose was increased towards the higher end of the scale I had an allergic reaction twice, the first time my GP treated it as swine flu and gave me tami flu! Other than that I had no side effects at all while building up the dose and it was actually one of the few DMARD's that I began to feel better on which was also shown in my blood for a couple of weeks after discontinuing the medication.

I feel your frustration with the pred, I've been on it myself now for almost 9 months. It was only ever meant to be a very short term thing. But like yourself as soon as I begin to get anywhere with lowering the dose things get bad. If only pred didn't come with all the nasty side effects and long term risks it would be a wonder drug! I hope you get on good with your new drug and can hopefully slowly come off the pred eventually. I'm currently on 10MG and that will probably take me 3-4 months to reduce to 0 once I'm stable enough to reduce the dose.

LignumVitae

I've never used it but I do know that azathiprine is widely used for skin autoimmune diseases like eczema. Good luck lovely lady, I hope if you get it that it works for you and helps you reduce the steroids (((((())))))

theresak

Hi Villier,

I think this is about the only DMARD they didn`t try me on, so can`t advise, but I wish you the very best of luck with it and hope it works for you.

villier

Thanks all, still waiting on the Neurologist getting back to me she was going to speak to someone from Rheumatology first as I seem to have slipped through the net regarding a rheumatology appointment, I believe I am now in the system after five months. xx

As5567 that is a shame you had the reaction to Azathioprine when it had worked for you so well.

barbara12

Hello Marie
Sorry I cant help but there are some positive on here so you concentrate on them, and I really wish you well with the meds..please keep us updated..x