There are 356 ratings for the drug: IMURAN in the Askapatient database.

Key to ratings for imuran: 5-Very Satisfied: this medicine cured me or helped me a great deal. 4-Satisfied: this medicine helped. 3-Somewhat Satisfied: this medicine helped somewhat. 2-Not Satisfied: this medicine did not work to my satisfaction. 1-Dissatisfied: I would not recommend taking this medicine.

Page: 1  2 3 4    Results are sorted by Date Rating Was Added.

Rating	Reason	Side Effects	Comments	Sex	Age	Time Taken and Dosage		Date Added
				F  M
Change sort order by clicking arrow under column heading.
1	An incompetent Dr. misdiagnosed me	Yellow skin, cystic acne, neoplasms, vomiting, infections, severely suppressed immune system.	I was sick the whole time I was on it.	M	18	6 months 100 1X D		7/17/2010
1	Chrons	Nausea,unable to function at work, tired all the time, light headed, dizzy, cold sweats.	Doctor said I was over-medicated. After being off for a week felt a lot better. Doctor wanted me to go back on 25mg, did that and previous symptoms came back. Think I am done with Imuran	M	49	45 days 100mg 1X D		7/13/2010
4	Crohn's	intense fatigue/malaise first week with nightmares and bone pain. This decreased to zero after two weeks and with a small dose reduction. When increased up again, smaller resurgence of nightmares, bone pain, teeth sensitivity which is almost gone.	Definitely helping with bowel symptoms. It took almost three weeks to start working. I don't have to know where all the bathrooms are when I go places and my toilet paper bills have gone down! Didn't help at all with arthralgias, but so for it's the best tolerated for gut issues.	F	40	5 weeks 200 1X D		7/7/2010
5	Colitis, Severe Eczema	Longer for scratches, scrapes to heal. Generally tired.	Started out at 150mg/day. Dropped down to 100mg/day after 10 months. Now taking 50mg/day until off completely in a month. Barley any side effects (I can certainly live with them). Three monthly blood tests - no problems. This medication has given me my life back.	F	28	1 years 150mg 1X D		6/13/2010
5	Crohn's Disease	Hair Loss at start (hair is fine now), occasional chest infections. sensitive to sunlight.	There are a lot of negative posts here about Imuran. I was diagnosed with Crohn's disease when I was 18 and it took several specialists 4 years to find a medication that would work for me. I was very ill on and off over those 4 years while I was in college and my life was very restricted by my illness at the time. Imuran has worked perfectly for me for the last 12 years. My illness is gone and I'm in full health. Yes there are occasional side effects to having your immune system suppressed but I would rather suffer a cold or chest infection than what I was suffering when Crohn's disease was in full swing in my body!! There are long-term risks with Imuran but personnally I'm willing to take that risk. None of the other treatments for Crohn's disease worked for me and I've tried them all. There is a risk of cancer later in life from Imuran but honestly there's a risk of cancer from everything nowadays.	F	34	12 years 50mg 2X D		6/13/2010
1	UC	Tumors, decreased healing ability, always feeling cold, catching viruses easily, warts, skin discolration	I would not recommend it!!	F	18	2 years 80 1X D		6/9/2010
5	Crohn's	had hair loss in beginning but I believe this was from the Crohns (however I didn't think so at time) I waited it out and now hair has grown back better than ever! No other side effects.	I get blood test once a month. my doc said I could change to every 2 months but I would rather be safe. I only occasionally get symptoms and once this happens I just eat very plain food and rest a lot. I also got my skin checked but they didn't think I needed too. My uncle is a neurologist and has prescribed this medicine for years(as it was originally invented for neurology) The only things he's noticed on his older patients is skin cancer but he is not sure if this because there was no education re: skin cancer in the 50's etc	F	28	18 months 125 mg 1X D		6/7/2010 Email
2	Eczema	Holy canoli! I used to have a few hairs on my toes: gone! Arm pits: gone! Hairline, chest, and ... "nether region" seem stable, folicle-ly speaking. Having been on a month long prednisone run with imuran over the last two weeks and ongoing, I expected to be cured but no such luck. I'm not a napper but I'm almost narcoleptic at different times of the day. Worse, no improvement in eczema though my dermatologist said I might need the dose tweaked.	I won't EVER rate something a 1 ("I would not recommend taking this medicine") as everyone's chemistry, ailments, and situation is different.	M	36	3 weeks 75 mg 1X D		6/4/2010 Email
2	Bullous Pemphigoid	No side effects for the first two weeks. Then started having heartburn, gastric discomfort - moderate and constant, and nausea. The Dr. made me stop it for a week, symptoms went away 95%, restarted at 50 mg.daily. Symptoms returned in 48 hours.	In addition I was having frequent labwork and my ALT and AST counts were going up. The second go round I was only on it for 6 days and the Dr. said to stop taking it. All gastric symptoms abated within 1 week. He made me see a gastroenterologist who recommended that I not take Imuran again. It was really helping me taper down on Prednisone (on Pred. for 1 1/2 years) but he said it was causing some liver toxicity and possible mild pancreatitis. I live for the day I can come off the Pred. but in my case Imuran is not worth the other risks.	F	72	5 weeks 100 mg. 1X D		5/24/2010
1	Dr. said	yellowish orange skin tone, lumps on neck and face	Worthless drug.	F	18	100 1X D		5/23/2010
1	Dr. said	Skin growths on face, acne, decreased ability to heal.		M	18	6 months 100 1X D		5/15/2010
1	UC	No positive effect, skin tags, odd skin problems	The skin problems are from Imuran and prednisone, not UC. I had UC long before taking these drugs and never had these problems. I take them and suddenly my skin starts doing weird things. I would never take these drugs again.	M	28	1X D		4/30/2010
1	Crohn's	Thin hair, rashes, breakout of warts, infections, looked very sick.		M	26	2 years 50 1X D		4/25/2010
4	autoimmune disease	the only side effect is my hair has gotten thin	It has helped me so far	F	65	17 years 50 -100 1X D		4/24/2010
1	Ulcerative colitis	YELLOW skin and eyes. No energy whatsoever. Hair loss. Acne.	My skin is still yellow to this day.	M	38	3 months 50 1X D		4/20/2010
1	UC	Severe hair loss, acne, red face, warts, tiredness, vomiting, profuse sweating, depression.	CNN did a story the other day about the gene that controls hair loss. The story said that once the hair loss gene is activated, you just keep losing your hair. I think Imuran activates that gene. I was only 18 when I started Imuran and I've been losing my hair ever since. Doctors will try blaming this on UC, but it turns out I was misdiagnosed. I didn't have UC, just food poisoning.	M	18	1 years 100 1X D		4/16/2010
4	Interstitial Pulmonary Fibrosis	None.	July 2007 start with 100 mg/day. Sept 2009 drop to 50 mg/day. Generic Imuran plus Acetyl Cysteine seems to have arrested my pulmonary fibrosis... which is normally progressive. No side effects.	M	62	2 years 100 mg 1X D		4/10/2010 Email
1	UC	Large bright red rash on face and neck. Was also on prednisone and Cipro. Evidently they can do this, too. Probably taking all three at the same time just makes the side effect worse. Cipro makes you really sensitive to sunlight (I didn't know this; doctor didn't say anything); Imuran makes it so you can't heal, so this has not healed even after 5 years.	I'd be really cautious about taking the UC drugs GI doctors hand out so casually.	M	19	100 1X D		4/6/2010
1	Lupus possible Sjogrens	Extreme vertigo and imbalance/Constant feelings of edginess and internal tremors, severe insomnia, severe continual low back pain including knees, hands, red face, trunk, arms and diaphoresis(extreme sweating) Foods tasted horrbile/loss of appetite/overwhelming fatigue. Tongue ulceration/frontal headache.	An RA doc ordered this along with Prednisone taking it 2x day x 1 wk and to taper the dose in half after 1 wk. My body literally "locked up" with intense cramping and muscle pain when tapering but not sure if it was due to also cutting the Prednisone. Oredered back up to original dose and within 6 days all stated side effects came back with a vengence. I took myself off and self medicated with Benydrl and epinephrine injection due to having a red face, dizziness and body redness that appeared on my face trunk and arms. Felt like I was "Checking out of this universe"...scary...stopped the med altogether but continue to take the Prednisone. Continued to take the antihistamine for the next 3 days.	F	65	2 weeks 50 2X D		4/5/2010 Email
1	My dog for auto immune anemia	My dog's blood vessels had HUGE holes in them and starting leaking and to the point where her lungs filled with water and had water on the brain. As soon as the vets removed the water from her lungs, they filled up again. She died, was ressusitated, went into a coma and died.	TAKE THIS DRUG OFF THE MARKET. MY DOG WAS "ONLY" 6 YEARS OLD, WITH AUTO IMMUNE ANEMIA WHICH WAS REVERSIBLE--THE VETS HAD OTHER CASES WITH TOTAL REMISSION. NOT SAFE FOR ANIMALS OR HUMANS, IN MY OPINION AND MY OPINION IS THAT I LOST MY BELOVED DOG TO IMURAN. STOP KILLING OUR PETS AND POSSIBLY OUR SOCIETY.	F	55	3 days 30mg 1X O		4/3/2010 Email
5	autoimmune hepatitus	Low hct only recently. Taking iron supplement which has raised hct. Also have decreased size of the red blood cells. Have also been easily brusing, all of which goes along with the low hct. Will be on a iron supplement regimen. Also have joint pain in hips, knees and ankles.	I literally couldn't live without it. If I go off it for more than three weeks, my liver function is terrible. Imuran brings it to the normal range. After 39 years of being on Imuran, if a low hct, that can be treated, is the worst side effect I have, I will take that over how awful I feel when I don't take the imuran.	F	56	39 years 35mg 1X D		3/29/2010 Email
2	Crones	Did blood check as required thank god! liver count through the roof, had to get off immediatly or lose my liver.		M	50	20 days 1X D		3/23/2010
1	Blood Issues, Hemogloban count low	PML - Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy - if you are on Imuran look PML up so you know what to look for and stop immediatly if you get any PML symptoms if you want to save your life.	First took Predizone for 9 months once condition was under control switched to Imuran to keep blood issue under control. What a mistake GOT PML now.	F	51	6 months 1X D		3/23/2010
1	UCTD	I started having muscle and joint pain after about 1 1/2 weeks on imuran. It got worse. Last night I had very severe muscle pain in my legs, my back is very painful, and my joints hurt.	I felt OK on it for a week or so, but now feel much worse than I did when I started. I couldn't work up to the 100MG my doctor wanted. I have been on every other day prednisone therapy for a couple of years, and my doctor wants to get me off of it. I have tapered the prednisone down from 20MG every other day to 11MG. I can't imagine that prenisone at this level is worse for me than imuran. I have a call in for my doctor today, I have stopped the imuran and won't start it again.	F	67	2 weeks 25MG 2X D		3/23/2010
4	Dermatomyositis	Severe hair loss, extreme fatigue, lethargy, depression, feeling worthless, joint pain, rash on legs and severe itch, low WBC count	Have been on Imuran for 6 months. Worked very well for the disease but having troubles with side effects. Doc is adjusting dose. Taking 5 mg prednisone as well. Hope will be in remission soon!	F	30	6 months 50 MG 1X D		3/22/2010
1	UC	My doctor Bushra Sulieman prescribed me Imuran, told me it was safe, etc. When I found out on my own about its risks of skin cancer, he lied to me, said that it wasn't a side effect. Well, I ended up getting skin growths on my face, now I have a really messed up, scarred face--a high dose of prednisone, unmonitored since he didn't know what he doing, didn't help either....Someone might act like this is superficial, to care about having a scarred face, but I guarantee you'd think differently if it happened to you.	To anyone who has had a bad experience with this shrug: you should rate the doctor who prescribed it to you on a site like ratemds.com, vitals.com, or drscore.com, if the doctor did not warn you about side effects: that's their job. They really should be fired, if not sued, if they don't do this. Unfortunately that rarely happens.	F	18	1 years 100 1X D		3/15/2010
1	Crohn's disease	Two hours after taking this medication I had severe, unrelenting, constant abdominal pain with inability to tolerate anything by mouth other than water the entire time on this medication. Doctor said it was "just the disease" and to keep taking it, even though I told him I was never this bad before. Stopped taking it on Day 5 and went to the E.R. Had to get I.V. electrolytes and Dilauded! I'll NEVER take this again. Was on 20 mg of Prednisone which I'm still taking, and now Vicodin for pain until I see a new gastroenterologist. I'm feeling great.		F	22	4 days 50 mg 1X D		3/13/2010
1	Ulcerative Colitis	Dark urine led me to the doc who ordered liver enzymes tested. GGT normal range is 12-43. Mine was 1099. Similar results with AST and ALT. All liver enzymes were normal before starting Imuran.	My specialist ordered liver tests every 6 months and claimed that my side effects did not show toxicity. My GP was the one who ordered the tests and took me off Imuran immediately. My advice is to demand more frequent liver tests during the initial stages of taking Imuran.	F	65	5 weeks 150mg 1X D		3/10/2010
1	UC	Skin tags, jaundice, infections, red eyes, rashes, muscle and joint pain, weakness and tiredness,	Definitely a case of the treatment being worse than the disease. I had my disease under control as best as it would get before taking Imuran. My doctor said I needed to take it, so I took it. Boy was that a mistake. This (or asacol, or one of the other drugs) actually made my UC symptoms worse, and I got bad side effects. My doctor said colitis is why I was tired. Well, I had had colitis before taking Imuran, and never felt this tired.	M	20	1.5 years 100 1X D		2/25/2010
3	Ulcerative Colitis	Started with 200mg now down to 100mg - Major hair loss and severe muscle and joint pain, mild depression, skin tags, extreme drop in white blood cell count at higher dosage. Been at 100mg for 3 mos and hair loss has slowed and white blood cell count normal. Muscle and joint pain still severe, no naseau in fact appetite increased and can't seem to lose weight, still developing skin tags, mild water retention, but UC well under control with this med. Don't know which is worse, UC or side effects of this medication.		F	53	6 months 100 1X D		2/23/2010
2	Crohn's Disease	Tiredness, lethargy, extreme joint & muscle pains, red/swollen/sore eyes, abdominal pains, infections. Also, acne caused by Prednisolone won't heal since taking Imuran.	I wasn't expecting to get side effects of this magnitude so soon (after only being on the drug three weeks) - not when they say it takes several months for the drug to start working! I've now stopped taking it because the side effects have been far, far worse than the disease. The Crohn's combined with the prednisolone side-effects are a pain in the backside (excuse the pun) but at least I still had a life! My disease isn't severe enough to warrant taking a drug this obviously toxic.	F	39	4 weeks 100mg 1X D		2/23/2010
1	Ulcerative Colitis	Nausea, skin growths, weakness, tiredness	Started getting side effects just after a few months, but my doctor said Imuran wasn't causing them. Stayed on it, side effects continued. Stopped after a year and never had these side effects since. Skin growths, of course, remain though. Changing my diet was more beneficial than taking Imuran. I really recommend making serious changes to your diet before starting a drug like Imuran. The reason why Imuran causes skin growths in many patients is because it has the ability to cause cancer. Your doctor might downplay this, but if it happens to you, well, that really sucks for you and what does it matter to your Dr? He/She might pretend to care, but the fact is most GIs don't; and even if you have one who truly does, it doesn't change anything. Using Imuran is basically throwing your money away, wasting your time going to see your GI (and he/she'll probably just look at you during the appt), and you might get cancer, or just even skin growths and other such things. I see no point in it, not until you've exhausted ALL other options...	M	30	1 years 100 1X D		2/19/2010
1	Colitis	Warts on face. Flu-like symptoms. Nausea. Acne. Discolored skin.	Someone on healingwell.com who had the same problem with Imuran. I had no positive effect from the medicine, so this is pretty annoying. I can't burn them off or anything, obviously that would leave scarring. So I just have to look sickly and diseased with all these warts.	M	30	1 months 100 1X D		2/10/2010
1	Crohns	Extreme pain in abdomen radiating to back	My husband was diagnosed with Crohns in August 2009. He started taking Imuran in September when he experienced extreme pain in his abdonmen which radiated through to his back. He seeked medical attention on more than 6 occasions but not one doctor could find the cause of his pain. In late October he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer which had spread to his liver. This disease is terminal. He passed away in January of 2010 only 9 weeks after being diagnosed (aged 45). We will never know if this medication caused his cancer but I am sure it play some part. I would be extremely cautious about taking Imuran.	M	45	14 days		1/31/2010
1	UC	Lost ability to heal! My body heals very, very slowly now. In some ways, I think Imuran suppressed my immune system so much my body just doesn't heal now. Also skin discoloration which sounds minor but makes me very selfconscious.	Imuran's side effects can stay with you long after you're off. Some of them don't even show up UNTIL you've stopped using it. This drug is potentially very, very dangerous. Maybe it helps some, but it's also horrible for many. You really need to know that before taking it.	F	33	1 years		1/30/2010
4	autoimmune hepatitis	I have hair loss, hot flashes, feel like i have a fever, but don't, just don't feel well.	i take 50mg imuran with 10 mg prednisone i have been taking them for 1yr 3 months. i am worried about the side effects but am thankful my liver is good and i can function with no pain	F	46	1 years		1/27/2010
1	auto immune hepatitis & cirrhosis	severe abdominal pains, tired all the time, nauesa, back & neck pains, swollen feet,discoloration & jaundice - UTI's frequently	I was diagnosed with autoimmune hepatitis, & cirrhosis in 2006. My doctors put me on prednisone and imuran. My levels would go up and down alot so my dozes would get changed alot. About two months ago, i was in school, doing gym class and while i was running i felt a sudden sharp pain my my stomach, along with not being able to catch my breath. The pains inmy stomach were so severe i couldn't even stand up straight. I was then put in the hospital for a week, and my dotors took me completly off of IMURAN. They said that the pains in my abdominal might be caused from the medicine. It is now almost three months later and i'm experiencing severe pains again. I also get UTI's like every month and they are so bad that i can barley even get out of bed. yes i am fourteen, and in those four years from experience, this MEDICINE IS NOT GOOD FOR YOU!	F	14	4 years		1/27/2010 Email
4	Autoimmune Hepatitis	Started at 50 mg for about 6 months and had very mild side effects. Mostly tiredness and hair loss (a lot) I am now on 100 mg (started 2 days ago) so I am not sure if I will have any additional side effects.	My liver enzimes came down to normal ranges for the past 6 months and only now they started to climb up again... that is the reason my doctor bumped my dose to 100 mg. I noticed that while it has kept my liver enzimes from going up, it didn't help me with the disease symptoms... strange . I will post another review in 6 months after being for a little while on higher dose.	F	41	6 months		1/24/2010
1	Crohn's	Hair loss, vomiting, infections, much harder to get over colds/the flu, decreased healing ability	I was on a very high dose. Maybe it's not as bad if your doctor actually knows how to use it. Mine didn't. Unfortunately, gastroenterology is one of those fields most people don't want to go into (understandably, you're constantly sticking your fingers up people's rectums, etc.) so it can be very difficult to find a good GI doctor.	M	26	9 months		1/21/2010
5	Crohns	Nausea	I am on Salofalk for my Crohns but I developed a fisulta and was given this medication to help it close. It worked very well and I am remaining on it to help keep my Crohns under control. Initially I had sever nausea from the Imuran but I lowered my dose and also split my dose up so I am not taking it all at once and my nausea is gone.	F	35	2 years		1/20/2010
1	UC	Tumors, hair loss, nausea, rashes, red bumps, acne	If more people were taking Imuran, I bet it'd get pulled from the market or at least black-boxed pretty quickly. I would never want anyone I know taking it. Didn't help my symptoms AT ALL and yet did all sorts of bad things.	F	31	1 years		1/18/2010
5	crohns	bells palsy, acne and chest rash at higher doses	This drug really turned my life around. Took a couple of months to kick in but allowed me to get off the steroids which caused lots of unpleasant side effects. Started off on 150mg daily and was completely off steroids after 8 months. 2 years ago I dropped my does to 100mg and one year ago dropped to 50mg. Each time I would feel physically better for the first 4 months after dropping the dose then feel real bad for a couple of months and slowly recover over the next 4 months. Would like to stop completely as worried about the cancer issues but also don't want to spend my life in the bathroom again. Have a colonoscopy next month and hope to drop to 25mg daily	M	50	9 years		1/15/2010
4	Crohn's Disease - Fistulas	Constant Nausea, Weak, Body Aches, Tired	I began taking this drug last April as my Crohn's disease had flared pretty badly and I had fistulizing disease. The Azathioprine is being used in my case to close the fistulas and prevent them from forming. So far the drugs seem to work. I take 100 mg Azathioprine along along with Pentasa 500mg. The nausea is a bit overwhelming, and to combat that I take Ondansetron HCL. I would like to find an alternative. I find some days it's hard to get out of bed. My body gets very tired and weak - not every day, but often enough to know it's a side effect of the Azathioprine.	F	28	10 months		1/15/2010
1	UC	Weird skin problems (yellow skin, skin growths, warts, skin not healing when cut), vomiting (and weight loss), chills, extreme fatigue	Here's what the Mayo Clinic says: "Azathioprine is a very strong medicine. You and your doctor should talk about the need for this medicine and its risks." ... "Also, because of the way this medicine acts on the body, there is a chance that it might cause other unwanted effects that may not occur until months or years after the medicine is used. These delayed effects may include certain types of cancer, such as leukemia, lymphoma, or skin cancer."	M	18	7 months		1/15/2010
1	UC	Massive hair loss, nausea, flu-like symptoms, weakness, tiredness, warts	Suppressing your immune system can have really bad effects. I wouldn't recommend taking this drug. It didn't help my UC, but my whole system is out of balance now.	M	26	6 months		1/12/2010
1	Crohn's	Large tumors on face, disclored skin, vomiting		M	32	1 years		1/7/2010
3	Pemphigus	tired, severe joint pains especially in lower back, pain in hands and ankles, in bed by 6 every day	I am not sure it has helped the Pemphigus. I had two rounds of Rituximab in which I saw improvement right away. I am on 150mg of Imuran. This week I took it down to 100mg. I will call my doctor to let him know. I am losing my ability to walk. My legs are very weak. I have very low energy and a lot of pain in my back.	F	53	6 months		1/1/2010
1	Dr said	hair loss, fatigue, nausea		F	26			12/24/2009
1	Crohn's	Neoplasms, skin growths, yellow skin	Not a good drug at all. Even supposing Imuran worked--it didn't for me--the long term effects of the drug are not good, and even the maker of Imuran acknowledges these effects. Would not recommend to anyone.	M	27	2 years		12/21/2009
4	Ulcerative colitis	None as of yet		F	39	6 months		12/9/2009
1	UC (Misdiagnosed)	Neoplasm (and a large surgical scar to remove it), acne, hair loss, nausea, vomiting, worsening of UC symptoms, yellow skin, extreme fatigue	My doctors at the University of Iowa told me this was safe. Not only do I not recommend taking this drug, I don't recommend getting medical information from the University of Iowa--doesn't seem to have very high standards, quite low ones actually. I don't think you'll find doctors at Harvard, Yale, or Stanford telling me the nonsense my doctors told me. BTW, I never even had UC. So if you've just been diagnosed with UC or CD, I really recommend getting a second opinion. For me, this mistake has cost me tens of thousands of dollars--and that pales in comparison to the harm that can never be fixed--I now have a scarred face, horrible skin, whereas before I had perfect skin. Obviously this is pretty important at 18 years of age.	M	18	7 months		11/27/2009
4	Relapsing Polychondritis, Lupus	nausea, hair loss, headache, fever, chills	I am taking 150mg daily and tolerate it very well. It has changed my life. In some ways, it has saved my life. I do understand the risk of neoplasm, especially lymphoma and skin cancer. It is very real. I am taking Imuran as a last resort, but, without it, I would not have much of a life, so I love it.	F	42	5 months		11/25/2009
1	UC	Neoplasm (and a large surgical scar to remove it), acne, hair loss, nausea, vomiting, worsening of UC symptoms, yellow skin, extreme fatigue	My doctor said this was safe--I hardly think a drug that can give you cancer is "safe." I would never take this again under any circumstance. I also have this piece of advice for anyone with UC or Crohn's: I'd be really skeptical of anything your GI doctor tells you--think about it: what sort of person wants a job in which they give rectal exams and such all day long? They're either in it solely for money, or they really like giving rectal exams (and such)--which is worse, I don't know...	M	18	8 months		11/24/2009
3	Syst. Scleroderma/PulmonaryFibrosis	Extreme bouts of fatigue and weakness. Severe lower back pain.	My recent pulmonary function test and CT show improvemen. However, the fatigue and weakness have had a definite impact on my quality of life. In the past week I've developed crippling lower back pain. I'm also on Rituxan and Prednisone. I'm extremely worried about long term use and the development of leukemia and other various cancers.	F	47	4 months		11/22/2009
4	autoimmune hepatitis	The only side effect that I have is tiredness, but I am not sure that the Imuran is the cause.	My last liver biopsy in 2002 showed signs of cirrhosis. I started with predinose, and was weaned off of it and onto imuran. Over the years my dosage has decreased from 150mg to 75 mg, with liver enzymes remaining in the normal range.	F	58	7 years		11/12/2009
5	Ulcerative Colitis	At 50mg/day, I initially had nausea but it resolved after taking Imuran at night instead of in the morning. After 4 months, I then had severe tiredness and pain in my hands, knees, & shoulders. The bottom of my feet hurt so bad, I could hardly walk. I then reduced my dose from 50mg to 25mg and within 1 month, all my side effects resolved.	After having my life on hold for 2 yrs due to UC, I started Imuran. At 6 weeks, the Imuran finally kicked in and it was my Miracle Cure! I went from 20-25 bouts of diarrhea/day to 5-10/day. After 6 months, I now have 2-3 formed BM's/day. After reducing the dose from 50mg to 25mg, I now have the same energy I had before being diagnosed with UC and can eat anything I want, although I shy away from fried foods. It's a Miracle!	F	50	11 months		11/9/2009 Email
4	Crohn's Disease	Hair loss, nausea, perioral dermatitis (rash under nose and lips), insomnia, increased back and hip and foot pain (don't know if the pain is related to Imuran or just my bad luck and osteoarthritis-the hair loss, nausea, and dermatitis are definitely related).	I have cut back by half and haven't noticed much change. I plan to keep cutting back until I'm off the Imuran. It concerns me that Imuran increases my risk from H1N1, and there is not enough vaccine in my area for those identified as being in priority groups for the vaccine. So cutting back on a risk factor seems reasonable to me, at least until there are supplies of vaccine. And it wouldn't be so bad if some of my hair grew back while I'm waiting. What I wish is that my doctors could see beyond my gut and help me make this decision.	F	52	3 years		11/5/2009
4	UC	I have been experiencing trouble sleeping but I am also on Ortho tricycline lo which could be adding to the fire. This medication along with asacol has litteraly saved my life! I have an excellent doctor who has me monitored very closley with bloodwork and frequent visits to make sure all my levels are stable. I would love to be off of this medication at some point to reduce my risk of cancer but at this point Ill take my chances after being in the hospital for a month and getting two blood transfussions and just got tappered from 20mg of prednisone!		F	25	8 months		11/1/2009
3	Chron's Disease	My most severe was by getting a terribly painful rash on and around my lips. I spent 5 months and saw 7 doctors (GP's, Gastro's and Dermatologists) before they could figure it out. It turned out to be a simple fungus infection caused by normal fungus and bacteria on the skin but got infected because imuran severely hurt my immune system.	Although I had this side effect for the chron's, I have had a lot of success with imuran for chron's. I was diagnosed when I was 15 and went on imuran about 6 months later. It has helped very much, with 2 flare ups requiring IV steroids. The last one was 3 years ago and have been in remission since.	M	20	4 years		10/13/2009
4	Central Nervous System Vasculitis	fatigue, hair loss	unable to discern which side effects are from Imuran and which from the Prednisone....physician wants to wean off the Prednisone and go solely with the Imuran....taking 100 mgs of Imuran daily with 15 Prednisone. Vasculitis was diagnosed following a stroke, also have fibromyalgia for which I am also taking separate medications which offers its own menu of side effects.	F	63	1 years		10/7/2009
3	Crohns	Tired when I started to take Imuran but that passed over. May be a bit of an itchy scalp lately.Bit of weight loss as well. Cant tell if that is due to drug but I have been eating well so my calorie intake was good.	I am taking Imuran to help with perianal crohns which can cause Fistula's. I have not had one since I stared taking imuran 5 months ago. I have a wound from an abcess that it has only started to help improve so I hope it keeps going.	M	29	5 months		10/6/2009
3	Sjogrens/Lupus	Stomach upset & tiredness after dose increase, dizziness	So far, Imuran has been OK, but I am concerned about long term side effects. Hopefully I wont have to take it too long	F	28	1 years		9/19/2009
1	Rheumatoid arthritis	Vomiting, headaches, raised liver tests		F	62	1 months		9/8/2009
3	auto immune hepatitis	extreme muscle and joint pain-feel like someone with a high fever(same kind of aches and pain) been on imuran for 3 1/2 months-on 100mg a day-just came off prednisone last week-muscle pain began shortly before coming off prednisone-don't know if this is coincidental or not		F	39	3 months		8/31/2009 Email
1	UC	My father took this medication for 3 years and was diagnosed with a rare skin cancer. (Merkel Cell). Please do not take this medication. His doctor did not monitor him very well on this drug because I have the medical reports that state that my father had the flu a lot. At one point he had pneumonia and the doctor never decreased the dose or stopped giving him this drug. We are taught to listen to our doctors but this drug took my father's life. I am learning through these blogs that my father has not been the only one. Please email me. Maybe we can still fight for our loved ones, if we all stick together. I was thinking of passing a law that would require patients to sign a consent form before taking this drug. The consent form would list the known benefits but all deaths that followed after taking this medication. I live in IL. Does anyone know how we can start such a law if we are all from different states? Will anyone stand behind me? Please email me.	My father was 79 when he passed away but was given this medication at 73 and diagnosed at 76. Why did his doctor give this medication to an older patient? Why didn't the doctor stop when my father complained of a having the flu? Does anyone have the drug write up from the pharmacy from 2001? I do not think cancer was listed because my father was also suprised to learn he had cancer.	M	79	3 years		8/28/2009 Email
1	UC	My father took this medication for 3 years and was diagnosed with a rare skin cancer. (Merkel Cell). Please do not take this medication. His doctor did not monitor him very well on this drug because I have the medical reports that state that my father had the flu a lot. At one point he had pneumonia and the doctor never decreased the dose or stopped giving him this drug. We are taught to listen to our doctors but this drug took my father's life. I am learning through these blogs that my father has not been the only one. Please email me. Maybe we can still fight for our loved ones, if we all stick together. I was thinking of passing a law that would require patients to sign a consent form before taking this drug. The consent form would list the known benefits but all deaths that followed after taking this medication. I live in IL. Does anyone know how we can start such a law if we are all from different states? Will anyone stand behind me? Please email me.	My father was 79 when he passed away but was given this medication at 73 and diagnosed at 76. Why did his doctor give this medication to an older patient? Why didn't the doctor stop when my father complained of a having the flu? Does anyone have the drug write up from the pharmacy from 2001? I do not think cancer was listed because my father was also surprised to learn he had cancer.	M	79	3 years		8/28/2009 Email
1	UC	My father took this medication for 3 years and was diagnosed with a rare skin cancer. (Merkel Cell). Please do not take this medication. His doctor did not monitor him very well on this drug because I have the medical reports that state that my father had the flu a lot. At one point he had pneumonia and the doctor never decreased the dose or stopped giving him this drug. We are taught to listen to our doctors but this drug took my father's life. I am learning through these blogs that my father has not been the only one. Please email me. Maybe we can still fight for our loved ones, if we all stick together. I was thinking of passing a law that would require patients to sign a consent form before taking this drug. The consent form would list the known benefits but all deaths that followed after taking this medication. I live in IL. Does anyone know how we can start such a law if we are all from different states? Will anyone stand behind me? Please email me.	My father was 79 when he passed away but was given this medication at 73 and diagnosed at 76. Why did his doctor give this medication to an older patient? Why didn't the doctor stop when my father complained of a having the flu? Does anyone have the drug write up from the pharmacy from 2001? I do not think cancer was listed because my father was also surprised to learn he had cancer.	M	79	3 years		8/28/2009 Email
2	ulcerative colitis	I have experienced extreme fatigue to the point that I don't want to get out of bed unless absolutely necessary. The joints in my fingers, hands and wrists feel stiff and like they are on fire at times. I get that achey, eye burning feeling as if I was coming down with the "flu." Was taking it at night and would walk up feeling nauseous.	I don't think imuran helped my UC much. I was able to stop prednisone but I think it was just determination, slow taper and diligent use of rowasa. My disease was getting worse on imuran and colazol so (not wanting to go back on prednisone) I started on Remicade in April and I think that has helped. I told my GI how tired and horrible I was feeling and she thought it was just the UC and that as I continue on Remicade it will get better. She was going to take me off imuran in 3 months. So I just saw another GI (a very seasoned and well recommended guy) and he thinks my symptoms are from imuran and told me to stop taking it now. I'm hoping that this will help. I also have insomnia, muscle aches, dificulty concentrating and am going to see a rheumatologist with some expertise in fibromyalgia to see what he thinks.	F	53	20 months		8/18/2009
1	Crohn's	got Shingles	looking at the side effects that people who are pleased with Imuran mentionit makes you wonder I took Remicade and Imuran for 12 months. My Abscesses got worse during the period and I got Shingles I nearly lost an eye. Anyone who is taking this drug and is eligble for the herpes-zoster vaccine is a fool not to take it. It didn't exist at the time for me. My Dr. denied that there was any possibility the Imuran could have facilitated the Shingles outbreak. $100,000 a year for Remicade is hard to pass up.	M	62	12 months		8/15/2009 Email
4	UC	Hardly see any side effects so far.	I have been having UC symptoms for 4 years - acute diarrhea, anemia, hight PLT level. I was diagnosed with UC 2 years ago. I have been taking Imuran for more than a year (100 mg per day) along with Salofalk (3000 mg per day). That was the drug dosage my doctor prescribed to me after I was hospitalized twice in 4 months. Each hospitalization started with 50 mg corticosteroid (Methylprednisolone) and slowly decreasing to 20 mg per day. After that I was sent home with a 'nice cocktail' of drugs including Methylprednisolone, Salofalk and Imuran. I was told I should slowly decrease the dosage of Methylprednisolone (5 mg every 2 weeks) until I stopped taking it at all. I stopped the Methylprednisolone 8 months ago and I have been taking only Salofalk and Imuran now. I do blood tests each month and I am watched closely by my doctor. My blood results are good and I have been feeling well. I have not had symptoms for 8 months since I started taking Imuran. I realize it is a risky drug but my doctor says I can stop it when my disease get into remission.	F	29	8 months		8/1/2009
1	Crohn's Disease	Severe body aches, joint pain, abdomenal pain, fever, mild pancreatitis, elevated liver enzymes	I was taking this medication for mild Crohn's disease and started experiencing side effects after 3 weeks at 50mg daily. I spent 2 days in the hospital with elevated liver and pancreatic enzymes. My doctor did all of the appropriate blood work to make sure I could metabolize this medication, but this doesn't mean you still cannot have a hypersensitivity reaction, which I did.	F	37	3.5 weeks		7/22/2009
4	Crohn's Disease	only side effects seem to be some mild acne (whiteheads) and low sex drive. although i'm not 100% sure if it's hormonal issues or the medication. recently noticed some lower back discomfort, i am overdue for my blood work, but i hope there's no issues with my kidney	it took about 3 months before this medication was completely effective in controlling my symptoms.	F	29	5 months		7/16/2009
1	Autoimmune hepatitis	Skin discoloration, hair loss, rashes, nausea, hand tremors	I'm still waiting for my skin to go back to its normal color.	M	32	2 months		7/10/2009
1	UC	Very sick, vomiting, severe hair loss, roseaca, fatigue		M	31	3 months		7/9/2009
1	UC	A tumor	I think the tumor side effect is more common than people think. When you think about the side effects listed for drugs, remember that the sample size for the studies are often not large enough to truly decipher the drug's true dangerous...But ultimately, you should know that this drug CAN and DOES cause tumors and various forms of cancer. I never would've taken it had I known that. I would never recommend this drug to anyone. There are better treatments in the pipeline, and UC might one day be cured; imagine if you take this and get cancer...and then UC is cured...this is a very shortsighted treatment, considering its risks.	F				7/3/2009
3	Dermatomyositis	diarrhea, nausea, stomach pain, anorexia (loss of appetite), hair loss, fatigue.	The worst of the side effects is the nausea. I can compare it to "seasickness" that comes in waves. Constantly feel like I could vomit. Very little appetite. Some days are better than others though! Seems to be keeping the DM in check, Dr. wants to switch to Myfortic instead. We'll see :)	F	35	7 months		6/30/2009
1	UC	Flu-like symptoms, thinning of hair, vomiting, warts		F	8			6/25/2009
4	Crohn's & Autimmune Hepatitis	Bruise and bleed easily; fatigue remains, but could be due to complications experienced with prednisone.	Will be finally weaned off prednisone and completely on Imuran soon. Imuran increased from 50mg/day to 150mg/day to do so; however, have not seen improvement with Crohn's. AIH is well under control with Imuran.	F	38	9 months		6/18/2009
3	ulcerative colitis	severe joint pain, rash, roseaca, fatique, wieght gain	I took Imuran for 5 years and when the joint pain became so debilitating I went off it. Imuran was great for getting the UC in remission. When I went off it I made sure I was symptom free. I had always taken a good multi vitamin and omega 3 fishoil. I added 300-600mg Bosweilla(ayuvedic med) and 1 oz pure Acai liquid. When I think I am heading to a relapse I cut the Acai and if I see blood I take acecole for a few weeks (I only did that when I first went off it). No sugar, no wheat, no dairy, no nuts or seeds. Tricky but worh it. Been healthy for 1 year and can once again walk and workout. Have had UC for 18 years.	F	56	5 years		6/18/2009
1	UC	Yellow skin, extreme fatigue.	It didn't help me at all; all it did was severely suppress my immune system, giving me infections and making me sick.	M				6/15/2009
1	Crohn's	Tumors. Apparently the risk of tumors and cancer are increased when the patient is a teenager or a young adult.	"Azathioprine, is already known to be a toxic drug, and to up skin cancer risk." "A Cancer Research UK team found the drug alters DNA, which can trigger cancer when a user is also exposed to ultraviolet light." "Patients on this drug should take extra care when in the sun." "When azathioprine interacts with UVA light it forms a novel photoproduct which can't be repaired." http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4248356.stm	M	19	4 months		6/7/2009
1	Crohn's	Hepatosplenic lymphoma, my son died 5 weeks ago from this side effect of Imuran after taking 150 mg daily for 4 years. Never explained to us that this was a potential side effect!		M	19	4 years		6/5/2009 Email
5	Crohn's Disease	Fatigue	Definitely notice improvment in Crohn's symptoms. This is the only medication that has obviously helped my symptoms, even steroids were not helpful. It causes mild fatigue, so I take it before bed every night, and feel fine during the day.	M	50	2 years		6/4/2009
4	Crohn's and reactive arthritis	Acne, achy joints sometimes, tiredness and jumbled brain (difficult to tell if side effects caused from imuran or life!)	At 100mgs a day my crohn's has been pretty stable. I've been on it 1.5 years now. I really wish I wasn't; I still think it is dangerous! But without it life was intolerable. Because I'm always freaking out about being on such toxic drugs my gastro tells me I can reduce after two years but he keeps asking 'what's the alternative?' I think that if a person can tolerate this drug and the use is well-monitored by a competent doctor the benefits can be worth the threat of potential side-effects.	F	36	1.5 years		6/2/2009
2	autoimmune hepatitis	Was on prednisone for two horrible weeks and liver enzymes down a little so started Imuran and Ursodiol .. very very nauseated, hot flashes, perisistent headache... felt TERRIBLE. Traveling for two weeks so stopped until we can reassess.		F	61	4 days		5/28/2009
1	UC	A break out of warts (like a dozen or more of them on my face) - It lowers your immune system and can do weird things like this. I didn't know that. Also: acne, nausea, and yellow skin.		M	18			5/22/2009
5	Crohn's Disease	Never really had any side effects. I am having a very hard time losing weight, but I really don't know if is caused by Imuran or being postmenopausal.	After having two resections in five weeks in 1998, I was put on Imuran. My liver counts have remained normal, and although I do have a flare occasionally and have to take prednisone for a couple of weeks, the Imuran keeps me stable. I also take 2250 mg of Pentasa a day. I tried going off several years ago, but started to have problems. On 100 mg per day and my gastro Dr. thinks I will need to take it as long as it continues to work.	F	60	11 years		5/19/2009
4	crohn's	mild nausea for about two days and since then I have been totally fine. Don't take too high a dosage. I am a small person, and I am on 100 mg. Worked well for me.		F	63	3 years		5/19/2009
1	UC	Skin cancer tumor, acne, vomiting, and extreme fatigue.		M				5/13/2009
1	UC	Vomiting, acne, hair loss	It didn't work for me.	M				5/2/2009
1	RA & Crohn's Disease	Low platelet count resulting from pernicious anemia and the combination of these drugs and infection. I was having Remicade infusions while on it and picked up Mono b/c of my low immune system. I wound up being hospitalized, having bone marrow biopsies to rule out lymphoma and then 3 transfusion for having a platelet count of 5. I took 6 months to recover and am already at the point where I am on both drugs again. I am scared to death that I will get sick again. Mostly I'm afraid of it actually being lymphoma next time. I wish there were better drugs out there for me, but there just aren't.		F	26	3 years		5/2/2009 Email
4	Myasthenia Gravis	Fatigue, joint pain (shoulder/arm), insomnia, some hair loss, and liver problems.	At 100 mg a day, liver counts are fine (AST/ALT levels). At 150 mg/day, all levels very high. Higher dose was prescribed to lessen my need for prednisone. Also taking Crestor for high cholesterol.	M	66	14 months		4/27/2009
4	Crohns	Occaisional "tired" days, some skin tags, mild groin rash.	Diagnosed with Crohns @ 48 after years of vague symptoms culminated in total blockage - not fun. Resections 1991 & 2003. 50mg twice daily. Certainly better than the steroids which made me fat and grumpy... Best additional med is Questran Lite (think liquid concrete) which reduces the BM's (2-4 daily which is bliss for Crohns) AND lowers your cholesterol (bummer!) Dr has me on Vit D, B12, Folate and Calcuim supplement to keep bloods OK. Tests every 4 months. Told the authorities all about it and I still have a Class 1 Aviation Medical...	M	61	6 years		4/26/2009 Email
1	UC	acne, fatigue, yellow skin, nausea, hair loss, lowered white blood cell count (had to find this out on my own, my doctor was too stupid to know he was supposed to be watching for this.)	My doctor was a moron and had me on a really high dose relative to my age and weight, and I think that's why I had strange side effects like yellowing of the skin. If you have a good doctor who knows what to watch for this is a safe drug. If you have a bad doctor though this is an extremely dangerous drug.	M		9 months		4/24/2009
4	Crohn's Disease	No side effects that I'm aware of.	My dosage had to be adjusted at the beginning due to my white blood cell count getting low. Also, it hasn't helped to heal my fistulas. Otherwise, quite happy with it.	F	34	10 years		4/23/2009
2	Unknown Auto Immune Disease	I don't think any side effects from Imuran. I'm on 100 mg daily. Using to enhance or to lower prednisone dosage(15 mg daily) I have been on Prednisone for almost a year. The only side effects from Pred are insomnia (occasionally) and hot - cold sensitivity to teeth.	I really don't think Imuran is helping because I have had to actually increase my prednisone from 10 to 12.5 to 15. Crazy, huh?	M	67	2 months		4/23/2009 Email
1	Crohn's	Severe vomiting, lots of hair loss, bad acne, a rash on my face, WARTS, major fatigue, fever.	I basically felt like I was dead. Once I got off it, I felt much better, but I don't think a Dr. could burn off the warts because there's so many of them. I hope they go away eventually.	F	20			4/14/2009
1	Ulcerative colitis	Skin discoloration, yellow eyes, hair loss, warts, acne, severe nausea, flu-like symptoms, infections...and no positive effect whatsoever...Gee, what a great drug.	Never in my life have I felt worse than taking Imuran. Maybe it works for some, but it can also be extremely dangerous to many others. Make sure your doctor knows that. There are some bad, incompetent doctors out there. You can't assume your doctor knows what's going on. The field of gastroenterology is filled with the absolute worst of the medical profession in my experience, greedy people just interested in money, people who have no integrity about doing their job properly, people who care not all if you have good outcomes or not.	M				4/2/2009
5	crohns diease	severe neusea, vomiting, fatigue, fevers,	After being on high dose of prednisone for many years with little results. While first taking Imuran I was also reducing my prednisone weekly with horrible side effect. And the Imruan together I spent 6 weeks on the lounge with my head in a green bucket I had to dropped out of Uni for one tearm and stop working as a nurse for 10 weeks. But it get better once all the side effects were gone Iam no in 95% remission. I do however still get joint pain and feel fatigued at times.	F	46	3 years		3/28/2009 Email
2	ulcerative colitis	I took Imuran 100mg. per day. A rash appeared on my torso, front and back. These rashes itched terribly. Then the hair fell off of both of my legs. I discontinued taking Imuran. I'm taking Humira in place of the Imuran. The Humira is an injection.		M		3 weeks		3/15/2009 Email

1  2 3 4 
Average rating for drug: 3.0. This page is printer-friendly; use landscape print with background color turned on.

Key to ratings: 5-Very Satisfied: this medicine cured me or helped me a great deal. 4-Satisfied: this medicine helped. 3-Somewhat Satisfied: this medicine helped somewhat. 2-Not Satisfied: this medicine did not work to my satisfaction. 1-Dissatisfied: I would not recommend taking this medicine.

Askapatient Drug Database Enter Drug Name:

.