My 16 year old son has Crohns. He was diagnosed when he was 12. He has been on Remicade for 2 years now he gets it every 4 weeks rather then the norm of every 8 weeks. He's is okay but still has some bad days. My dr informed me today that she wants to stop Remicade and start prednisone then Imuran. My instincts are telling me that this is not a good idea due to the fact that Imuran takes a few months to work and if he feels good more often then he feels sick why change things so drastically. Any advice?
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Stop Remicade start Imuran?
- Thread starter Confusedmother
- Start date
rygon
Moderator
I think that if the drugs is not working as it should, there could be underlying inflammation that can cause problems later on in his life.
Has he built up antibodies to remicade? as taking it every 4 weeks and still having problems tells me it isnt doing its job.
I am on remicade and aza at the same time. Is it possible that he can take that combination until the aza starts working? then you can decide whether he is feeling good enough to stop the remicade.
There are also other drugs like Humira that may work better
Has he built up antibodies to remicade? as taking it every 4 weeks and still having problems tells me it isnt doing its job.
I am on remicade and aza at the same time. Is it possible that he can take that combination until the aza starts working? then you can decide whether he is feeling good enough to stop the remicade.
There are also other drugs like Humira that may work better
Thank u for responding. He has been tested for antibodies and the test was good. I am going to do more research before I make any decisions. Thanks again
There is no reason to stop remicade before starting imuran (aza). Actually a lot lf docs started using combinaton therapy (aza and remicade combined) as the treatment of choice to get patients into deep remission lately. Here is a 2010 study on that http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa0904492#t=articleResults
Without a very good, valid reason for doing what his doc suggests, I would not agree to that but rather suggest combination therapy.
Without a very good, valid reason for doing what his doc suggests, I would not agree to that but rather suggest combination therapy.
- Location
- Montréal, Canada
Hi,
its possible to start prednisone and Imuran at the same time. Usual prednisone therapy lasts about 2 months when in crisis. 2 months is good enough for Imuran to kick in. I did it with a starting 50mg per day dose of prednisone decreasing every week. I was in a big crisis at that time however.
I tried Imuran in the past and it didnt work for me. Same category medication Purinethol (mercaptopurine) has kept me into remission for years in the past. And now I am back on it.
Have you considered a special diet? Thats what i would recommend the most for your son.
I suggest to you 2 gastroenterologist authors with very positive results with Crohn's disease.
Dr. Jean Seignalet (france)
Professor John Hunter (UK)
let us know!
its possible to start prednisone and Imuran at the same time. Usual prednisone therapy lasts about 2 months when in crisis. 2 months is good enough for Imuran to kick in. I did it with a starting 50mg per day dose of prednisone decreasing every week. I was in a big crisis at that time however.
I tried Imuran in the past and it didnt work for me. Same category medication Purinethol (mercaptopurine) has kept me into remission for years in the past. And now I am back on it.
Have you considered a special diet? Thats what i would recommend the most for your son.
I suggest to you 2 gastroenterologist authors with very positive results with Crohn's disease.
Dr. Jean Seignalet (france)
Professor John Hunter (UK)
let us know!