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Thread: Maintenance Meds

  1. #1
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    Default Maintenance Meds

    My next appointment is 6/25 and if all goes as planned I will get to stop Cytoxan and move to another medication for maintenance. Thank goodness because I’m on month 20 of this crap and ready for a change.

    What are the advantages or disadvantages of Methotrexate or Imuran (Azathioprine)? Both have been kicked around and not that I will have a choice, but curious about both. Is one safer than the other?

    Thanks for your input in advance!

    Katrina...not the Hurricane
    "Never go to a doctor whose office plants have died." - Erma Bombeck

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    I'm on mtx for maintenance...no side effects cept for early hair loss which was corrected with vitamins, folic acid triple dose.
    Knowing how to think empowers you far beyond those who only know what to think. -NdT


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    Quote Originally Posted by HopeinTN View Post
    My next appointment is 6/25 and if all goes as planned I will get to stop Cytoxan and move to another medication for maintenance. Thank goodness because I’m on month 20 of this crap and ready for a change.

    What are the advantages or disadvantages of Methotrexate or Imuran (Azathioprine)? Both have been kicked around and not that I will have a choice, but curious about both. Is one safer than the other?

    Thanks for your input in advance!

    Katrina...not the Hurricane
    MTX is not good if you have kidney damage or neuropathy. Not good if you drink alcoholic beverages. It can be given once a week and injection is option. MTX can cause sores in mouth, irritation in lungs, scarring of the liver.

    Azathioprine is not good if you have liver damage or lack an enzyme to digest it. They should test for this before starting you although it is rare to lack it. It is taken daily by mouth. May increase risk of blood cancers in people taking it for transplant rejection.

    People react differently to them and may find one intolerable and the other no problem. Both cause increase risk of infection and require regular blood work. The above info is from NIH so I would ask your doctor which they recommend for you. MTX was not consider as an option for me because of my medical history.
    Last edited by drz; 06-13-2013 at 11:01 AM.

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    I did have the test and should be fine with Imuran. We'll see and I think this is what they are leaning towards. I thought getting all the info I could on the two might be helpful. I'm such a planner by nature and this disease has changed that part of my life for sure.
    "Never go to a doctor whose office plants have died." - Erma Bombeck

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    Good to know. Hopefully I'll be in the same situation come August and the docs will switch me over. Since I have only 1 kidney and it has been affected by wegs, MTX probably isn't an option for me. Thanks for the info. (Not happy about the prospect of more hair loss though, Don!)

    Mary
    Mary
    dx'd Janaury 2013
    involvement: lungs, kidney and sinus

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    I thought that too about the hair, but I'm thinking that if 20 months of CTX doesn't take my hair (mostly thinned out), then surely this one won't! I hope but who knows. I have involvement in both lungs so I'm guessing Imuran is best for me.
    "Never go to a doctor whose office plants have died." - Erma Bombeck

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    Katrina..I thought they took you off that a long time ago,I know you were taking about it...why are they waiting soooooo long ?
    Life isn't about how you survive the storm, but how to dance in the rain !

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    I don't know much about the others because I have only been on MTX......but I like drz's explanations.

    I hope the choice is a good one for you.



    I just wanted to say that I miss Al calling you Hurricane
    Keep Smiling
    Michelle


    Live your life in a way that you wouldn't be ashamed to sell the family parrot to the town gossip - WILL ROGERS

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    Quote Originally Posted by HopeinTN View Post
    I thought that too about the hair, but I'm thinking that if 20 months of CTX doesn't take my hair (mostly thinned out), then surely this one won't! I hope but who knows. I have involvement in both lungs so I'm guessing Imuran is best for me.
    Katrina, I think I'll remember your name now. The avatar is a bit of a clue! And I'll think of Al.

    I'm finding that after switching to MTX from CTX, the hair loss is much less and it is actually growing back, although quite slowly. I don't know how azathioprine is with hair loss or anything else. I did have lung involvement, though probably not as bad as yours. The MTX hasn't caused any lung irritation that I know of. I'm sure your docs will make the right choice, but isn't it nice that we have this forum to get a lot more detail about options and what to expect.
    Anne, dx'ed April 2011

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    Nope, I thought the the Dr. at Johns Hopkins would talk my doctors at Vandy into taking me off the CTX back months ago but nope. They all agreed that mine was a tough case and I wasn't in remission just yet.

    Yes, I do miss Al and the Hurricane comments. He was such a good egg!

    Exactly Annekat. This group is awesome and who better to ask than my fellow weggies that have been there before me?
    "Never go to a doctor whose office plants have died." - Erma Bombeck

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