for those taking Imuran

[Jaha]

My Rheumy just changed my medication from MTX to Imuran 2wks ago. I guess I was having side effects from the MTX that I just thought was normal. I'm hoping that this change will be good, I'm down to 15mg preds a day and Bactrium everyother day. I seem to be having alot more pain in the joints than I normally do, would that be something I need to report? I'm fairly new to this and need to learn what is to be exepected with medication changes.
Jaha

[Jack]

After a significant change of medication you should have a follow up appointment within a couple of weeks and you should then report every reaction you can think of. If things seem to be going wrong before your appointment is due, get in touch with them. These things need careful monitoring.

[Jaha]

Jack,
Thank-you for your advice, I guess I need to report everything. I still have a bit of denial about this disease and what it can do, even after a very ruff year with it. I'll call my dr and report it.
Jaha

[JanW]

Personally I think there's never a bad reason to call the rheumy. I had (what turned out to be) a quiet minor rash about four months ago -- he wanted to see me the very next morning.

[drz]

Has any one had to stop azathioprine or Imuran because it drove their white blood count too low?

I have been on 100 mg now for a week and my WBC dropped from 6.2 to 5.0. I had to stop the Cytoxan because it kept driving my WBC too low. I hope the azathioprine won't do the same thing.

[flana]

Yes my WBC started declining when Imuran was introduced. Had to remove CTX, and they came back up to thier normal range.