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6mp caused liver issues, had to stop humira also. Now what??


Wed, November 30, 2011 9:27 AM

Anyone else been in the situation where they are running out of treatment options?

I am feeling so discouraged.  My 13 year old son was taking 6mp, but his liver enzymes were always high (bouncing around from ALT 60 - 130).  He stayed on 6mp for about a year, since it was never certain if the liver problem was from 6mp or from a suspected liver disease (PSC). 

We decided to switch him over to humira, to see if that would treat his crohn's symptoms better, and lower the liver enzymes.  He started humira in September.  His liver numbers became completely normal. But a month after starting humira, he got flu symptoms after nearly every shot, developed rashes, and recently, developed neurological issues (pins and needles all over his body for 3 seconds at a time, averaging a dozen times a day).  We pulled him off humira.

Yesterday, his doctor told us to decide between going back to 6mp or trying Remicade.  When people have reactions to one biologic, they apparently have a high chance of being sensitive to other biologics as well.  So the decision I had to make was whether to take a chance with my son's liver, or take a chance with the other horrible things that could happen if he reacts to remicade. 

For now, we decided to put him back on 6mp and keep an eye on his liver enzymes.  I'll probably also start looking into alternative treatments, but I don't have a lot of faith that these will do much for my son.  I have UC myself, and have tried many different things  (acupuncture, chinese herbs, vsl#3, the SC diet, tumeric, yoga).  Most of these alternative treatments help a little bit, but not nearly as much as mesalamine. I doubt any of these will save my son from having to take medicines.

 

 

FPO raquelita
Joined Dec 28, 2009

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