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I am a 45 year old female newly diagnosed with Moderate UC on both left and right sides of my colon.  My GI and I have narrowed options down to Imuran or Remicade/Humira.  My main concerns are immune suppression and side effects.  If you have taken both Imuran and Remicade/Humira, can you share your experiences and input to help inform my decision?

Thank you in advance for your support.

Reply posted for nmiller004.

Hello! I hope I don't come off as insensitive, but no one's experience with these treatments will help you nor should they decide yours.. Every body is different. The decision should be yours and your doctors. For example, I have tried humira, Imuran, cimzia and remicade before finding one that worked for me. Now I am on Entyvio and it seems to finally be working. Imuran was added when the doctors realized Humira wasn't working for me. The steroids with and in between all of those also didn't works for me. Remicade seemed like it was working, but a year or two in I developed serum sickness. My mom also has Crohn's and would live on prednisone if she could, she said it works instantly, and I have a friend who started Humira as her first treatment and it has been great for her from the start. There will be no way to know until you're on it.

Reply posted for Simina.

I have taken both Imuran and Humira.
Imuran was the second treatment my doctor prescribed for my Crohn's Disease. It did good for the disease but I had may side effects: muscle fatigue, joint pain, severe hair loss and the last time I took it I had severe nausea and vomiting that lasted for about a month, so I was very glad when the doctor took me off.
When it comes to the treatment I much more prefer Humira because it's an injection once every two weeks that I can carry with me if I'm travelling and I can almost forget I'm sick. I was on remission for 2.5 years with Humira and I had almost no side effect(I was catching a cold easier indeed and sometimes I had a bit of swelling around the injection site but that's all). Also, the doctors adviced me against getting pregnant on Imuran and since I'm thinking about this in the future it's another reason why I don't like the drug.

Reply posted for Mlmschwartz .

I was on Humira injections three years ago and stopped when I was feeling really good. That was not a smart thing to do. I found out 9 months ago that my Crohns disease has taken over 40 cm of my intestines. Since then I started Remicade infusions. I started now having severe reactions with stomach pains, shortness of breath. Also nausea and vomiting and severe headache. I think one of the most troubling things to me though is that I have gained over 30 lbs in this last few months.

Reply posted for Mlmschwartz .

I was on Humira injections three years ago and stopped when I was feeling really good. That was not a smart thing to do. I found out 9 months ago that my Crohns disease has taken over 40 cm of my intestines. Since then I started Remicade infusions. I started now having severe reactions with stomach pains, shortness of breath. Also nausea and vomiting and severe headache. I think one of the most troubling things to me though is that I have gained over 30 lbs in this last few months.

Reply posted for nmiller004.

I have moderate UC and have been on Imuran since 2012.  I was in the middle of a flare, and several rounds of prednisone did nothing for it.  My doctor switched me to Imuran and within days the flare stopped.  I have not had any isuues for seven years.  I haven't had any flares or side effects.  Last September i started a flare, and started a 40mg prednisone taper.  It kind of got it back under control, until i finished the prednisone.  A week or so after finishing the predisone it started back.  I did another 20mg prednisone taper, and it hasn't touched it.  After talking with my doctor we are trying increasing my Imuran to 200mg to see if it might get it back under control.  As of right now i haven't seen much results.  He mentiond Humira, but didnt think it was a good option.  I don't know much about it, but the side effects and cost scare me.  Reading all of the information about Imuran scared me also, but I haven't had any issues until now.  Good Luck!