I created this blog as a small journal to document my time on the drug Azathioprine, which I have started taking since Wednesday 25th April 2012 after visiting the hospital shortly prior. Azathioprine is a drug that was primarily designed for patients following organ replacements to stop rejection from the body, but is apparently a common treatment for Crohns disease sufferers like me.
I have been urged and begged to go on it from my gastrointestinal consultant after my last colonoscopy last November, since this was the next logical step for treatment of my Crohns after taking steroids (Prednisolone) successfully for a few months on and off, and also subsequently due to adverse reactions to ASA drugs (balsalazine and pentasa) which left me feeling rough.
I have been a little worried about going onto Azathioprine for the treatment of my Crohns because of the various horror stories of the symptoms and side affects that result from it, which include nausea, hair loss, stomach pains, and huge susceptibility to infections, disease and hepatitis due to inhibition of white blood cell production in the body and an inflamed liver.
Doctors were convinced it would do me good because my TPMT levels following a previous blood test were normal, which is good to stabilise the drug in my body, and the levels also show that I would probably not suffer from some of the worse symptoms that I have read from others.
Soooo...I started the drug, and so far things have been tolerable. 175mg tablets daily with water after food. First sign of scariness were the warning on the package of it being a cytotoxic drug, 'handle with care'. I found that peeing about 2 hours after taking the drug, the colour of my urine is a luminous neon yellow, which has a radioactive glow to it. I have yet to test if this is visible in the dark but suspect it might be.
I had my first encounter with nausea on the evening of day 3, although this probably wasn't helped by the fact I had also drunk 2 coronas and a Yeager bomb. Felt completely sober, but shortly after arriving home I vomited in the toilet.
Feelings of nausea have continued into the next 2 days although no more vomiting yet. Currently at the end of day 5 and feeling exhausted as well as anxious, which I cannot shake the feeling of. I feel like I need holiday. I am drinking water tonight before bed to calm my stomach and wash out the left over mixed grill I had for dinner. Generally feeling a little bloated and uneasy, with a slightly gurgling stomach. Also have the urge to burp/pass wind but seems like a struggle at the moment.
I have the first of my regular blood tests for the Azathioprine treatment tomorrow. This is necessary as my white blood cells need to be monitored during treatment as they will drop significantly. Other levels may be affected as this drug is also known to mess with DNA, and affect bone marrow. After tomorrow, I will have a further blood test in 2 weeks, then 4 weeks, then every 3 months, depending on if I'm still on the drug.
I anticipate that if all goes well, I will be on the drug for between 2 and 5 years, and should notice some positive affects occurring around the 2-3 month mark. I'm looking forward to this changing my life for the better, but at this stage it seems that anything goes. I hope that this blog will go a long way in chronicling the effect this will have on my disease, and my life, for better and for worse, and that it may help those that are in the same boat as I am. Stay tuned folks!
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