Back in September 2016, my gastroenterologist called me and had me decrease my Imuran dosage because my lymphocyte count was low, so instead of taking two pills a day, I would starting taking only one. I have bloodwork done every three months so that my doctor can keep an eye on how my body is reacting to the medication. After my next bloodwork results came back, she called again and told me my lymphocyte count was still low. I hadn’t experienced any negative side effects after decreasing the Imuran, so she told me stop taking the Imuran completely. At that point, I had been taking Imuran every day for almost four and half years, and Imuran is the only drug I was taking for my Crohn’s. I didn’t need to taper off at all, and I didn’t notice any side effects after stopping the Imuran.
Tapering Off (4 posts)
I started taking Entocort starting on September 30, 2012, and I stopped taking it on February 18, 2013 (almost five months in total). I had already been taking Imuran when I started, but I was still going to the bathroom more often than I wanted to be.
Taking the pills
I took three pills a day. They are red and white capsules. Since I can’t swallow pills, I opened the capsules, emptied the tiny white balls inside the capsules into my mouth, and then washed them down with some juice and something to eat. I couldn’t put the balls in the juice, because the balls would stick to the bottom of the cup. The balls didn’t have much of a taste, but the sensation of swallowing them was kind of weird.
Background: I have Crohn’s disease. I was diagnosed in winter 2009. I started taking Prednisone in summer 2011. My first dose was 40 mg for two weeks, then down 5 mg each week, so I guess about nine weeks in all.
It was amazing. The very first day, I felt like doing everything (whereas before, I felt like doing nothing). I was super energetic and super happy (whereas before, I was super tired and super depressed). I also ate a lot, which for some people, might be a concern, but I weighed 90 pounds at the time, so I was quite glad to gain another 30 pounds. There were no mood swings or acne or swelling. It was just amazing.
Last week, I had an appointment with a new gastroenterologist. The reason I have a new gastro doc is because back in January/February, I was doing pretty bad. I wasn’t sure if I was having a flare-up, because I also had the flu around the same time. I don’t know if I’ve ever had the actual flu before this, because this time was really bad. And frustrating, because I was missing classes, which makes me stress out, which makes me even sicker. I tried going to my linguistics class, but I had to sit down in the hallway halfway there, and then I just ended up going back home. My parents came to see me in residence just to make me scrambled eggs so I would eat something. It really, really sucked.