Fatigue

With the AIH, I get tired very easily and often.  I can sleep anywhere from 4 to 12 hours a night and still feel the same level of fatigue.  Can someone tell me if it'll ever go away or will I be tired for the rest of my life?  I know this isn't normal since before I got sick I was hardly ever tired.  I'm also a former runner and I tried going out for a run a couple times and got so exhausted so easily (it wasn't the same feeling as just being out of shape).  Is that normal as well?  Will I ever feel normal again?

[9743km]

Hi there,
What meds are you on?  I am 37 years old and have been diagnosed w/AIH for about a year and a half now.  Now that the AIH is under control I feel fabolous.  I work out all the time and have lots of energy.  Are your numbers in the normal range or are you going through a flare up?

[Martix]

I'm on 4 mg of prednisone and 150 mg of Imuran.  I had a flair up the very begining of April but my counts so far have been very normal, around 25 and 30.  I'm just kinda tired of being tired.

[9743km]

I know exactly what you mean...This disease gets rather trying, huh?  Talk to your Dr. maybe you need to be on some vitamins or something.  You are on a high dose of imuran and I will tell you this, I started getting real tired, and had no energy.  My Dr. ran a toxicity test on the imuran in my body and it came back really high.  Turns out it was toxifying my body and he switched me to a different drug.  I had all my energy back w/in 2 days.  Now I am on 6 MP.  Whenever I get that run down feeling though it reminds me of how I felt on the imuran.  I was on 150 mg as well of the imuran.  6 MP is basically the same drug but made by a different manufacturer.  But if my Dr. puts me up to 150 mg I get high levels of toxicity w/the 6 mp as well.  I can not go above 100 mg.  Have your Dr. check it out.  It sounds like it could be part of the problem.  It is called a imuran toxicity test.  Simple blood tests.  Takes about 5 days to get the results...

[Martix]

The stuff I'm on is actually the generic for imuran.  Would do the same thing?  I also had imuran level test done to see how much was in my system (or something like that) so would that be similar?

[9743km]

Yes, the generic brand would do the exact same.  And yes, checking the level of imuran in the body is the same test.  Did it come back okay and when did you have it done?

[Martix]

I had the test done about a month ago.  It was the one that they send to the Promethius lab in California.  All they told me about my results is that my levels of imuran were high enough that I could start reducing my prednisone.  I go and see the doctor again at the end of July so I'll hopefully remember to ask him about toxicity levels and see if he can do anything else.  Thanks for the help

[9743km]

That is the exact test.  It is through the promethius lab.  If those labs come high again (anything over 5600) request a reduction.  Mine got to 20,000 then went down to 10,000 in 3 days then to nothing in another 4 days.  So it'll come out of the system quickly, but with in a day I felt like a completely different person.  Literally in a day.  My Dr. didn't reduce the prednisone he took me immediately off the imuran and on to something else.  I was a new person in a day...I promise.  Ask to see your results.

[Martix]

What exactly is "MP?"  I know you said it's pretty much the same as imuran but by a different manufacturer but what is it's name?  What kind of side effects are normally associated with it?  Is it just another immunosuppresant?

[9743km]

Not sure what the clinical name is but they call it 6MP.  If you type it in under google 6MP will come up.  And yes, it is a immunosuppresant.  Same exact thing as imuran.  My Dr said for some reason though people who have a hard time on imuran do well on 6 MP.  It is made by a different manufacturer so it has a couple different qualities...But all in all the same...

[rockmelon44]

I am also on 6MP and doing well imuran made me violently ill. my dr also said its basically the same thing is just doesnt need to go through as many break down properties in the body like imuran.  I dont have any real bad symptoms, not any different from imuran side effects, except for me i aint getting sick

Nancy

[tene31]

I think I posted my comment on the wrong place.  I just got diagnosided with Autoimmune Hepatits I also have Lupus.  Is there anything you can tell me about this?

[9743km]

Don't know much about lupus at all...Sorry!