Imuran and Headaches: What Users Say

• MI ...
• February 18, 2016

For Rheumatoid Arthritis "The first two to three weeks were fine. Then I started experiencing a bad headache, the next two days fever and chills. The next evening, severe chills, weakness, dizziness, raging fever (up to 104.3), and began throwing up. It was the worst I've ever felt in my life (and that includes a hospitalization in ICU when first diagnosed). I was on the verge of calling 911. However, it eventually passed (as the medicine worked its way out of my system) and the fever subsided. My rheumatologist ran a complete series of blood work and she said that I had an allergic reaction. Prior to starting Imuran, I had been tested for liver compatibility and the results showed that I would have no issues, so I proceeded. Proceed with extreme caution."

• Rub...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 14, 2020

For Lupus "So, I’m a few days on Imuran for SLE. The first day was okay for me, but then the days after that, I started getting headaches, feeling nausea, and having on-and-off diarrhea. I also don’t feel hungry nor full. Just average, basically, all the time. I also noticed I started losing some weight. Not sure what will happen in the future. Just hoping for the best."

• Mom...
• August 15, 2015

For Lupus "At the 2 wk mark of taking Imuran, I started having a terrible headache. My body started to ache. I couldn't get comfortable no matter what I did, and I had trouble sleeping. I had a fever, I had chills, and I sweated worse than being at the gym. My urine was golden dark yellow, and my skin was pale. I was tested for the flu, which was negative, and my blood test results were normal (as normal as can be for a lupus patient). My doctor thought I had a virus but told me to stop taking the Imuran. Within a little over 24 hours, the headache started going away, the urine went back to normal color, and my body was feeling better."

• chr...
• April 29, 2019

For Inflammatory Bowel Disease "Shortly after commencing Imuran at a low dose (50 mg/day), I developed a severe and persistent headache and also felt very tired and listless. One week later, everything got a lot worse: within 24 hours of commencing the higher dosage (100 mg/day), I began to feel extremely nauseous, and about an hour later, non-stop vomiting commenced. I couldn't even swallow a mouthful of water without bringing it up almost immediately. That night, all the joints in my body began to swell up and become very painful. By 3 a.m., I could barely walk, and by 7 a.m., my husband had to call in emergency services: my BP had dropped to 56/40, so I was immediately taken to the hospital, where I was treated with copious amounts of IV fluids, antiemetics, and high doses of corticosteroids. Over the next few days, I very gradually began to improve and was discharged from the hospital 6 days later, but it took many weeks before I was anywhere near back to normal."

• Nic...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 26, 2022

For Lupus "I took it for a month. The first week it made me nauseous, which I just took promethazine to help with, but it didn't take the feeling completely away. I wasn't really eating, and the diarrhea started at 2 weeks. By the 4th week, I felt horrible! Headache, weakness, stomach pain, vomiting, and diarrhea from Sunday to Friday. It was then I knew, although effective for some, and I'd really hoped it would help after seeing so many great reviews, but I requested something else."