Azathioprine and Nausea: What Users Say

• Anonymous
• February 2, 2012

Imuran (azathioprine) for Autoimmune Hepatitis "I have chronic autoimmune hepatitis and have been taking Imuran for four years. It has prevented further flare-ups (which I have taken as much as a year to recover from). It enables me to live my life feeling well with mild side effects (some nausea)."

• Mar...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• December 24, 2018

Imuran (azathioprine) for Lupus "I've been on Imuran for 6 months, and it hasn't helped at all. In fact, I'm sicker now on it. The biggest side effects for me are loss of appetite, nausea, and diarrhea. The diarrhea is horrible. I go at least 10 times a day, and nothing helps. I'm exhausted from being so dehydrated and malnourished. When I see my rheumatologist in a week, I'm begging him to try anything else but Imuran. I can't handle it anymore."

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

Imuran (azathioprine) 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."

• chr...
• April 29, 2019

Imuran (azathioprine) 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."

• Anonymous
• October 3, 2016

Imuran (azathioprine) for Crohn's Disease, Maintenance "I was only diagnosed in May and have been on Uceris and Imuran. Currently taking Imuran 50 mg, and now that I have been on it for a few months, I have been getting nausea every time I take it. Zofran does not even help, they are talking about doing the infusion now. I'm just so tired of being sick. Did this happen to anyone else?"

• Kan...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• September 21, 2018

For Crohn's Disease "Azathioprine was given to me for my Crohn's colitis after Pentasa failed to do the job at all. At first, it was horrible. Lack of energy and severe nausea after taking it. This led me to become pretty depressed, and the doctor was going to take me off of it because my blood work wasn't showing up good. However, after 2-3 months, the side effects went away, and I haven't had a problem with Crohn's at all for about 4 years! Please give this medicine a shot even if you feel awful. It will hopefully pass, and you will get relief like I did. I'd give it a 10 if it wasn't for the side effects and blood tests you'll need to take for the rest of your time on it. Oh, here's a tip that helped me too: If you get bad nausea, then try taking it with a mouthful of food. Mix it in with the food in your mouth. That helped me not get as sick."

• Kan...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• September 21, 2018

For Crohn's Disease "Azathioprine was given to me for my Crohn's colitis after Pentasa failed to do the job at all. At first, it was horrible. Lack of energy and severe nausea after taking it. This led me to become pretty depressed, and the doctor was going to take me off of it because my blood work wasn't showing up good. However, after 2-3 months, the side effects went away, and I haven't had a problem with Crohn's at all for about 4 years! Please give this medicine a shot even if you feel awful. It will hopefully pass, and you will get relief like I did. I'd give it a 10 if it wasn't for the side effects and blood tests you'll need to take for the rest of your time on it. Oh, here's a tip that helped me too: If you get bad nausea, then try taking it with a mouthful of food. Mix it in with the food in your mouth. That helped me not get as sick."

• BKa...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 12, 2016

For Rheumatoid Arthritis "I started taking this medicine to help with my breathing issues caused by RA. The first thing I noticed was a mild headache, joint pain had increased, and both hands and feet were swollen, but I was told to give it a couple of weeks to adjust to the medicine. During weeks 2 and 3, my breathing got worse, and I had a hard time lying on my back without chest pain. I had a stronger headache than in the beginning, and it got increasingly worse over the weeks, along with nausea and stomach cramps. This medicine did nothing for me and made me feel worse, so I had to stop. Good luck."

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

Imuran (azathioprine) 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."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 19, 2012

For Rheumatoid Arthritis "Doctor put me on azathioprine because I got sick from taking methotrexate for my rheumatoid arthritis. Good news is it didn't make me sick, and I had no noticeable side effects. Bad news is it didn't make pain or stiffness any better than taking nothing at all. Now going to try injectable methotrexate to see if that will work without the nausea or stomach side effects?"

• BBa...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 18, 2021

For Lupus "I've been taking azathioprine for over two months now (May 2021) for my lupus. First on a low dose, then it was raised after a few weeks of taking it. There has been no improvement for me, but there have been problems that were caused by azathioprine. There has been blood in my urine, stomach irritation, occasional nausea, fatigue (even though I'm often fatigued because of lupus & other medications), as well as hair loss. When I was first diagnosed with lupus in April 2020, my symptoms were getting worse & hair loss happened majorly. By mid-October 2020, I was hospitalized for over a month. I started to improve but still not my full self. Still aches & pains, but my hair was starting to grow back. However, taking azathioprine has caused me to lose my hair again but in noticeable areas. Azathioprine isn't working for me & causing me problems."

• Don...
• February 25, 2021

For Rheumatoid Arthritis "Took methotrexate for 7 weeks and had to stop because of extreme fatigue and stomach issues. Doctor started me on azathioprine, and I took my first 50 mg dose about an hour before I went to bed. I refused to take it again! My sinus passages started burning after about an hour of taking it, and I developed a headache that lasted for about 18 hours. I was extremely nauseous when I woke up and felt really lightheaded. Then there were the brutal stomach issues. I'll spare you the details :) Never again!"

• Nic...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 27, 2020

For Crohn's Disease "I was prescribed azathioprine for my Crohn's disease. During the first month of taking this drug, I felt mildly nauseated upon taking the tablet and generally unwell. In hindsight, I think this feeling was subtly getting worse over the period to the extent that it became extreme nausea to the point where I had no appetite, and after eating a few mouthfuls, I would be sick. I read the side effects of the drug and reported this to my consultant. One evening I became very ill, however, vomiting and ultimately collapsing and having a seizure. In the hospital, they determined that my liver function was severely affected, with some residual kidney issues also evident. After a 4-day stay in the hospital and 6 weeks at home, the liver function returned. Diagnosis was toxic hepatitis caused as a side effect of this drug. I have never had any allergic reaction to anything, this drug did not suit me."

• Cam...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 6, 2022

Imuran (azathioprine) for Rheumatoid Arthritis "I've been taking Imuran for 2 weeks now to treat my inflammatory arthritis, since no other drug seemed to help. I haven't noticed any improvement yet, but the nausea is unbearable. I'm not able to eat anything, and I'm constantly hungry. Reminds me of my pregnancy morning sickness, though it's not as bad as methotrexate was. I've already lost a bit of weight due to this. Yesterday, I started taking anti-nausea medication to be able to cope. I hope the side effects end soon and the drug helps treat my symptoms."

• Dar...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 4, 2022

For Crohn's Disease, Maintenance "My gastrointestinal doctor put me on this medication for my Crohn's. After taking this medication, I was taken off by Dr. who believed I was having an allergic reaction. Made me feel very weak, trouble breathing, sick to my stomach, cold, and fast heartbeat."

• Nau...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• February 26, 2017

Imuran (azathioprine) for Ulcerative Colitis "With Imuran, I had no quality of life. Daily fatigue and nausea/vomiting. Things are better on Entyvio."

• Anonymous
• August 23, 2010

Azasan (azathioprine) for Lupus "Elevated liver enzymes, nausea, and vomiting."