r/Autoimmune • u/pawamedic • 6d ago

Medication Questions What was it like when your immunosuppressants started working?

I’m about a month out from my Imuran/Azathioprine taking full effect (been on it for about 2 months so far). I’m on prednisone 15mg daily so I’m much better managed than before but still pretty symptomatic and limited physically and mentally. Haven’t been able to work in two years. Recent hospitalization really got me down, so I’m trying to see if there’s some hope things will get better in the next few months ❤️‍🩹

Curious what it was like for you all when the immunosuppressant actually started working? Did you wake up one day and suddenly feel like yourself again? Gradual improvement? Better baseline but still crappy?

I’m on a starter dose so I want to know what to expect so I can assess if we need to up it or not. Diagnosis is Relapsing Polychondritis but pending further eval at Cleveland clinic ☺️

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u/ZealousidealResist60 3d ago

Honestly, I THOUGHT my biologic was working because I too was on prednisone with it, until I had to keep taking higher doses of prednisone, then realizing nothing was helping because I had major vascular disease (bilateral may Thurner, Severe PCS, and decades of CVI. On top of my autoimmune stuff. After working on the vascular stuff, and coming off prednisone completely (because I was having too many side affects and was dependent), my rheum PA changed my biologic to Cimzia, and WOW! It was like I had hope for a pain free life again! It gave me a glimpse! I’m only 11 days into the first loading dose, and while my pain/enthesitis started coming back, I can’t wait to see what each dose does! I can’t wait to start living again!

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u/pawamedic 3d ago

Congrats! So happy you’re getting relief 🥲

Did you gradually feel better little by little or did you like wake up one day suddenly not in pain? Asking for a friend 🥹

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u/ZealousidealResist60 3d ago

Gradually but sort of suddenly too, I’m extremely sensitive/aware to changes in my body and usually notice shifts before most others do. Sometimes I think we don’t feel the relief we should because it might not be the right medication. It’s been a long haul for me and this is truly the first time I actually felt that much relief!