To Cathy Liles:
I don't have info at hand (at home) about MS or specifics about Imuran.
I'll look these up Monday at the office and post if any additional info.

Regarding Sulfasalazine (I assume that's what she's using) and
prednisone:  both are OK for breastfeeding, although occasionally babies
get diarrhea from the sulfasalazine.  There are non-sulfa containing
alternatives if sulfa becomes a problem, but not much of this medicine
is absorbed anyway--it stays in the GI tract to work.  Imuran is an
immunosuppressive that
allows people to decrease the prednisone, but doesn't work fast; if she
wants to keep nursing, she may want to talk to her doctor about the
relative risk of taking high dose prednisone for a long time vs.
relatively slow onset of Imuran.  If she's sick enough that surgery is
being contemplated, Imuran my not have time to work, anyway. There
certainly is evidence that breastfeeding is protective for her child, but
she's already provided a lot with 6 months, so may need to keep her own
health foremost in her mind.

This is a tough situation.  I also have inflammatory bowel disease,
diagnosed when I was nursing, but my son was much older than this mom's
baby.  Please contact me by private e-mail if you want to know how I
coped with it--meds, surgery, partial weaning, etc.
--
Anne Montgomery, M.D.
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