Immunosuppressive Medicines for Lupus
Side Effects
Side effects of immunomodulator medicines include:
- Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, or stomach ulcers.
- Rash.
- General feeling of being ill (malaise).
- Liver inflammation.
Rare side effects include:
- Suppression of blood cell production (bone marrow suppression), which may increase the risk of infection or serious bleeding. Return to normal blood cell production may take several weeks after the medicine is stopped.
- Fever
- Inflammation of the pancreas (pancreatitis). This may occur with azathioprine (AZA).
Extremely rare side effects of azathioprine include a possible increased risk of cancer. Mycophenolate mofetil may increase the risk of cancer of the lymph system (lymphoma) and other types of cancer.
See Drug Reference for a full list of side effects. (Drug Reference is not available in all systems.)
| By: | Reference Healthwise Staff | Last Revised: May 10, 2012 |
| Medical Review: | Reference Anne C. Poinier, MD - Internal Medicine
Reference Nancy Ann Shadick, MD, MPH - Internal Medicine, Rheumatology |
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