Low blood platelet count - tell me it's nothing, please.

[Kathleen in VA]

My dil has been having strange symptoms - dark spots all over her body that look kind of like bruises, a rash on her chest and another rash on her legs, and overall malaise. She saw the doctor Wednesday and they called and told her to come in this morning. The doctor told her she had a low blood platelet count and that she should go directly to the ER for more blood tests. Ds called about noon to tell me this and I haven't heard anything from him since. I spoke to her (they were in the car together) and she sounded upbeat and perky. Tomorrow is her birthday so we just talked about what she has on her wish list since I've been having trouble finding something (been out shopping three times and never can decide on anything).

 

Of course, I googled "low blood platelets" and found bad news is definitely possible.

 

Please tell me about your experiences with low platelets that turned out to be nothing at all. I need to hear them.

[East Coast Sue]

I can't say that I have any knowledge or experience with that but I wanted to say that I'll pray it is a small issue with an easy/quick fix. :grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:

[jenn-]

I hope everything turns out okay.

[*********]

I know nothing, but I will pray, Kathleen. :grouphug:

Edited May 5, 2012 by bethanyniez

[JudoMom]

Praying :grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:.

[Kathleen in VA]

I can't say that I have any knowledge or experience with that but I wanted to say that I'll pray it is a small issue with an easy/quick fix. :grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:

 

I hope everything turns out okay.

 

I know nothing, but I will pray, Kathleeen. :grouphug:

 

Praying :grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:.

 

Thanks, everyone. I'm already having a rough, sad week.

[HiddenJewel]

I know a gal whose son got ITP and, yes, it is scary. His platelets were really close to 0 at one point.

[chickenpatty]

:grouphug: praying

[Kathleen in VA]

I know a gal whose son got ITP and, yes, it is scary. His platelets were really close to 0 at one point.

 

What's ITP? Did they find out what was causing it? Is he okay now?

[Wheres Toto]

What's ITP? Did they find out what was causing it? Is he okay now?

 

My mother has ITP - idiopathic thrombocytopenia. It basically just means she has low platelet counts with no known cause. Other than keeping an eye on it and having to get a lot of blood tests before any surgery to make sure her counts are high enough, it hasn't had that much of an effect on her life. She's had it for at least 30 years, she's 66 now.

 

I hope it turns out to be nothing serious. :grouphug:

[BlessedMom]

:grouphug:

[Kathleen in VA]

My mother has ITP - idiopathic thrombocytopenia. It basically just means she has low platelet counts with no known cause. Other than keeping an eye on it and having to get a lot of blood tests before any surgery to make sure her counts are high enough, it hasn't had that much of an effect on her life. She's had it for at least 30 years, she's 66 now.

 

I hope it turns out to be nothing serious. :grouphug:

 

Thank you - this sounds hopeful.:)

[Kathleen in VA]

Dh just called to say Ds called. They are admitting ddil to the hospital. Her platelet count was about 1000 and they are going to give her a platelet transfusion and run more tests. Prayers are most definitely requested and appreciated.

[Mommyfaithe]

I know a gal whose son got ITP and, yes, it is scary. His platelets were really close to 0 at one point.

 

My daughter had ITP when she was 2. Her platelet count was also near 0....she was bruised from head to toe....it was awful. It took a year for her platelet count to return to normal.

 

Did you dil get a MMR by any chance?? There is a correlation between the MMR and ITP. .....

 

 

Praying all is well....

[HiddenJewel]

What's ITP? Did they find out what was causing it? Is he okay now?

 

I can't remember what triggered it for him. It's been a long journey and they have been through many types of treatment as many of them actually added issues instead of solving them. He seems to be doing well now.

 

 

My mother has ITP - idiopathic thrombocytopenia. It basically just means she has low platelet counts with no known cause. Other than keeping an eye on it and having to get a lot of blood tests before any surgery to make sure her counts are high enough, it hasn't had that much of an effect on her life. She's had it for at least 30 years, she's 66 now.

 

I hope it turns out to be nothing serious. :grouphug:

 

Your mother is fortunate. Glad she is hasn't caused her continued problems.

 

My daughter had ITP when she was 2. Her platelet count was also near 0....she was bruised from head to toe....it was awful. It took a year for her platelet count to return to normal.

 

Did you dil get a MMR by any chance?? There is a correlation between the MMR and ITP. .....

 

 

Praying all is well....

 

The flu shot as well as some medications can trigger ITP for some.

[Kathleen in VA]

My daughter had ITP when she was 2. Her platelet count was also near 0....she was bruised from head to toe....it was awful. It took a year for her platelet count to return to normal.

 

Did you dil get a MMR by any chance?? There is a correlation between the MMR and ITP. .....

 

 

Praying all is well....

 

I don't think so - but she was sick a few weeks ago. Pink eye ran through her whole family (Ds and Ddil live in her parent's basement apartment) and although ddil did not get pink eye she did get a rash and flu-like symptoms. That all disappeared - I saw her at church this past Sunday and she seemed fine.

 

Glad to hear your daughter recovered. That's very hopeful. Thanks.:)

[Catherine]

ITP-it's the most common cause in her age group. It's autoimmune. Very likely, that's what she has and it's pretty treatable, and generally not a predictor of other bad things. ((hugs))

[CalicoKat]

Dh just called to say Ds called. They are admitting ddil to the hospital. Her platelet count was about 1000 and they are going to give her a platelet transfusion and run more tests. Prayers are most definitely requested and appreciated.

 

:grouphug: My mil get these :grouphug::grouphug:

[LAS in LA]

:grouphug: Praying for all of you.

[Kathleen in VA]

ITP-it's the most common cause in her age group. It's autoimmune. Very likely, that's what she has and it's pretty treatable, and generally not a predictor of other bad things. ((hugs))

 

:grouphug: My mil get these :grouphug::grouphug:

 

Thanks for these comments. Very encouraging.:)

 

I just called Ds - dil is getting the transfusion now. He sounded very upbeat and cheerful, which is his usual response to all things stressful. I have absolutely no idea where he got that from!! Certainly not from me. Anyway, he said the doctors at the hospital think it is ITP. They are going to keep her a few days and if her platelet count goes down again, they are considering removing her spleen. Still, they are running other tests just to be sure.

[Pretty in Pink]

:grouphug: I'll be praying for your DIL.

[Debbi in Texas]

Praying for your dil. I know it can be scary. Dh has ITP

[MariannNOVA]

Praying -- :grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:

[Kathleen in VA]

:grouphug:

 

:grouphug: I'll be praying for your DIL.

 

Praying for your dil. I know it can be scary. Dh has ITP

 

Praying -- :grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:

 

Thanks, everyone. I appreciate your prayers and hugs very much.

[besroma]

Praying for you, your DIL and son. :grouphug:

[TravelingChris]

:grouphug::grouphug: If it is autoimmune, it will likely be lifelong but probably not life ending. Lots of us here deal with autoimmune diseases and like I tell my own kids, I think my life is still pretty nice.:)

 

I will pray for her.

[Kathleen in VA]

Praying for you, your DIL and son. :grouphug:

 

Thank you.:)

 

:grouphug::grouphug: If it is autoimmune, it will likely be lifelong but probably not life ending. Lots of us here deal with autoimmune diseases and like I tell my own kids, I think my life is still pretty nice.:)

 

I will pray for her.

 

Thank you. This is very encouraging.:)

[mom31257]

:grouphug: Praying for her and you!

My mom has an auto-immune disease called, Sarcoidosis, that causes her platelets to drop low. The doctors found it in her lymph nodes when she had breast cancer surgery 3 years ago. She hasn't had any rashes, though.

[Tammyla]

:grouphug:Kathleen, I'll be praying for your family and Dil.:grouphug:

[ktgrok]

A coworker's daughter has ITP, and possibly J. arthritis. She had a scary bout with it when it was first diagnosed but now is doing great in college and is in a very popular band. She also got to travel to Italy with Make a Wish :)

[*********]

Kathleen, any update? I'm praying. :grouphug:

[wapiti]

.

[Denisemomof4]

I am so sorry for your, and everyone's distress! I have mo idea what ITP is but it sounds highly treatable. :grouphug::grouphug:Please keep us updated!!!

[Kathleen in VA]

No news this morning (I have updated a little throughout this thread though - so if you missed that you can go back and read that). We plan to visit the hospital this afternoon, especially since it is dil's birthday, poor thing. I will definitely update when I hear anything definitive. Thanks again for your concern and prayers.

[Denise in Florida]

I can't remember what triggered it for him. It's been a long journey and they have been through many types of treatment as many of them actually added issues instead of solving them. He seems to be doing well now.

 

 

 

 

Your mother is fortunate. Glad she is hasn't caused her continued problems.

 

 

 

The flu shot as well as some medications can trigger ITP for some.

 

 

One of my daughters had ITP for four years. She responded well to prednisone and gamma globulin.

 

They tried chemo one summer hoping to 'shock' the immune system back down, that was miserable, expensive and did not work. :glare:

 

They were at the point of pushing for a spleenectomy (removing the spleen) when her numbers started improving. She is fine now.

 

ITP requires monitoring and is treatable, but it can be managed.

 

Some of the treatments are wicked expensive though (shots that were $5K per shot). DH was covered under excellent insurance back then. Thank goodness it did not happen during the years of multiple layoffs. We were very blessed.

Edited May 6, 2012 by Denise in Florida
oops almost killed a kitten

[KnitWit]

:grouphug: Saying a prayer, Kathleen...for you too!

 

Happy Birthday to your dil!

[Kathleen in VA]

Small update - dil's father made an announcement this morning at church that her platelet count was up to 4000 but is still dangerously low. We are going now to visit her.

[Miss Marple]

Just got back in town and saw this thread. We will keep your dil in our prayers. :grouphug:

[Kathleen in VA]

Update:)

 

We went to visit her this afternoon and her mom, who was also there, filled me in on what's happening. They think this whole episode was triggered by a virus which led to antibodies attacking her platelets and destroying them. They did a brain scan last night to check for bleeding and it was fine. They did a sonogram of her spleen and it is not enlarged so they don't think her spleen has anything to do with it. So they are thinking this is an autoimmune disorder and are giving her some kind of intravenous treatment that keeps the antibodies from attacking her platelets. They are going to wait to see if her own system will start producing platelets. So, it looks good right now. I will update again when I know more. Thanks again for your prayers.

[DianeW88]

Glad to hear she's doing better and the docs are on top of it, Kathleen!! :)

[basschick]

My mom has the opposite - high platelet count. She suffered with it for 40 years before it was caught by just a simple WBC blood test. She was lucky to have not suffered anything more severe than very bad vertigo. Now she takes an anti-cancer drug to keep her platelets in check and after a few years she developed colon cancer, which we think is a result of the drug (funny how an anti-cancer drug can also be a carcinogen). But now she is 73 and healthy and happy.

I hope everything turns out good for you and your family.

[Kathleen in VA]

Update on Dil. Her platelet count is up to about 23,000. (normal is between 150,000-450,000). When it reaches 50,000 she can go home from the hospital. She is on prednisone and will continue taking that for a few weeks as they slowly wean her off of it. Then they will have to monitor her platelet level to make sure it does not drop again.

 

Thanks again for all your prayers and good wishes.:)

[Cindy in FL.]

My oldest son has had ITP for over 12 years now. It was scary at first, but you learn how to watch for problems indicating a need for treatment. He has had steroids and the gamma globulin, both of which provide temporary increases in his platelets.

 

Praying for your dil to rebound from this and not have long term problems.

 

Cindy

[Kathleen in VA]

My oldest son has had ITP for over 12 years now. It was scary at first, but you learn how to watch for problems indicating a need for treatment. He has had steroids and the gamma globulin, both of which provide temporary increases in his platelets.

 

Praying for your dil to rebound from this and not have long term problems.

 

Cindy

 

Thank you for your prayers. Can you tell me what kinds of things you look for?

[wapiti]

.

[Kathleen in VA]

Update on my dil: She just called to say that her platelet count is up to abut 55,000 (yea!!), but her white blood cell count is very low, so the doctor said she has to stay in the hospital one more day at least until that changes. She is at a significantly higher risk for infection with a low wbc count. :-( She sounded perky though, and is taking it it stride.

[Cindy in FL.]

Kathleen,

 

We watch for bleeding gums, bruising, cuts that bleed more than you would expect or ooze more than they should. Things like that. He seems to be able to keep up with it fairly well. Also no procedures/surgeries without a blood count first. His count has never been less than 10 on a blood test (not that that means it hasn't gone lower) and its never above 50 without treatment.

 

He doesn't do anything treatment wise unless he has the above symptoms or needs a surgery.

 

Cindy

[HiddenJewel]

Kathleen,

 

We watch for bleeding gums, bruising, cuts that bleed more than you would expect or ooze more than they should. Things like that. He seems to be able to keep up with it fairly well. Also no procedures/surgeries without a blood count first. His count has never been less than 10 on a blood test (not that that means it hasn't gone lower) and its never above 50 without treatment.

 

He doesn't do anything treatment wise unless he has the above symptoms or needs a surgery.

 

Cindy

 

I'm assuming that is 10,000 and 50,000?

[nmoira]

One of my daughters had ITP for four years. She responded well to prednisone and gamma globulin.

 

They tried chemo one summer hoping to 'shock' the immune system back down, that was miserable, expensive and did not work. :glare:

 

They were at the point of pushing for a spleenectomy (removing the spleen) when her numbers started improving. She is fine now.

 

ITP requires monitoring and is treatable, but it can be managed.

A friend of mine just finished his chemo, but we don't yet know if the treatment "took." He was fortunate that the drug company (I cannot recall which one) donated the chemo drugs, otherwise he would have had not other choice than to wait until he was "really" sick :glare: and qualified for a spleenectomy under his medical insurance.