Polo Here!

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to introduce myself, I'm Polo and on March 20, 2011 I went to the doctor because I noticed some scattered petechia around my arms and legs and also what appeared to be clogged blood in my tongue. After a CBC my general doctor sent me to the hospital because my platelet count was low 4,000. I was in the hospital for 7 days and was diagnosed for ITP. I was out and a week later I returned, this time I was in the hospital for 12 days, I recently got out and I'm receiving outpatient treatment. During my stay in the hospital I had several platelet transfusions, IGIV and rituximab. I will go in tomorrow to have my third rituximab treatment. It has been 5 weeks since I initially found about this condition (however I don’t know since when I have had low platelet count). At this point, it doesn’t seem to be much progress, but I'm still hopeful. This past month it has been quite a roller coaster, with my count going up and down constantly, as high as 96,000 and within two days back to 6,000. I can say that I'm going trough one of the hardest part of my life (being away from my 6 month old son while hospitalized really hit me hard). At this point, I'm reading a lot and trying to learn as much of ITP as possible and just educate myself. This forum seems to be full with information and is always nice to read how many people live and deal with this condition in a positive way. Thank you for reading everyone, I wish you all the best.

Hi Polo - welcome! You're right, you will learn a lot here by reading about the experiences of others. We're quite a diverse group and some of us have been here a very long time.

Rituxan can take 4 to 12 weeks to kick in, so you have to have some patience there. Hopefully, you will respond well and have a long remission!

Welcome Polo, glad you found us but sad you're here - this site is AMAZING! People here are very knowledgeable and it's very very likely someone has the experience and knowledge to help you find an answer to any thing ITP. Don't hesitate to ask - we've all been there and have grown with and through ITP! Not only does knowledge = power, knowledge = confidence & hope!!

ITP is a tough Dx to grasp but you'll soon, I hope, learn it's not as fearsome as it first sounds. There's no doubt you've had a rough time these first few weeks. An out of the blue disorder you've never heard of, Rx not really working, and it's also been compounded by your absence from your newborn son.

As Sandi said, Rituxan can take several weeks - I'm an example of needing 9 weeks before it kicked it and I had already given up hope it was not going to work for me.

Thank you Sandi and Steve C for the warm welcome to both of you I really appreciate it. Also, thank you for the info, I didtn know Rituxan could take a while to kick in, hopefully that will be the case in my body. Yesterday I had my 3rd treatment in 3 weeks. Thank you for your words of support too, I have learned that counting with people who love me and are always there to support me make me feel so much better.

SteveC, you nailed it down to the dot "An out of the blue disorder you've never heard of, Rx not really working, and it's also been compounded by your absence from your newborn son" that's exactly how I felt a couple of weeks ago.

Now i'm taking it one day at a time and fighting hard so that this wont affect my daily life as much I'm staying positive, praying and following treatment as indicated.

Once again thank you for your kind words and advice, i greatly appreciate it.