Just Diagnosed and Scared

Hello everyone.... I know I'm only 17 but there is not a lot of response in the teen discussion area. So hear I am..

In 2003 I was diagnosed with ITP counts were around 15,000 and disappeared as soon as it came. Now, at 17 I was feeling very tired and my menstrual cycle was abnormally heavy.. I went in to the doctor and they ordered a CBC. count was 21,000 on Wednesday night...

The next morning a follow up CBC was done and count was 10,000!!!! Down 11,000 in less than 24 hours.. I'm really scared.. I'm on 30 MG of prednisone and have an appointment with a hemotologist on Halloween..

My period still has not stopped (Day 5) and I'm very nervous about the future and this possibly turning into Chronic ITP.. any stories or advice would be greatly appreciated

xoL

Hi lovemusic, I love music too. I just wanted to say don't be to nervous about the future because you will be ok, you will still be able to do the things you have planned for the future with or without ITP, you just need to be a little more careful when and if your counts are down.

As far as your period, it should stop once the prednisone kicks in and the Doctor can always give you other meds to control this if they think it is excessive.

I can understand you being scared I think most people are to start with but you honestly do learn to relax a little and sometimes it takes a while to get to that stage. Is there anything in particular that scares you? Maybe if you let us know what is worrying you we might be able to help with whatever it is.
I hope all goes well at the hemo and your journey with ITP is a short one, please stick around as there are a lot of really good people here with lot's of years of dealing with this and they will help you.

Hello - you are almost an adult and you sure sound like one - you're certainly welcome to post in this section or anywhere else you want!

Milly pretty much said it all. I just wanted to add that your ITP could be acute again, so it's too early to start worrying about the future. In the event it is chronic, that does not mean that you will have to treat forever. There are some treatments that cause remissions that can last a long time, and you can have nice, long breaks from it. Most adults with chronic ITP do find that they can live life normally, just a bit altered at times.

Hi LovesMusic, of course you're scared, but take a deep breath and try to relax. I was diagnosed in 1972, I had been bruising and bleeding for years, went undiagnosed for most of my childhood. A fluke blood test for something completely unrelated, and a lab tech notified my doctor that they could not find any platelets. Of course I panicked, I was 22 yrs old and I was very scared. GOOD NEWS - I had courses of prednisone and a year later my spleen was removed, and was soon in remission. At 61 years old, still no bleeding and no bruising, with a normal platelet count. Take care young friend, you can live with this.