Spleen destroying platelets

I have some explaining to do. I don't usually post much because I don't have the severe drops in platelets that I see on this forum. I thought I had ITP but my platelets run any where from 44 ( the lowest) to 120 ( the highest count). So I asked my Hematologist if I even have ITP and he said you don't have the classic ITP , you have thrombocytopenia due to my spleen destroying them. My spleen is the upper limits of normal in size. My wbc and rbc are low to low normal. They are doing blood work every 3 To 6 months . I'm just feeling a little perplexed about this and wondering what I do have or may be developing.

Hi,

When I was initially diagnosed with ITP in 2012 I had a severely low count, and I erupted in loads of bruises bleeding. At first I think they thought I might have something more sinister, I had a bone marrow biopsy and other tests, but they monitored me as I had a fairly quick rebound, from the danger zone. I was monitored sometimes weekly, (as counts fell) but more often it was every 3 months. Throughout 2012. My counts were all over the place never higher than 125. My max I would get to was 115 but never had a count as low as the initial flare up. In 2013, I developed severe neutropenia and more tests and they told me I have intermittent autoimmune neutropenia as well as ITP. I doubted the diagnosis all through 2013, as I assumed that ITP meant permanently low counts and I could not understand why mine would fluctuate so widely. Anyway I had scans of neck, abdomen and chest and all came back clear. So after driving myself mad about what was going on, finally came to the conclusion that this was how my ITP was. Just monitoring, then this year almost 2 years to the day of the initial flare up, it happened again this time count to 7 my lowest and I was put on treatment and here I am currently on steroids. So I am not sure my experience has been classic ITP either for the first 2 years at least, I seem to be fitting more of the pattern now though!

I trawled the internet and this seems to be the best place to hear experiences of others, and some people who have some pretty good advice and knowledge of the subject. I can only share my experience, I am not good on advice and I don't have much knowledge of the disorder. But as your story related a bit to mine, thought I would post.

If spleen destroying platelets isn't ITP then what is?

abbegirl wrote: you have thrombocytopenia due to my spleen destroying them. My spleen is the upper limits of normal in size.

That is ITP. You don't have to have very low counts to have ITP. Many people have lower than normal counts but don't need to treat because counts are not at treatment level.