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Adults With ITP
Newly Diagnosed & Frequently Asked Questions
More bruises than usual
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More bruises than usual 2 years 9 months ago #69247

  • mnc410
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I have ITP for 5 years, but have ever had any treatment. My last count in January was 34. I always have a lot of bruises but I seem to have more than usual at this time. When do you wait and watch and when do you call your doctor? Do you wait for other symptoms?

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More bruises than usual 2 years 9 months ago #69248

  • mrsb04
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You've been watching and waiting for 5 years and your bruising has suddenly increased. I'd say it was time to recheck your platelet count.

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More bruises than usual 2 years 9 months ago #69249

  • MelA
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Totally agree with mrsb! When in doubt, check it out!
That is all my symptoms have ever been - bruising and petechiae. I waited too long initially, looked like I'd been beaten with a 2x4 in a back alley.

Let us know what the results are and how you are doing.
"Instead of wasting your time worrying about symptoms, just get it checked out" -Nieca Goldberg, MD
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More bruises than usual 2 years 9 months ago #69263

  • teenwithitp02
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I have been having the same issue. I have been getting a lot more bruises than I usually do, and recently got a massive one on my hand out of no where! Insurance only covers appointments every 3 months, and I can only go back if something is wrong, but I have a gut feeling that my levels have dropped lower than they have been. ( Last check was 28k). I don't know what to do! I also feel that I should go back because the only reason they didn't start treatment the last time I was there was because I wasn't as active as I usually am (10+ hours of ballet a week), but now I am going back to classes, and I want to be safe and start treatment if I have to, even if it requires an IViG first (hate the stuff but I would like higher levels). I am going to see if my mom can call the hospital and see if I can get in for an appointment.

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More bruises than usual 2 years 9 months ago #69265

  • mnc410
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Thank you for your replies. This is the first time I have talked with anyone else that has ITP. What I find most stressful is that whenever I do see the doctor they talk about self monitoring, and that is so difficult for me to figure out. As I mentioned in my last post I had many more bruises than I usually do. Because of the pandemic, I held off on going to the lab. Now I haven't had any new significant bruises this week. That is good, so hard to know what to do. I only see my hematologist once a year and my primary runs a blood test at my physical. I have had very little guidance.

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More bruises than usual 2 years 9 months ago #69269

  • MelA
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Teen - will your insurance allow you to get a CBC whenever you feel your count could be low? It makes no sense you were not treated just because you weren't as active as normally were - and is ballet really dangerous - a very low count is a very low count no matter what.

mnc - with a count like you have I would be seeing my hematologist as primary for my ITP, not my PCP. If you feel your count is down tell your hematologist you want a count done. What happened after your count came back at 34k in January - was that PCP or hematologist? Does your hematologist get the results your PCP has done or is he/she kept in the dark about your count?
"Instead of wasting your time worrying about symptoms, just get it checked out" -Nieca Goldberg, MD
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More bruises than usual 2 years 9 months ago #69278

  • teenwithitp02
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MelA- I'm not completely sure, I asked my mom about it, and she said that insurance only allowed me to go every 3 months, but I am not sure about just going to a lab for a CBC. They also held off treatment because of the virus, and wanted to keep me at a distance. Ballet isn't that dangerous, but I do have restrictions, I'm not allowed to be lifted, or do extreme partnering, but I am getting more advanced so if I want to get the most of my training I would have to start treatment. I am supposed to go back in July, and we are going on vacation this week, but I am going to ask my mom if its possible to get me in a lab for just a CBC.

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More bruises than usual 2 years 9 months ago #69298

  • teenwithitp02
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Update: I went on vacation for a few days and got a ton of mosquito bites. I never scratched them, or paid them any mind, but they turned into big spots of petechiae, covering my legs. My mosquito bites have never turned into petechiae so we sent pictures to my doctor and she ordered a blood test today. On my way to the labs now, will update when I get the results.

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More bruises than usual 2 years 8 months ago #69422

  • GrouchoMarx
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It happened exactly the same to me today after being bitten by 7 mosquitoes. The bites turned into bruises. I don't have bruises anywhere else but only on the mosquitoes bite spots. I though it was an allergic reaction but tomorrow I will check my levels.

Any result from your side?

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More bruises than usual 2 years 8 months ago #69424

  • mrsb04
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I always bruise if I get a mosquito bite and that was happening before I had ITP

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More bruises than usual 2 years 8 months ago #69428

  • teenwithitp02
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At the time of the bites, my levels were 13,000. They have since improved for the first time ever by themselves, to 30,000, though I'm still getting petechiae and alot of bruises.

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More bruises than usual 2 years 8 months ago #69432

  • GrouchoMarx
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MRS most probably right.
I had my count check this morning, after 30 hours of the mosquitoes bites, and it was 62K. I doubt that with this amount a mosquito bites turns into such a reddish bruise. It is most probably due to an allergic reaction.

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More bruises than usual 2 years 8 months ago #69502

  • Hal9000
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...
I doubt that with this amount a mosquito bites turns into such a reddish bruise. It is most probably due to an allergic reaction.

I too seem to have a bit of an allergic reaction to mosquito bites and I've had such a reaction for a long time. I have to wonder how common this is in the general ITP population. Maybe pervasive?

If one does a search on 'mosquito bite epstein barr virus natural killer cells' what comes back might surprise you. For other diseases, looks like there is a quantifiable relation between the three. Though, perhaps with a more profound allergic response.

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More bruises than usual

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