ITP & Ulcerative Colitis

Does anyone have ITP and ulcerative colitis? I saw a new doctor yesterday and he suggested there was a link between the two, that if I could my UC under control, it would maybe help in stabilizing the ITP. Has anyone heard of a connection between these diseases, other than autoimmune diseases tend to come in groups? I did some research online, but I mostly just found medical journal articles that, frankly, are a little beyond my comprehension Just wondering if anyone else had experience with this...

I had irritable bowels for a long time and finally went to a GI doctor 4 years ago and had a colonoscopy and was told I had colitis. He didn't mention treating it at the time and I didn't think much of it. A few weeks ago I had a physical and CBC and discovered I had low platelets (77,000) took another CBC a week later and had 60,000 and was told to see a hematologist. I just saw him yesterday and he suspects I have ITP. I just got my third CBC and was at 81,000. The hematologist is doing a blood smear to see something (I don't exactly know, something about large platelets) to confirm that I have ITP. These past few weeks I've had a flare up of diarrhea and a couple of mucus-y stools so I searched for Colitis and ITP and found medical journal entries talking about them both being autoimmune diseases and being connected somehow. I could quite understand the connection either.

I did see something mentioning that getting the colitis under control may help the ITP so I'm looking for a GI appointment in the coming weeks.

Sorry, I can't help you there much at all. I did have a bout (?) of IBS enough to take me to the GP and he gave me tablets. Few years on I realised what foods are causing the IBS and have learned not to eat them or if I do eat them then expect discomfort as it was in my case. I found weetabix and a slimming world product/food called hifi bars triggered that familiar discomfort. Its not quite anything high fibre for me but those two food stuff certainly do trigger the response. I drink enough fluid so it not that side of it.

Have a good look at what you eat and work out what may be causing it. The penny dropped one day for me through innocent discussion else where. I too didn't want to believe it because they are healthy foods per se. I can have weetabix say for breakfast and be fine so long as I don't have them for the week. The ache happens next day and it feels like period pain quite literally. Though I know it aint that at times. I haven't worked out all the triggers as get them sometimes after as I ramble and other times I don't. I did read somewhere walking can be a trigger in itself?

But it don't cause my ITP as been diagnosed with that since 1994 (splenectomy) etc. He may well be clutching at straws because it could be a plauseable explanation. But there again you probably want to sort it out anyway and the ITP theory may speed up the Ulcerative Colitis docs to get a move on which in turn helps you....

I know my mum said that when I was due to have a heart operation in 1979 I had an ear infection and the heart team wouldn't operate till the ENT dealt with the ear and very nearly vise versa that the ENT almost wouldn't until the Heart team done their bit as the two weren't related as such but Docs seem to like the other to go first for some reason....

So my advice would be to use what the ITP team has said about the ulcerative Colitis to get that sorted whether or not they are connected is irrelevant almost as you be more comfortable when sorted. You can then do a minor gloat when the ITP is still happening or something.

Does it affect what treatments you have?