Thoughts

Here is my story.....I am really frustrated with this whole thing. My father had ITP and three years after he was diagnosed with it he died of brain cancer. Six months after that i was told i have ITP. now we have the same doctor and my counts have consistantly been in the 100-130 range and they once jumped up to 165 three years ago. they have been as low as 90. now from what i have read i realize those are great numbers for someone with ITP. I am 29 years old and have had every test except a bone marrow biopsy which given my symptoms and age they feel not necessary. I am writting to see if i am the only young adult stuck with this? also wondering if ITP can be genetic? i have also been asssured that it had nothing to do with my dad's brain cancer which i believe cause my father was a vietnam vet and was poisend by agent orange. I also want to know if drinking alcohal consistantly can cause this? or the fact that in 2008 i had to have the rabies shots due to a bat encounter?


-John

Welcome. ITP isn't hereditary although there is a sort of familial thrombocytopenia that gets mistaken for ITP sometimes.

Your count is fine so my advice to you is to simply forget about it and get on with your life. Get a blood test once a year or so and otherwise ignore ITP.

Drinking so much alcohol as to damage the liver can result in low platelets but drinking sensibly is fine and won't cause ITP.

You know that your father's death had nothing to do with ITP and you are not going to get cancer because of it but it sounds as though you need to tell yourself that again. You really do have nothing to worry about.

There are other 'young people' with ITP. I got diagnosed when I was in my early 20's and am now 28. In remission now due to a splenectomy but still try to keep up somewhat with the boards. Don't feel alone, I've met lots of other people in the age range with ITP. Have you thought of going to the conference? it helps you feel less alone and there are so many experts in the field there to answer your questions.

Regardless of age you are not alone in this battle. You found a great group of people here. I assume you were bitten by a bat. Is is possible that the bat transmitted something and maybe even the rabies shot that affected your Platelets. Sorry to hear about your Dad!! Your counts are not bad but I would have have your counts checked every 6 months or so, sooner if you have any unusuall bruising/bleeding symptoms. Try not to think about it to much as stressing out over it does not help matters.

Hi John. I second everything Ann said. Many young people, even children and babies, can get ITP. My sister had it at age 16. Her counts were as low as 9. I found out I had it when I was 34. My counts have been as low as 3.

As long as you stay above treatment level (30k), you're doing great! The treatments are the hardest part about having ITP.

ITP is actually defined as having counts consistently below 100k. Maybe you just have lower than normal counts as your norm. The reference range is just that - a reference of where most people fall with their counts. Being outside of that range isn't necessarily all that bad.

And yes, drinking a lot can contribute to a low platelet count.