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Hi Susan, welcome to the Forum.

A few things to know:

Most people with ITP have larger platelets. Large platelets are new (reticulated) platelets. They shrink as they get older. It's a good thing because large platelets do a better job.

The nurse was wrong when she said that you'd be bleeding all over the floor with a count of zero. We've had people here with a zero count and they were not bleeding at all. I know it sounds odd, but true.

ITP can also be a clotting disorder. New research is showing that people with ITP also have a higher clotting risk, even with low counts. There are several reasons for that. The video below might shed some light on that.

www.onclive.com/insights/immune-thrombocytopenia/Risk-of-Thrombosis-in-Patients-With-ITP

I had a bad toothache from one of my lower molars. Took amoxycillin followed by metronidazole. One week later, did some gardening and had to pull out a plant using my left hand with considerable force. The next day, I found that the fleshy part of my left hand had a dark patch stretching from below the thumb to the wrist. It was painless. 2 small bruises also developed on my right hand between my wrist and elbow. I panicked and went for a FBC a few days later. Platelets dropped from 36000 on 20 Nov to 16000 on 07 December. I have been taking 2 doses of papaya leaf juice daily for the past 3 days. Today, I found a new bruise on the upper/other side of my left hand measuring about 1 inch in diameter. I have stopped menstruating for almost 3 years now. But this morning, I discovered some slight spotting. Does this sound critical? I am currently taking 7.5 mg predisolone daily. Would appreciate to hear from anyone with similar experiences. Thanks

No, I wouldn't say that it seems critical. It wouldn't hurt to get a FBC in the next few days though.

Thanks for your reply Sandi. I went back to my hematologist and he put me on 20mg of predisolone. Platelets increased only slightly to 22,000 then 42,000. After 2 weeks of 20mg, platelets dropped to 27,000. Last year, my platelets dropped to 13,000 and was put on 20mg. After 2 weeks, it increased to 114,000. Increasing dosage is easy but doesn't seem right. I am at a loss of what to do next. My hematologist is never concerned when I see him. Reason is I don't bleed.

Well in that case, you can choose to treat only when you have symptoms. If Prednisone isn't working any more, you can try something else.