platelet stickiness

I'm trying to understand more about platelet stickiness. I know certain things can affect this, like meds and certain things in the diet. But I don't really know much about this. Can someone explain this more to me or link something? Thanks!

Taz:

It's a pretty complicated subject. I tried to find something simple, but only came up with this for now. There are several different directions to go when trying to understand this. You can start with this; it's an explanation of the clotting process. If I come up with anything else, I'll post it.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pnpoEy0eYE

Thanks Sandi. That helped a little, but it still is above my head Ha ha. I guess I'm wondering if things that cause platelets to lose their stickiness also lower counts? For instance, my hemo said to avoid garlic as it causes platelets to lose their stickiness. So, can large amounts of garlic lower counts? Ibuprofen can cause the platelets to be less sticky, so does that lower counts as well? And for how long after consuming these things are platelets less sticky? Can even higher counts with less stickiness be a problem? Not just for ITP patients, but everyone in general? And then, how detrimental can low stickiness be for people with ITP? That's my food for thought at the moment.

It's hard to find direct answers to those questions online, most of it is too complicated to understand. I'll give it a try.

Most foods do not lower platelets, they cause platelets to be less sticky. I don't know for sure how long it lasts, maybe a day or two. That said, most here agree that they do not avoid those foods entirely but if counts are down, they eat them in moderation. I never avoided anything when counts were down and have no idea if it made a difference or not. I'm still here though!

There are two things that can cause platelets to drop; heparin and quinine. But ONLY if you have a sensitivity to them. A patient can actually produce antibodies while using those two...it is rare. I've been on a quinine based drug for nine years with no problem.

Any medication or supplement has the potential to cause thrombocytopenia. Antibiotics are well known for this, but sometimes you have to take the gamble since a bacterial infection can also cause a drop.

A person with higher counts should be able to eat whatever they want. Having ITP can also cause some people to be susceptible to blood clots, so you want a healthy balance. If counts are low, you need to look at symptoms when deciding whether or not to eat those things on the 'no no' list. Some take it seriously and some do not.

How interesting. I would never have thought about any of this stuff a few months ago! Do you know what foods cause the platelets to be less sticky? I know garlic. I've also read maybe tomatoes? Not sure if that is right. And red wine. As for medicines and supplements, I know I was told to stop taking fish oil and obviously ibuprofen. Are there other supplements that can affect stickiness?

Below is a list.

pdsa.org/about-itp/warnings.html

Vitamin E causes platelets to be less sticky, as well as all of the Omega supplements. Other medications and supplements can directly cause a drop. I can't tell you which ones; they all have that potential in some individuals. Thrombocytopenia is listed for nearly every medication, even most of the traditional ITP treatments. Some supplements such as echinacea (and others) are known to trigger or exacerbate autoimmune disorders so you have to watch what you are taking. Some of them state on the bottle not to use if you have a known autoimmune disorder.

Is there a way to find out if something you are taking is lowering your platelets? I assume stopping consumption, but I am skeptical that stopping something would automatically raise your platelets so that you can pinpoint the exact culprit. Which is why, I assume, much of this stuff hasn't been completely founded?

As Sandi said nothing much lowers the platelets so don't worry about it.

As for stickiness, avoid aspirin at all times because it affects the platelet for its whole life. So if a particular platelet lives for its allotted 10 days it is useless for all 10 days. Ibuprofen works on a platelet for a day or so, so with a high count it's fine, with a very low count, best to avoid. Everything else you only need to avoid if it makes you feel more comfortable to do so.

No, Taz, sometimes you never know if a drug is the actual cause and stopping it does not always reverse ITP.

Some drugs have been identified as causing thrombocytopenia, i.e.: lowering platelet counts. This is usually listed on the drug facts sheet that accompanies the medication, and pharmacists should be able to tell you if a medication has thrombocytopenia as a possible side effect. Similar information can often be found on the good drug facts web sites.

I now check this about any medication any of my doctors prescribe for me. Several years ago I was prescribed a medication that turned out to have thrombocytopenia as a side effect, and when my counts dropped I was the one who figured out why. But as Sandi said, this may have been correlation and not causation.

Most drugs say they might cause thrombocytopenia but if we avoided them all, we wouldn't even be able to use the ones specifically for ITP. They so rarely lower counts that it is not worth worrying about.