ITP Pain and Fatigue.

I am an adult with ITP which was diagnosed over 12 years ago. I have had my spleen removed and I am currently getting NPlate injections once a week. I have experienced extreme fatigue, and pain which includes "Malaise", aching in my joints and bones, and other symptoms that are pain related. I am wondering if anyone else has experienced "Fatigue" and other pain related symptoms. I have been trying for years to explain these symptoms to my doctors and they have only recently accepted the idea that my complaints of fatigue are genuine. They claim that my pain is related to depression and are giving me a great deal of problems with pain meds. and keep trying to get me to take antidepressants. I got extremely ill when I have tried SRI antidepressants in the past and now they are trying to get me to try other antidepressants. I would greatly appreciate any comments or discussion of other similar experiences..

There are several other disorders that often go along with ITP. Have you seen a rheumatologist to rule out the connective tissue disorders like lupus. There's also APS (antiphospholipid syndrome) which the doctor can test for with blood tests. Then there's thryoid disorders, vitamin deficiencies, and my own immune deficiency, all of which can cause fatigue and pains. Lots to test for if you haven't already done so. And of course there's always side effects from the Nplate.

I agree with Ann. It makes me angry that doctors disregard legitimate symptoms and push the depression thing like that. All I can tell you is that you have to be assertive and push for yourself. Don't let them bully you into antidepressants when you know something is wrong.

You should see a Rheumatologist to start. Some connective tissue disorders can start out like that and can take years to get diagnosed. I am not saying that you have Lupus; I do, and my symptoms began like that too. The first Rheumatologist that I saw blew me off without even doing blood work because he said I 'looked fine'. I wasn't. It took another year and a half, but I was eventually diagnosed with it. The symptoms can be vague and it's an invisible illness, meaning that you can't tell that someone has it just by looking at them. I've had Lupus for 10 years and I still have doctors pushing antidepressants on me. I'm not depressed. They claim that antidepressants can help with pain and sleep. I've tried them and they don't.

There are other things that can cause those symptoms too...Ann has named a few. Thyroid would be the second thing I'd look at. Your GP can do some thyroid tests if he hasn't already. Let me know if you've had any tests, what they were and how long ago. We can try to point you in the right direction.

Pain and fatigue can often be symptoms with many autoimmune diseases so I'm perplexed as to why the doctors don't seem to know this. As already pointed out, it could also be side effects from the treatment.

My consultant warned me about fatigue right from the start. Occupational health are very supportive and suggested to my boss that I never work on consecutive days ( am part-time so this is do able). This has helped a lot.