here we go again

We thought that Dex worked. My numbers got high. We expected them to level out, but bottom out seems to be more what is happening. They have been dropping about 50k a week. I am at 45k as of monday so she wants to see me since there isn't 50k more to drop...
I don't know what she will do tomorrow. What treatment we will try. I am assuming not Dex. I am brand new so that is all I know so far. Do the other options make you as sick?

hoping when they retest tomorrow they still are 45 and I can go on my way. are there treatments I should recommend to her?

Thanks!
Kathy

LOL, there is a treatment other than Promacta? Love that stuff.

Unfortunately, most people don't get a lasting response from Dex. It's nasty. Yes, there are other options that have fewer side effects. You'd need a crash course by tomorrow though to know what you're talking about if you want to make suggestions.

Here's the list of common treatments:
Prednisone
Win-Rho
Promacta
N-Plate
IVIG

Hi kae- I have had ITP for 9 years and have had treatments- prednisone, Dexamethasone, Rituxin, Promacta and Nplate. I also thought dexy was very harsh. It was 5 days of misery for 10 days of higher platelets- not worth it. The doctors wanted to remove my healthy spleen which is a treatment option. I refused as its not always successful. And it made no sense to take out a healthy organ. All the drugs I've tried have worked. Some have worked better than others, and some have bad side effects. I am currently on Nplate which is my favorite ITP treatment. It is a once a week injection at the hemo's office and for me has almost nothing in the way of side effects. It keeps my platelets around 50K which is the target for that drug- its designed to keep counts at a safe number but not in the normal range of 150+. You will get a lot of great information on this forum. Keep reading and educating yourself. Good luck with whatever you do next!

been quite a week. My numbers were 15 at my appt... down from 45 just 4 days earlier. It was the consistent drop more than the number itself that got me admitted. I was in for 4 days. Did the iv dex with the ivig and doing a 4 treatment round of rituxan. (last 3 outpatient). I am a bit discouraged and not feeling so great. I know, I have chemicals all through my body, but still... haha

guess I am going to need to work a bit harder to get into remission. accepting slowly that this is something I am going to be dealing with. I know I will adjust but right now, today, I am not.