High Counts, Heavy Periods

Hello,

My wife was diagnosed in Mid April. We completed a preliminary treatment of high dose dexamethasone, and platelet count was 165 on Thursday.

On Sunday, my wife began her period, and last night the bleeding was heavy. My wife had to wake up overnight to change a pad and had to change again in the AM. I know we can't speculate on whether or not this means her counts are dropping, but I was wondering if this might just be the new normal? Heavy periods in spite of increased platelet count? OR, would this be unusual and a sign that we should go to the hospital - or that it's not ITP but something else. Still too early to tell?

Thoughts?
Thanks,
Tommy

Hi Tommy,

In my experience periods get heavier the lower my counts are! But everyone is different, so I’d go in soon and get another CBC done just to see if it correlates with the count number. If counts are still good and the heaviness persists, I would schedule an appointment with an OB/GYN to see if it could be due to something else. When I first went to the doctor about my heavy menstrual cycle and random bruising, the first place he sent me was the OB/GYN because he suspected the issue was gynecological. Obviously, now I know it was the ITP. But I hope this helps!

Some folks have a really drastic drop in counts right after the high of a dex pulse. My daughter was one of those. (She was an ITP teen. She now enjoys normal counts.) She had her worst nosebleed ever right after finishing a dex pulse. She had quickly dropped into the teens, to a number she previously tolerated fine, but I think it was the precipitous drop that caused the bleed. Your wife should ask for another CBC. You also didn't say your wife's age, but periods can worsen at certain stages.
Norma