no-no foods

Ok, so I've never been too concerned with foods that are taboo to us. We had a party for my mom on Saturday, and there was tons of left overs. We brought home a full veggie tray, which included tomatoes, cukes. celery, carrots, cauliflower and broccoli. So the cauliflower and broccoli are gone. I've been eating the tomatoes, carrots and celery like it's going out of style. But, tomatoes are on our taboo list. I now have a bruise on my arm that looks like somebody has beaten the crap out of me. Is there any proof that tomatoes are bad for us? I just had my counts done this past Sunday and they are 37, which is good for me. This bruise is in a spot that wouldn't be easy to hit. And it's sore. And it looks like it's getting worse. I like tomatoes and don't know if I should stop eating them. Have any of you found that avoiding foods on the do not eat list makes a difference with your counts?

Hi, Cindy. ITP is fairly new to my husband, so I didn't know that tomatoes weren't good for him to eat. After reading your message, I tried to do a quick search and came up with tomatoes reduce the clotting of platelets, but couldn't find out anything about causing problems with lowering platelets. I guess that might account with your bruise, meaning you'll bruise &/or bleed easier with thinner blood, but your platelet count might not be affected. I'll be interesting in reading others opinions too!

Cindy haven't people here said they know the bruise is ok if it hurts - that an "ITP bruise" doesn't hurt?

I never ate tomatoes much except on a BLT every now and then. Once I saw tomatoes on the bad list I craved them and now eat them a lot throughout a week.

I won't give up onion or garlic - I can't imagine life without onions or garlic.

Can you go get a count done since you are concerned?

Last week my count was in the low 40's, which is good, and on Monday I noticed a bruise on my arm that I did not recall bumping. That bruise also hurt.
My stomach was in knots today when I went to get my labs done - I was so worried that I had dropped and that meant the Rituxan didn't work for me.
But lo and behold - my counts went up to almost 70! So it IS a legitimate bruise on my arm after all - I just don't recall how I got it.

It has been my experience, not just this time but other times as well, that the difference is the pain factor. If it hurts, it's probably not an ITP bruise.
Even though 37 is a good count for you (awesome!) it's still low in comparison to the "normal" (ick, I hate that word) range - which means legitimate bruises occur more easily. Wouldn't take a big whack to get a nasty one. You might have banged yourself somehow during the party but you didn't notice because you were sidetracked - and the bruise showed up a bit later. Hopefully that's the case.

Nonetheless, I totally relate to your concern and maybe you should get a count done if you need the peace of mind.

I haven't noticed any changes in my counts based on the foods I eat - and I agree, garlic and onions - and a whole bunch of other things on the "avoid" list - make life much better.

Melinda, yeah, there has been discussions on the bruise hurting, which mine does, especially if I put any kind of pressure on it. My hema dr. has left orders that if I feel I need a count done between regular visits, I can. But since I just had one done Sunday and the bruise came out late Monday I'll wait.

I won't give up my onions either! Steven cooks with garlic a fair amount, but I don't find that it makes any difference. There's a couple of foods on "the list" that I don't like, so I use that as an excuse not to eat them! :laugh:

Michelle, I've always bruised easy. We were moving things around a lot on Saturday at the party, so it could well be that I hit the arm on something. It's just that it's in a strange spot. You know, when a parent grabs their kids' arm and shakes 'em? That's where my bruise is. Congrats on the 70!

Thanks for the replies, ladies. I'll just keep doing/eating what I normally do.

Since food allergies are my specialty I'll tell you that you are likely allergic to them. Nightshades are a highly allergenic food to lots of people. I would venture to guess that most people with itp have food allergies of some sort and these would be high on the list. Nightshades would include tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, and paprika (although we find dried spices tend not to be an issue since there is no liquid enzyme in them). It would depend how sensitive one is as to whether they're allergic to paprika or not.

I know there is sound science behind the impact of some foods on bleeding/clotting, but I've never seen them in myself. I love tomatoes and eat them daily.

I do have it on good authority, however, that carrot cake raises platelet counts. Try it. If it doesn't work, try eating more carrot cake. Chocolate cake is another option. Cherry pie too.

Hey, Steve, it's great to see you posting! However, in my opinion, carrot and cake are two words that should never be used together! :laugh: Chocolate cake, on the other hand, I can do. Don't care for cherry pie, either. Bruise is getting much better.