Should I be freaking out? Pls help...

My 1 year old was just diagnosed with ITP, the doctor called this morning and his platelet level was 3000. He is starting on Prednisone today and will have another blood test on Monday...

I have been reading alot today... some places say children grow out of it fairly quickly... some places say not so quickly... some places say low platelet counts could mean leukemia...

My doctor says that we caught it quickly... he believes it is ITP and we are going to treat as it is... and then as a precaution he is sending the blood smear to pathology to rule anything out..(very responsible decision... I LOVE our doctor)

But my question is this.....

SHOULD I BE FREAKING OUT RIGHT NOW?

I don't know what to do...

Would love to hear some advice...

Thanks so much
Lori

im on ur same page. my son got dx about 6 months ago!! very frusturating and horrible exp we went through well pretty much he has gone through.... im very scared! we hv been seeing a hemotologist this whole time! he also said he might grow out of it or he might not! im very scared and hope he does!! hes my baby n its so sad seeing all these horrible exp he been going to help his platlets go up... also alll these stories are not helping specialy bcuz his platlets always seem to always drop after ivig anyways! i will be trying the papaya leaf extract on him soon seen alot of good stories on it!! im so scared...hope ur baby gets better soon!! plz email me n let me know what happends...but my adise pplz see a hemotologist soon! good luck..cutestbabygirl05@yahoo.com

Thank you for your reply. My Doctor hasn't said anything about a hematologist yet. I think he wants to get the path back on the blood smear and get the pred. in him to see if that works. I have definatly been taking notes on the subject and will ask lots of questions when I see him on Monday.

Hope your baby is doing better and will get better soon also.

No - you do not need to freak out. ITP is usually very managable and most children are acute, meaning it goes away in time. Has he been sick lately? If so, ITP is common after a virus or bacterial infection. Some medications can cause it, such as antibiotics.

Do not pay attention to the web sites that tell you this could be leukemia. Chances are, it is not.

Thank you Sandy. Yes, he has been battling a cold for a few weeks and he had double ear infections twice in November. I was also reading that 1-25k develop ITP after the MMR vaccination and he just had that on 1-3. So I believe it is a combination of things. My doctor is great,, he has called me twice already checking on me and him, his son had it when he was young also. He seems to feel the same way that this will just take care of itself (with an added boost of prednizone, )

I just lost my mom about 2 months ago and it has been a very trying time. I'm tired from caring for her and being with her when she died and then the holidays, so this on top of everything else, I have become over protective and emotional.

Thanks both for the support.

Everything will be okay. One day at a time. Yes, your son has had a lot of things going on that could have triggered this. Hopefully, the Prednisone will help. Keep us posted!

We lost my mother in law two months ago too...November 15th. It's been a trying year to say the least. I'm sorry to hear about your Mom.

Hi, my little man is also 1, he had his MMR shot month later took him in for briuses and his count was below 1.. I do suggest reading alot and I read every post in child section that was posted here, it helped me ALOT, I hope you can find some comfort in reading what others have dealt with and luckily have overcome.

Sandi so sorry about your mother in law.. mom left us 11-2. It was all saints day... and I said all my life my mom was a saint.. and that just proved it.

I just put the baby down and when I changed his diaper.. I just lost it and had to cry. The poor thing looks like he has been beat to a pulp... Can't stand to see him like that.

The first dose of prednisone went down good. The pharmacist is good at "grape-ing" things up... LOL

Have a good evening and I will keep all posted as to how he does.

Thanks again for the advice and the ear to spill too..

Crystal Lee, My doctors are constantly amazed when I come to see them, because I have read everything I can find... when I need to. My OB/GYN even began giving me websites he uses, because I ran out of ideas during my pregnancies.... It was a big joke with us...

I have read alot today and some of it I am putting in the back of my head for later.. right now Im just focusing on the prednisone and getting his levels up and keeping him from falling and hurting himself. Hopefully we will see some rise in numbers on Monday.
Thanks and hope you son does well too.