Thank you to everyone on this site

Hello,

Over the past year and a half, I have experienced low platelets several times. My doctor sent me to a internist and I started going through the motions of figuring out what it may/may not be. Though they have mentioned ITP several times, though I am still not diagnosed as my counts continue to go up and down. At this point, my gut feeling after becoming more educated on platelet counts, is that I have had food allergen and vaccine related complications. Nothing is confirmed but I am still hoping that is what it is.

I'd like to say thank you to everyone on this site. When I didn't know what was happening to me, I felt so afraid, lost and confused about what ITP could be. I have spent several days reading the various posts and all of the information and stories of people's own experiences has calmed my nerves and let me go on with my life.

One poster here said that life should be like a stove. It has four burners and you put your job, loved ones, etc on the front burners and you place ITP on the back. It has really kept me going. Also, the recommendations for all of the natural ways to improve platelet counts have been very helpful.

By reading your experiences, I have learned that my platelet levels are not in the "serious" range. This is something that my doctor never has told me. The medical lab scales where my CBC's are done, have a normal range of 130 - 400. My lowest platelet reading ever has been 103 and my highest has been in the 160s. Most of the time I have teetered around 120-140.

My doctor has had me hold off on trying for a baby but my internist doesn't seem as concerned. When I hit the "normal" zone, it appears he says, "You're fine" and we move on and revisit when the numbers go down. It's hard to know what to do because my family doctor is saying hold off and she would be my OBGYN.

I've noticed that when I eliminate certain elements from my diet (alcohol, aspartame, cow's milk, processed foods), I appear to go back in the normal range. On April 3 was my lowest reading of 103 and I eliminated the above mentioned items. My test reading from April 18 was 114. Hopefully, it will continue to rise again.

Again, I just had to create a profile and say thank you to everyone who shares their experiences, advice and well wishes to everyone who is affected by ITP. I am grateful that this site exists and the information it provides.

I send my best wishes to everyone on this forum.

Cheers.

Hi Winnie,

I am no expert in ITP, but one of my kids (who doesn't have ITP) has platelet counts in the same sort of range that you are talking about -100 to about 140. He is just considered to have a lower than normal count, but nothing wrong with him. Just because the normal range is 130-400 or something, it doesn't necessarily mean that someone with a count out of this range is "ill". The normal range describes most people, but not everyone.

All those dietary changes sound good for your overall health though. I hope that you get that baby soon too!

Ali

The ITP experts now talk of ITP being a count of under 100 so your counts are not considered to be abnormal enough by them. I think I'd be monitoring the count yearly and just forget about it.

Good luck and hope you get the baby soon.

Winnie:

I'm so glad you were able to read the posts and calm down. That's great! It's too bad your doctors didn't tell you that your counts were not serious....all that worrying for nothing!

There have been several people here over the years who just had "mild ITP" if that's what you want to call it. They would just monitor once or twice a year and live life normally. Sometimes it is true that people just have lower than normal couns and that IS their norm and not a cause for concern. The only time it ever becomes a concern is if surgery is needed, but most surgieries can be done with a count above 100 - some even lower than that. Of course, having a baby also requires some monitoring, but many women have had babies at lower than normal counts and have been fine. Maybe you should seek the opinion of a different OB/GYN if you want to have a baby? They might be a little more agreeable to the idea. Someone who is a bit more experienced in that area may have a different outlook.