Rob:
I assume you mean me? Ha. Well, this is the way I feel about it.
If you take a good look at a lot of the drugs used to treat ITP, you will find that thrombocytopenia can be a side effect. Go figure. So knowing that, if you take a good look at most other drugs, you will see that thrombocytopenia is also listed quite often. In fact, it's difficult to find a drug that doesn't list it. Going through a general list of common side effects is not enough. You have to look at a PDR or a source that has specifics.
The first year that I was diagnosed, I was really paranoid about taking anything that might drop my counts. It happened twice with Amoxicillin. The first time I chalked it up to coincidence, but the second time I decided to just stay away from it. Many people here have taken Amoxicillin with no problem. Anyway, everyone knows to stay away from aspirin and NSAID's because doctors warn about it. When Tylenol got added to that list, I gave up and decided to just take what I want as long as my counts were above 50k. A lot of the meds don't necessarily cause counts to drop, but they can thin the blood which isn't good if counts are down. So I threw caution to the wind and started taking Naproxen because I needed it for another medical issue. Nothing bad happened. Then I got another diagnosis and had to start aspirin and some other ITP contraindicated drugs. Again, nothing bad happened.
Sometimes there just isn't a choice in the matter. Sometimes, you have to treat other, potentially serious medical issues, even if it means counts might drop. I have seen some people who refuse to treat other problems because of the fear of a relapse. I
know what it takes to achieve a remission; I
know how hard that can be. But to ignore another problem due to that fear is just silly. Some people are so afraid of antibiotics dropping counts that they won't take them. Well, the infection could also cause counts to drop too so which is worse? To ask a doctor to find one that won't drop counts is nearly impossible. No one knows how any individual will react to a particular drug. No one can give you that guarantee. If thrombocytopenia is not found on a list, that doesn't mean that it won't happen anyway. The list of side effects is only that; a list that contains
reported side effects. If it hasn't been reported, it won't be on the list. Many side effects go unreported because doctors either don't report it or the connection of the drug to the side effect is never made. I'm sure the risk of a count drop is more common with some drugs than others, but just because it
can does not mean that it
will.
You could scour the list of side effects for a drug and not find ITP. But most people completely ignore side effects like TTP, Steven Johnson Syndrome, Guillain Barre, etc. Those are very scary, potentially fatal side effects. I'd take ITP over those any day.
Okay, having said all of that, there are lists if you are still serious about sticking to one. Unfortunately, I really think that it is basically trial and error when it comes to any drug. This list is a good place to start.
pdsa.org/about-itp/warnings.html How's that for an answer? A bit long-winded.... :huh:
