Anniversary yesterday

Yesterday was one year since I was diagnosed. I have been in remission for one year less two weeks. I have to admit I rather freaked out yesterday thinking about having another episode. It had been pretty much on the back burner for me til the anniversary put it on the front burner. I know I did not have it anywhere near as bad as many of you, but there was the crappy uncertainty for months and the crappy picc line that seeped constantly and required those painful changes of bandages. I really don't want to go there again, and I know it is near 100% chance I will.

Wow - a year already! I think you're chances of a recurrence are much lower than 100%.

Just want to include some encouraging words. I am nearly to my 40th anniversary of having my spleen removed. I have had no extreme symptoms in all that time and any symptoms I do have are related more to being spleenless than ITP, I believe.

Wow, you have been fortunate indeed. It seems so many people do not have such good fortune with splenectomies. I am happy for you and hope your good fortune continues!

It is ridiculous how fast time passes when you are my age. Why does it seem to snail along when you are 6. Remember how long it seemed between Thanksgiving and Christmas then? And at 67, it is almost tomorrow when you get up today!

I hear ya! My Grandma used to tell me that time goes faster when you're older. I didn't believe it. Life just races by.

Roberta, I'm hoping your ITP was a one hit wonder. Anything is possible.

Somebody has to be in the group of 20% of adults who have an acute ITP. We don't see many here but it's great when one comes along.

From your lips to God's ears.

Ann wrote: Somebody has to be in the group of 20% of adults who have an acute ITP. We don't see many here but it's great when one comes along.

I'm just curious where you got the 20% number. If it's an article, I'd love to read it.

Ann, how would a person know if they had acute? Only when they die before ITP returns?
Erica

how would a person know if they had acute? Only when they die before ITP returns?

That would make for an interesting epitaph: "There, I told you I had 'acute' ITP!"

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I would assume that acute ITP lasts less than a year with no recurrence over the next few years. I could probably say that my sister had acute ITP. She had it when she was 16 and it lasted about a year. She's now 47 and has been fine since. If her counts dropped again, I would still say that she had acute ITP before and may now either be acute or chronic depending on the duration.

I know what you mean though. No one can ever really say they were cured until the day they die with no recurrence.

I remember quite a few people here who were probably acute. One in particular was freaked out upon diagnosis. He was the "I can avoid all Prednisone side effects" guy and the "waiting for the other shoe to drop" guy. Anyone remember? They get their counts up and we never hear from them again.

openhanded wrote:

Ann wrote: Somebody has to be in the group of 20% of adults who have an acute ITP. We don't see many here but it's great when one comes along.

I'm just curious where you got the 20% number. If it's an article, I'd love to read it.

In old writings like this www.clinicalkey.com/topics/hematology/immune-thrombocytopenic-purpura.html

"Spontaneous remission occurs in more than 80% of children and in less than 20% of adults"

But you shouldn't see it in modern literature. They don't even talk of acute any more, it's now 'newly diagnosed', 'persistent' and 'chronic' but in the past they said that with children it was 80% acute and 20% chronic and with adults it was the other way around.

I'd think that if I had a one time go with low counts which resolved either on their own or with one treatment, I'd see it as acute. But really I'm not sure you'd know for sure even at death. Had the person lived it might have come back.. who knows?