HUGE CHANGE IN PLATELET NUMBERS IN 7 DAYS????

My platelets were really doing badly for weeks and even months - down to the low 30's. The steroids brought them to 128 and in 3 weeks, they were back down to 36. I eat the same way, do the same thing, nothing in my life has changed - except for a dramatic rise in my platelets which neither me nor my doctor can account for! How does one go from 36 to 55 in 7 days??? I wish I had the answer - if anyone does - please let me know. My doctor is allowing me 2 weeks before another CBC. First time in months I actually have a week without needles! I'm kinda nervous about the labs next Tuesday. I am just getting over a UTI by drinking tons of water every day - but would that be the reason for such a dramatic change in numbers???? Does an infection raise them??? My hubby and I were thrilled with the count of 55 - but - we're trying not to get too excited, since we can't figure out the 19 point jump in 7 days. 55 for me, since last year, is a miracle! Has it happened to anyone else??

are you still on the steroids?

Hi, I was just going to say that our platelets can change quickly at any time and for no known reason. I was just sitting in the doctors office one time (after having an earlier CBC) and my platelets went from 12 to 33 in just a few hours. As you read more stories on this board you will see that it happens to a lot of us.

Good luck to you!

Dee Dee

Going from 36 to 55 isn't unusual at all. Platelet counts fluctuate all the time due to constant production and destruction. There is no known rhyme or reason for it and sometimes it's just a matter of catching it on a certain day. 36 and 55 are actually pretty close as far as platelet counts go; it's the trend that makes the difference. If you kept seeing a bounce between those two numbers, you'd have pretty stable counts. If you had a downward spiral or kept going up, that's a whole other story.

People have had two different results from the same blood sample or as DeeDee said, can have two different results in the same day. We just had someone who had a count of 48 with the automated method. They ran the same sample manually and got 110, so sometimes it's a matter of how long the blood sample sits (the longer it sits, the more it can clump and show a lower result).

As has been mentioned....that happens. Platelet counts go up and down constantly.
As the song says, "They go uppity up up they go downdidy down down".

But 36k is a decent number.
Even the "low 30s" is decent and usually quite safe.
I'm jealous.


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Haveitall, you might want to keep a record of your platelets and treatments. I have had one since I was diagnosed in 2000, and it has been most useful. (I do a simple Word table--3 columns: date, platelets, pred. dose.)

My "pred-plate track" shows that I have had many rises and falls in platelets, much more than 20 K. (Once I went from 56K to 186K and back down to 40K; once--in a week--from 103K to 18K; more than once from the 50s to single digits. I'm usually tested every week or two. I control my ITP with low doses of prednisone; my hematologist considers 30K safe.)

To me, ITP means unpredictable! (And yet, I've got to the point where I can often predict my own counts fairly accurately.)

Karen,
That is a very good idea!! I started out keeping track--but only when my platelets stayed in a lower range. Mine seems to be fine for a long time--then something sets if off, and they will crash.

It really does help to keep track, especially when you are getting your blood tests that often.