bone marrow biopsy

I've had ITP for some time now, years.... i hover near 20k for years. this year i started to have a lot of anxiety and got bursitis in one knee. this caused my platelets to fall once before. currently my platelets have dropped to 10k and my whit,red and hemoglobin have dropped below the minimum. I'm not sure wether to get the bone marrow test or just start homeopathic . every time i see conventional doctors they just test me and take money and throw their hands in the air ?? has anyone had any experience with conclusive marrow test results? everyone i talk to say there's were inconclusive ? The nutritionist suggested spirulina and colostrum ??

Have you ever treated ITP to get counts up?

A bone marrow biopsy isn't necessary for ITP but if your other counts drop as well, it wouldn't be a bad idea to get checked out. I don't understand why your doctors are throwing their hands up in the air - because of ITP?

In 2015 when I had low platelets-below 10 and also low Haemoglobin -80 and low neutrophils I started on high dose eltrombopag, 75 mg per day. Very quickly my red and white counts normalised and my platelets gradually rose over a year to almost 100. Now my dose is 50mg 4x wk and 75 mg 3x wk. Red and white counts are still normal and platelets are 100-150. My dose is being gradually reduced every 5 weeks. If you are low on all counts a bone marrow biopsy would be advised to rule out other conditions . I had a biopsy which showed poor quality marrow but I have responded well to the medication.

they are baffled by the cause
, thus the ideopathic

Rich - none of us really know the cause and our doctors don't expect to find the cause. The name has actually been changed to 'Immune Thrombocytopenia" instead of "Idiopathic" these days. They have recently discovered a few more antibodies and suspect that those who have no detected antibodies probably have antibodies that have not been discovered yet.

I've had two bone marrow biopsy they were to check if I was producing enough platelets which I was and to check for leukemia everything pointed to straight up itp don't know if that helps lol but that was my experience oh and it hurts pretty bad

great, sounds like fun.... I am waiting for my insurance to start before I go for the test... yes, no insurance.....

My BMB was not at all painful, not even what I think of as uncomfortable; but I have a friend who described hers as "awful". I suspect that, like most other medical procedures, everything depends on the adeptness of the person performing it. My MD is skilled at it, fast and accurate. Maybe her MD was a klutz; they aren't exactly rare.

The worst part of mine was getting the insurance notice that the $12k charge was denied. The lab that did its part wasn't in the provider network. The decision was reversed, thankfully. It might be wise for you to determine exactly what you'll pay before you get into it.

I didn't think the BMB was that bad either. One injection to numb the skin, another injection to numb the muscle, then the extraction. That was the worst part...a major ZAP, but it was over in seconds. It took about 20 minutes and I went home with a band-aid. I had a sore rear for a few days and it hurt to bend over but life went on as usual.

True my first biopsy was way worse then my second my first one I was 17 and my dr kept saying damn these strong bones he was sweating and older and really skinny my seconf I was 25 but my dr was 6'6 and about 300 pounds so he didn't have such a hard time lol

my issue is partly no ins. I will have some in another 3 weeks but it's a rough road right now because i lack any immune system because my wbc are so low. Turned down for our glorious obamacare because my income was too low, they said go on welfare.... NOT! hopefully i can keep it together for a few weeks.