Low platelet count

Good morning all,

I’m querying other people’s experiences with ITP..

I’ve had a history of ITP which was first identified in 2016...platelet count has since fluctuated from as low as ten and up into the ‘healthy range’ and I have previously been on a course of oral prednisone to bring up my platelet count. Recent blood tests show a platelet count of 88 with all other information from blood test deemed as ‘healthy’. Does anyone know if ITP can be triggered by stress? Its the only thing I can think of...It was also evident that I once had an EBV infection.. can stress re-trigger EBV (mono) which can cause low platelets? I’m really at my wits end here. I have another specialist appointment tomorrow, but I’m interested if other people have had similar experiences. Thank you ..

nick2182 wrote: Good morning all,

I’m querying other people’s experiences with ITP..

I’ve had a history of ITP which was first identified in 2016...platelet count has since fluctuated from as low as ten and up into the ‘healthy range’ and I have previously been on a course of oral prednisone to bring up my platelet count. Recent blood tests show a platelet count of 88 with all other information from blood test deemed as ‘healthy’. Does anyone know if ITP can be triggered by stress? Its the only thing I can think of...It was also evident that I once had an EBV infection.. can stress re-trigger EBV (mono) which can cause low platelets? I’m really at my wits end here. I have another specialist appointment tomorrow, but I’m interested if other people have had similar experiences. Thank you ..

Nick, if one looks through old posts I think you will find 'stress' mentioned a lot. Stress acting as a trigger for ITP, or, as a cause agent for lowered counts.

On EBV, it is less clear. My own opinion is that EBV might well be associated with row 1 type of ITP in my treatments table. Both seem to be related to B cells of the immune system. Note that row 1 folks respond well to steroids. On the other hand, I don't recall seeing a research paper actually connecting the two. I suppose a MMR vaccine could be guilty just as easily as EBV - I dunno.

Did you end up asking your specialist?

Thank you for your reply..

I saw the specialist and who was a bit at a loss. My lost 3-4 blood tests have shown a consistent decrease in platelet count after a course of oral prednisone. My specialist advised we will wait 4 months and have another blood test..if platelets still low will try another course of medication and potential spleen removal later down the track. Im at a bit of a loss....and so is my specialist. who knows?!?!?!!?

Personally I find stress is definitely a factor.

I wish there was a mechanism to measure it or some kind of medically confirmed link between stress and low platelet count. At the moment it feels like speculation and a "could be". Does anyone know of any studies at all?

This is kind of off topic, but I have suffered from cystic acne my whole life, and while everyone has always reassured me that stress hasn't been shown to correlate with flare-ups, I know without a doubt it's a huge, huge factor for me personally. So I would not doubt an ITP patient for a second if they also reported this association. Haven't seen a study, but it seems like there are a lot of studies that should be done but haven't...