Advice for ITP Patients: Andrea

Andrea, an ITP patient, gives helpful advice for those people who have been newly diagnosed with ITP, such as visiting the PDSA website, learning as much about the disease as possible, eating well and having hope.

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• ITP
• acute ITP
• chronic ITP
• PDSA
• platelet disorders
• blood disorders
• thrombocytopenia
• autoimmune disease
• petechiae
• bruising
• Baxter Healthcare
• Inside Stories
• immune
• auto-immune
• idiopathic
• thrombocytopenic
• purpura

[PDSAorg]

It is wonderful that your splenectomy was successful. Unfortunately that happens only a little more than half the time and mostly for younger people. When it doesn't work, the ITP patient still has low platelets and now they are missing an important part of their immune system.

[o0soraya0o]

my mother has itp :( i'm scared =(

[Wispy463]

As I watch my platelet count drop due to Cabergoline (to lower growth hormone), could you please tell me if you know if once I stop in several months, if the platelets will repair themselves on their own? Also, do low blood platelets lower the immune system like the removal of the spleen?

[jerryjax1230]

my daughter is 14 and has had itp 12 yrs. she was in remission for ten years until last week.

[Ella3834]

my daughter she is 4 yrs old has ITP for about two years now we tryed to do everything we can for naturally but nothing worked now she has a 11thosand and I as a mother wish I can help her in anyway,,,so we thinking of having a bone marrow aspiration done for her...i PRAY IT GOES WELL FOR HER AND WE DONT HAVE TO GO BACK TO HEMATOLOGIST ANYMORE EVER...

[jjjulija]

I was diagnosed with itp 4 years ago and had really bad experience (blood transfusions... you name it...) and im going for a splenectomy on thursday as a last resourse....

[HarvesterOfMetal1995]

@PDSAorg I had my speen out and it wasnt succesful. I was diagnosed when I was 7 , 7 years ago. My doctor says I will never get rid of ITP so...

[FL4VIN4TOR]

I've had ITP for a few years, and I had no idea how serious this was for some poeple.

Fortunately for me, just like Andrea, I only have this and nothing worse.

Nosebleeds are the worst part of having ITP. Especially when I bleed form both nostrols,

[jovabo112]

i was diagnosed when i was 5 0_o that was around 2000.....i didnt get my spleen taken out and now im fine

[ecvia1]

I was diagnosed with a nasty case of ITP in 1986 - after trying steroids, the doctor in this VA Hospital (I was in the US Navy at the time) - said "we need to take your spleen out - your spleen is "eating" your platelets" - So I said "Well, okay - sure!"

They took my spleen out, my platelets went back up to normal in no time, and that was 23 years ago.

I guess my question is - if removing the spleen solves the ITP prob - why would someone not do it?

Thanks in advance! This is good stuff!