Hello all! My name is Christy and I am 31. In 1996, I was hired to
work at a Assisted Living Center and they did a CBC before I was
hired. About a month after I started, the supervisor came up to me
and told me that my CBC showed something that she has never seen
before and that I should go to my doctor. I went the next day and
the supervisor had already called him and told him the numbers from
my CBC. My doctor then ran blood test every 8 days for almost 4
months, he said he did not know what was wrong with me, but my
platelet count was getting lower. Then one week my doctor was gone
and I had to go to different doctor and he was new in town. I told
him what all my doc had done and he took more blood and said he is
going to run a different test. He then sent me home.
When I got home, I got online and finished my research I had already
started. I was trying to find out what was wrong with me. The new
doctor called me in a few days and told me he figured out what was
wrong with me. He said I have a blood disorder called ITP, I told
him that I had some research on that I had gotten off the internet.
He sent me to a blood specialist and he did confirm that is what was
wrong with me, at that time my platelet count was 13,000 and still
falling.
The specialist did a bone marrow aspiration on me and I passed out.
He found out that my appenix and spleen are absorbing all my
platelets, but he did not want to remove either one of them. At this
time, my count was down to 6,000 and I had to have someone with me at
all times. I had a four year old daughter and the doctor thought it
would be best if I had someone with me all the time.
My appendix flared up in May of 2000 and I had to have it removed.
When they did my CBC, my platelets were 15,000. After surgery they
were 75,000. The doctors thought that cured my problem. In October
of 2000, I started to feel real weak again and knew my platelets were
down again. I went to spec. again and they were 42,000, which he said
was not that bad. He tested me for Leukemia and Cancer and
everything else. I came out clean.
I did not go back to spec. for three years (could not afford it!).
In May of 2003, I slipped and fell 1/4 of an inch and shattered 1/2
inch of my Tibia on right leg and broke my Fibula right below my
knee. Luckily, the bones did not come through the skin. I was
rushed to hospital for emergency surgery. My platelet count was
34,000, the surgeon gave me two bags of platelets and put a titanium
rod in my leg. Three days later, my platelet count was 98,000 and I
felt better than I had in a very long time (except for my leg
hurting!).
About two weeks ago, I started to feel bad again and went to hospital
because I was throwing up. They did CBC and my platelet count was
38,000. The doctor told me that it was nothing to worry about, I
will be fine. I tried telling him that when I am stressed and not
feeling well, my platelets go down real fast. He told me that I did
not know what I was talking about. I walked out.

Well, that was longer than I expected it to be. Sorry! :(
But, that is me! Glad to finally find a group that is about this
issue.

Christy