effects of caffeine on platelet count?

[happyhappyjoyjoy]

My husband started treament for hep c after he was diagnosed when doing lab work for back surgeory.He seems to tolerate the medicine fairly well usually runs a slight temp and a little tiredness the first day ,but his doctor has stopped his treament 3 times since May 2006 his platelet count keeps falling to dangerous levels ,He eats well ,dosen't drink alcohol,exercises still ,at this point im not feeling confident with his doctor ,my husband drinks Alot of green tea and at least 2 cups of coffee a day.I told my husband at the onset he probally should try limiting his caffeine intake,it's also advised in the be in charge program  but his doctor said that caffeine shouldn't affect him .Now at this point his doctor is giving up and refering him to a medical research hospital 1 1/2 hrs away .If anyone knows where i might find info on the affects of caffeine or perhaps tennison in herbal tea (spelt it wrong im sure:( ) in combination with peg/rib therapy please let me know

hope this was clear

[timedog]

sorry it is not the coffee.

[NYgirl]

No not the coffee.  If it doesn't bother him with the combo of the ribavirin making him speedy he really doesn't have to cut it out. Some studies suggested that coffee is HELPFUL to us so go figure.

it sounds like he's had a pretty easy ride on tx if you can just get the platelets ironed out. I hope it happens soon!

[Bill1028]

It maybe the green tea.

Kang WS, Chung KH, Chung JH, Lee JY, Park JB, Zhang YH, Yoo HS, Yun YP. Antiplatelet activity of green tea catechins is mediated by inhibition of cytoplasmic calcium increase. J Cardiovasc Pharmacol. 2001 Dec;38(6):875-84.
We have previously reported that green tea catechins (GTC) display a potent antithrombotic activity, which might be due to antiplatelet rather than anticoagulation effects. In the current study, we investigated the antiplatelet mechanism of GTC. We tested the effects of GTC on the aggregation of human platelets and on the binding of fluorescein isothiocyanate-conjugated fibrinogen to human platelet glycoprotein (GP) IIb/IIIa. GTC inhibited the collagen-, thrombin-, adenosine diphosphate (ADP)-, and calcium ionophore A23187-induced aggregation of washed human platelets, with 50% inhibitory concentration values of 0.64, 0.52, 0.63, and 0.45 mg/ml, respectively. GTC significantly inhibited fibrinogen binding to human platelet surface GPIIb/IIIa complex but failed to inhibit binding to purified GPIIb/IIIa complex. These results indicate that the antiplatelet activity of GTC may be due to inhibition of an intracellular pathway preceding GPIIb/IIIa complex exposure. We also investigated the effects of GTC on intracellular calcium levels, which are critical in determining the activation status of platelets and on induction of platelet aggregation by thapsigargin, which is a selective inhibitor of the Ca(2+)-ATPase pump. Pretreatment of human platelets with GTC significantly inhibited the rise in intracellular Ca(2+) concentration induced by thrombin treatment, and GTC significantly inhibited the thapsigargin-induced platelet aggregation. We also examined the effect of GTC on the second messenger, inositol 1,4,5-triphosphate (IP(3)). GTC significantly inhibited the phosphoinositide breakdown induced by thrombin. Taken together, these observations suggest that the antiplatelet activity of GTC is be mediated by inhibition of cytoplasmic calcium increase, which leads to the inhibition of fibrinogen-GPIIb/IIIa binding via the activation of Ca(2+)-ATPase and inhibition of IP(3) formation

http://www.greenteahaus.com/group-g.htm

[MissMiss]

One of the problems with coffee is that it is dehydrating, compounding the dehydration caused by tx.  Somehow I never drank any coffee (okay, had at least two sips) during my 48 weeks of tx.  I don't know if it made a difference.

Now if I could just lay down the cigarrettes as easily.....

miss

[GrandOak]

Bad boy, Bad boy, Whatcha going to do, Whatcha going to do when they come for you

[NYgirl]

Boy do I know what you mean!

Some people here have started using the nicotine inhalers that look sort of like cigs so they get the nicotine AND have the habit of the action.

I might try it myself - although I have to wonder if I'm still doing that its like still being addicted on all fronts I guess.

God I wish hypnosis worked!

[MissMiss]

I gotta tell ya, a few years ago I just put those sticks down and never had an inclination for a year and a half to pick them back up.  It took a few days for the family to even notice I had quit.  Really, it was so easy!

Then, we were at a race, my shoulder was killing me because I had just fallen at work and tore it, my husband asked me to stop and get a pack for him.  While waiting for him to finish working the race I went to the hotel room and found the tub full of backed up sewer.  Finally got a new room and everything moved.  I looked at that pack and said to myself "Just one won't hurt!"

And here I am.  Craparama!!!

I hope I can eventually put them down just as easily soon.  Good luck to you too.  It really is a mind game, isn't it.

miss