Medicine for low Platelets

[Better Angels]

Hi Everyone:
I'm new to post, but not new to this board. My husband was diagnosed in April and like everyone else, we were scared to death. I searched every where for information and this was one of the places I came to. I have found much hope and help here and I feel like I know a lot of you. I have watched your struggles and your victories, rooting for you all, a silent partner so to speak.

My husband is 51 - 1B, grade 1, stage 3. His viral load was 9,230,000, but after only 3 weeks on meds he was <10. He started treatment in June and is also on Nuepagen. Liver functions are now all within normal ranges. We have much to be thankful for. We have been thru 4 doc's now and have finally found one we are comfortable with.

What finally led me to post was a question I saw here about platelets and people being taken off their meds because of it. So below is a posting I found that may help many of you.

The answer was in response to a woman who said her husband was being taken off his meds due to low platelets. This is the answer she received:

[dkasey]

My sister has Hep C....she has had it for over 25 years as a result in a blood transfusion's from her childhood leukemia.
She just had a liver biopsy....the doctor said there was no bridging? Does anyone know what that means.  Also he told her that there is nothing he can do for her at the moment because her platelet count is so low.  56,000
He said interferon can cause the platelets to drop even more and that they had to focus on getting her platelet count up and stable.  This is all so confusing to me.  What happens next?

[Better Angels]

Hi Shebee: I'm sorry it took a couple of days to get back to you. Yes, there is a website and it's simply Neumega.com. I really hope this helps you. It makes me really sad when I see people reducing or discontinuing treatement, so I try to constantly be on the look out for these types of things. I'm always worried that my husband will develop some problem that interferes with treatment and at stage 3 I'm afraid he couldn't take that. We are 5 months into treatment now and every new blood work result is scary, but he's hanging in there.

My thoughts are with you,
Debbe

[shebee]

neumega....you can find it on the net.

hubby's have dropped to 25, and still stayed on tx.
shebee

[Tosser]

This might also be of some help for all whom haven't seen it.

What are platelets?

Platelets are cell fragments from the bone marrow that circulate through the
bloodstream, helping your blood to clot. In places where there are breaks in vessels,
platelets form plugs with serum proteins (clotting factors) to prevent blood loss while
healing takes place.

What is a platelet count?

A platelet count is a blood test done by counting the number of platelets in a known
volume of blood. A normal platelet count is in the range of 150,000 to 450,000 per
microliter (mm3). A low platelet count is called thrombocytopenia. If your platelet
count drops below 50,000/mm3, you may not be able to stop bleeding after a serious
injury. If you have a platelet count below 20,000/mm3, bleeding may occur
spontaneously.

What are the symptoms and signs of a low platelet count?

Persons with a low platelet count may bruise easily or bleed from the mouth or
rectum. If any of these symptoms are present, your platelet count could be low, but
other explanations are also possible.



            PLATELET COUNT
Platelets (also known as thrombocytes) are the smallest formed elements of the blood. They are vital to coagulation of the blood to prevent excessive bleeding. Elevated levels suggest dehydration or stimulation of the bone marrow where the cells are produced and decreased levels may indicate an immune system failure, drug reactions, B12 or folic acid deficiency.

Normal Adult Range: 130 - 400 thous/mcl
Optimal Adult Reading: 265
Higher ranges are found in children, newborns and infants.