Platelet count

[Land420]

Hello new here & wanted to get comments from any one who my have experience or know.
I wont start tx until mid may & My platelet count is already at 62 & alt is at 111, but the doctor says we will just have to monitor it closely, I work construction & cut my self all the time, bleeding is not a problem, seems to clot & scab pretty well, said normal platelet count is 140-400k/ul.
My question, is the platelet count too low to get treatment? I will get treatment at Kaiser so I not sure If I trust them, My family has had otther problems with them concerning thier diagnoses & treatments.
Also has anyone recieved TX through Kaiser?
I was told I would inject them myself, but how do they deliver the meds? mail? every week? or 1 month supply? The reason Im asking is because we have to pay a co-pay for prescriptions, & im trying to figure out cost, if it is a one month suppy I will make a co-pay once a month, Im hoping its not every week.
Type C Geno 2 so I will be going for 24 weeks.
Thanks guys

[Kathy73]

I can give some information about platelets. I had been diagnosed with ITP and had platelets in the 40,000 range for a couple of years before I was diagnosed with Hep C. My hepatologist was uncomfortable with giving me a liver biopsy at that level so I went through hemaglobulin infusions which is over 5 days around 5-6 hours a day. Pretty expensive, but insurance covered it. Brought my platelets up over 140,000 for the biopsy. Got the biopsy. The higher platelets only lasted a couple of weeks and I was back in the 40,000 range. Luckily my platelets didn't decrease on treatment. Other people have had different reduction of platelets on tx.

[mikesimon]

You're probably too young to remember a TV show called Leave It To Beaver but let me assure you it was lame when it was current which was in the late 50s or early 60s. Watching it today is crazy. When I was treating in 2003 I was watching re-run of the Beaver and I started crying. When I realized what was happening I knew that I was pretty far gone. That stuff can happen with these drugs and it's pretty insane.

Good luck,
Mike

[Land420]

Thought I would post a follow-up for anyone that might be searching for answers like I am.

Turns out Kaiser is not to bad, little impersonal, (I'm not sure what I expected), but the Ribavirin cost $20.00, & interferon is $30.00 per month, doesn't sound like much but Im paying $1200.00 per month for Kaiser health care already.

At Kaiser they sent me to a Hematology/Oncologist first, he took more blood test than I can remember because of low platelet count discovered prior to a shoulder surgery.
After testing positive for HCV Geno 2 they sent me to a Infectious disease specialists whose credentials included internal medicine & some degree in disease? He has been heading this department in Modesto/Stockton for 15 years.
I asked him how low he would let my platelet count get he said 30k.before he would consider changing dose.
I have not had a liver biopsy, ultrasound showed a slightly enlarged spleen.

Just before treatment started my test showed;
Platelet level went up to 92k.
WBC 6.9k,
Neutrophils 3.5k/ul
HCV load 506185iu/ml

Yesterdays test came back ;
Platelet back down to 64k.
WBC 3.2
Neutrophils 0.9k/ul
No Viral load on this test, I guess?

I'm testing every Thursday.
As far as the side effects from the tx,
I guess I'm one of the lucky ones,
I take the interferon on Friday morning;
I'm a little sore on Sat, sleep almost all day & night Sunday, then good to go on Monday. I know little about depression but if crying once in a while for no apparent reason is depression, then it is doing that, but I am able to remember, it's just the treatment.

Thank you guys for all your help, I have been to a lot of forums on this, but this by far the most helpful.

[Interfurgen]

yes Hector you covered darn good  land240 watch the bleeding glums when you brush your teeth your urine blowing your nose.I took platelets too 8000. I had a 3.7 log drop just as my platelets  my viro count hit 42,000 then 0 but i was very sick Hector's imfo is really good

[Bill1954]

Thanks, Hector; I was working my way to this, but you covered things better than I ever could have.

Land420- good luck with everything; let us know how things work out, and keep in touch-

Bill

[HectorSF]

Hi.

No, having a low platelet count won't stop you from starting treatment, but additional precautions and monitoring will be required during treatment.

You are correct in being concerned about your platelet count. 62,000 is abnormally low.
A key question is, why your platelet count is so low? Do you know?
Is it caused by liver disease or some other disease?

What is this doctor's credentials? Are they a gastroenterologist or hepatologist? Are they experienced in successfully treating hepatitis C? Is this someone you are comfortable working with and will answer your questions over the next year? Should you become too ill to work for any period will they sign a medical note saying you are under their care and are able to work? These are all things you might want to think about before starting treatment. Surprises during treatment are things you want to avoid by being pro-active now. It is your health and your life we are taking about. The doctor is there to help you medically, but in the end it is your will to do treatment and overcome hepatitis that matters most.

Treatment will lower your platelets further as it is a common side effect of interferon. Each person responds differently to treatment so there is no telling how far your platelet count will go down.

What you need to know from the doctor is, "How low will he allow your platelet count to go down before terminating treatment"? Is your doctor willing to give you platelets through transfusion if needed?

If you find during treatment signs of bruising, nose bleeds and gums bleeding notify your doctor as soon as possible. Also if you should vomited blood or see blood in your stool.

Best of luck.
Hectorsf

[Fnzol]

"Also has anyone recieved TX through Kaiser?"

Just finished.  Quite happy with my case nurse and doc.  

There's a KP location two miles from the house.  Picked up my meds there every four weeks (the shots come in kits of four), and did my labs there.  Be prepared to do labs frequently, like weekly, if you have anything low.  You're already behind the curve with that PLT value, so just be aware that you may get heavily monitored.  It's actually a good thing.  

[Junebug812]

I am currently undergoing tx at Kaiser in Oakland, CA. To be completely honest, I have not been happy with my care and have had to continually advocate for myself to get my needs met. If you need more details, let me know.

As for the meds, I am not able to get them by mail as they are special order. I get other meds through them by mail, but they can't mail these. Interferon needs to be refrigerated so I can see why they don't send it through the mail. They give me a month's supply of interferon at a time. I was given tons of Ribavirin at the beginning of tx and have only recently had to refill (I'm nearing the end of 6 mos. tx). So all in all, that part has been easy. I co-pay my Rx too. For a month's supply of Interferon, I pay $35.00 which is awesome! I also pay for Procrit because of low hemoglobin and I also pay $35.00 for month's supply of that. I can't remember what I paid for the Ribavirin but it wasn't a ton of money. Of course I don't know what your plan is like so it could vary for you.

Hope this helps!
June