Recently there have been some changes in my life. Most notably, I’m dealing with the onset of what we believe to be Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP). ITP is a blood disorder. For reasons we have not yet figured out, my antibodies have decided that they no longer like my platelets. To show their disdain for my precious platelets, my antibodies are killing them.
To make my problem more complicated, my body decided to join in on the fun and stop producing platelets. I can’t get my body to talk to me about this so I don’t know why it’s acting this way. Over the next few days, weeks, and months the story will become clear.
This has been going on for several weeks and maybe months – I just didn’t know it until I was admitted to Utah Valley Hospital in Provo, Utah on November 3, 2011. But hey, I’m getting ahead of myself. Over the next weeks, I’ll describe what has transpired (backwards-looking) and provide progress updates.
The two most compelling items, which I track nearly daily, are my platelet count (as a reference, normal is 150k-300k – but for the sake of simplicity we'll leave off the k) and daily dose of meds to help keep my platelet count up. Why are platelets so important? I’ll tell you next time.
Today’s Numbers
Platelets: 58k (trending up)
Meds: 350ML Intravenous Immunoglobulin (IV IG) and 70MG Prednisone (Steroid)
Immunoglobulin and Prednisone increase my platelets.
Today we decided to crank up the intake a few notches to speed things up. Bad decision. By the end of the IV session I was jacked-up and shaky. For the next several hours I was edgy and cranky. Apologies to those who had to deal with me. Really, I'm sorry.
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| Lime green today |
Today we decided to crank up the intake a few notches to speed things up. Bad decision. By the end of the IV session I was jacked-up and shaky. For the next several hours I was edgy and cranky. Apologies to those who had to deal with me. Really, I'm sorry.
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| Getting juiced - Landis would be impressed! |
