Question:
I was wondering if anyone was diagnosed w/ ITP after surgery

I was diagnosed with ITP after surgery. It is a blood disorder where my immune system kills my own platelettes. They say it is idiopathec but I was wondering if anyone else has this problem    — Shannon R. (posted on December 27, 2002)

December 27, 2002
My sister had this when she was young. I spoke with someone on this site, (could have been you, I am very bad with names) that has this as well. I don't think this is something caused by the surgery, they could never find a reason why with my sister. My sister developed it when she was 5 and battled with it for many years. It pretty much went away on its own when she was around 13 or 14. Although, they said it could come back without warning. My family tried for a long time to find others with the same problem, they were only able to find one, and that was about the time it was going away. I find it strange that now, so many years later, I am finding people that have it. I wish you the best with this, and hope that in the 20 years that has passed, they have found more ways to treat this.
   — RebeccaP

December 27, 2002
I have chronic ITP, dx in 1980, long before WLS. I had one little flare since my WLS (1994), but it hit, left the spots & left again. By the time I had blood drawn, it was near normal again. Could be you had it all along, but it wasn't dx before?
   — vitalady

December 27, 2002
Hi I was diagnosed with ITP in 93 was put on steriods (prednisone) till 96 when I had a splenectomy. Havent had a problem with my platelets since. I had wls a year ago. If you would like more info on it please feel free to write me. Your dr might suggestion prednisone and unfortunatly can cause weight gain, it depends on how low ur platelets are. Mine were in the low 30's ever since my splenectomy they have been in the 200 thousands so really good. I wish you the best ...
   — Deanna Wise

December 28, 2002
I have ITP and was diagnosed with it way back in 1987 or 1988. At the time I was told that it was something that often seems to strike women in their 20s (which I was) and could be the result of an immune system gone awry after fighting a virus. I was also told it would probably go away by itself. I was hospitalized for tests which showed that my body manufactured enough platelets but then destroyed them. Had I not been manufacturing enough, they would have put me on steroids. An ultrasound showed no sign that they were gathering in my spleen (which is common), so spleen removal wasn't considered a viable option either. I never had any treatment nor any symptoms. I've always bruised fairly easily, not nothing that out of the ordinary, and rarely any bruises that couldn't be explained. So all I had to do was have my blood platelet count checked periodically to make sure it wasn't dropping. Other than those blood tests, it had no effect on my life whatsoever, and perhaps I ALWAYS had this condition since I think that was my first blood test ever. I'm 39 now, and prior to getting my WLS, I went to see a hematologist because I was concerned that my low platelet count might be grounds for denial for the operation. I was quite surprised to find my platelet count was now in the 130s, after being in the high 80s or so for the past few years. (When I was hospitalized for tests 15 years ago, it was in the 60,000s). 130,000 is ALMOST in the normal range of 150,000 to 400,000 and my doctor told me it would probably go up a bit more and then level off but I was out of the woods. I had another blood test about a month and a half after surgery and was disappointed to find my count was 68,000, lower than it had been in years. One more test last week showed it back up to 137,000, better than ever. So I think it's quite possible that our blood platelet count lowers after the operation and has to build back up. And if you have a whacked immune system in the first place, with a low platelet count, it's probably worse. You don't mention what your count is or if you have any symptoms, or if you knew your previous count. Do you have frequent, unexplained bruising, or little red spots like pin pricks? My advice is not to panic over this, but to keep on top of it with regular blood tests. Your doctor might want to do a bone marrow test on you to see if you're manufacturing enough platelets, and a clotting test to see if you're clotting ok. They might want to remove your spleen to solve the problem. It's hard to say without knowing your count, but I will tell you that you can live a very normal life with a low blood platelet count as long as it's not TOO low. Having an abnormal platelet count appears to be "normal" for me. You should get further tests, because I believe it can be a symptom of Lupus and some other conditions. Idiopathic means they don't know what causes it, and they also don't know why it gets better, but it does for a lot of people, who only have temporary low counts. Mine wasn't temporary, but it also wasn't something that affected me other than having it checked and letting my doctors and dentists know about the problem "just in case".
   — sandsonik