How to live nrml life with itp?????

[grishma]

[tinkerbelle77]

Everyones itp is different you just have to learn to put it to one side in your mind so that it doesnt control you. As long as your blood count us under control. Mine varies between 40-70 now which is really good. I just be that extra careful when moving things cleaning etc that i dont knock myself or cut myself. X

[swheels]

You can, I have, I have had ITP since I was 2 and I'm 43 now. To start in the early years yes it was a pain going for blood count tests every week or 2, drove my mum mad but I can't say it impacted on my life that much when I got older. The visits to the outpatients got less and less as my condition improved, I went to school as normal. It's all about checking for the signs, I was discharged at 15, carried on as normal didn't even think about it much. I hit 25 and had a relapse, I noticed a black black bruise by my ear and the tell tale rash on my feet and shins. It all kicked off again, bone marrow test etc, steroids, weekly trips to outpatients until the count settled again and the docs were happy. The only real disruption to my life is the steroids, they obviously make you gain weight and slow you down a bit with high dosages. The side effects are a pain. Now after the platelets have settled, I go every 6 months for a check up and check my body regularly for bruises that are not blue or green, and my feet for the petechia (rash). If I get a really nasty virus it can trigger a reaction and I have a 3 week stint on steroids but that has only happened twice, I think. I go to work, I drive, I have the odd drink and night out, my count last check up was 38, it was hanging between 15 and 25. The only thing you would struggle with was if you wanted a career in extreme sports, you may struggle to get insured and would certainly have a few injuries. Everyone is different and it depends on how low your platelets are all the time.

Sheila