Platelets 500

Hello. I am 33 and suffer from anxiety. I recently went to the Er for what I thought was a heart attack. It turned out to be a panic attack. Anyway while there my blood pressure was extremely elevated (159/111). The doctor took labs and Everything was normal except Elevated platelets (500 (415 being normal) and hemocrat percent (48.7 (normal 47). No immature granuloctyes and no Nucleated red blood cells. I am worried this could mean cancer. Can someone please help me understand what could have caused this? I did have labs 3 months before this and platelets were normal at 377.

[WileyFrench]

Hi there - I’m not a doctor of course but is it possible that your stress level could have affected your counts at that point? And was your doctor concerned about your counts or did he/she suggest you have blood work done again in a little while to see if things were back to normal?

[Hidden in reply to WileyFrench]

The Er doctor said Labs were fine. I saw the number by logging on to my patient portal.

[WileyFrench in reply to Hidden]

Then I'd echo what Kim says (below) - check with your doctor to see if you should be getting more testing, or whether it was just a blip.

[ksos]

Hi - Also, not a medical professional -- but it seems to me that it's early to assume that your elevated platelets mean cancer, particularly when your previous test showed normal levels. You might get in touch with your doctor and ask for more information about your situation; then you can find out if you need more testing or whether the numbers you're seeing are related to stress or some other situational factor. Good luck with this and best wishes,

Kim

[Hidden in reply to ksos]

Can stress increase platelet levels? I was in the ER for what I thought was a heart attack which turned out to be a panic attack. Heart rate and blood pressure were up pretty high until we were able to rule out heart attack in which I was able to calm down this my blood pressure did too.

[ksos in reply to Hidden]

I'm not sure -- I'm just saying is that it is possible that something other than cancer is causing your platelets to elevate and that you're still in the information-gathering phase of all of this. I hope you can find some patience to help find some calm while going through this -- much easier said than done, I know If it helps, my daughter has anxiety, so I have a lot of sympathy for how hard this kind of thing can be. Take good care of yourself.

Kim

[Dark-Angel]

Hi CMB18,

Its taken nearly 4 years for me to get my diagnosis and my platelet count is similar to yours. If i were you I would have another test done in a few months and see how they are then.

Angel x

[Hidden in reply to Dark-Angel]

This is the first time I’ve had elevated platelets. 3 months ago they were 370.

[Searcher56]

Hello Cmb,

I would be really happy if my platelets were "only" 500. It is now possible for patients to look at their medical records online, my platelets have been elevated for 10 years and nobody flagged it up. In 2016 I went to see a doctor because I thought I had breast cancer, I didn't, but the GP sent me for routine blood test and that is how it was discovered that my platelets had risen to 1000. Further blood tests were done by the haematology dept and I am JAK2+ ET. I was started on 2x500mg Hydroxycarbamide plus baby aspirin. I tolerate this "gentle" chemotherapy drug well.

[Hidden in reply to Searcher56]

Mine were not elevated 3 months ago. I keep up with my labs online.

[Bridie123]

Hi there, I have ET and the elevated platelets first appeared on record when I was taken to hospital with what I call my fake heart attack.

Mine wasn't stress/ anxiety and the platelet count wasn't picked up at the time. It was my clever GP who noticed the steady increase every time my blood tests came back. I had a barrage of tests because of the symptoms I was displaying.

I would like to reassure you that stress does not increase your platelets. I know for sure because if it did my blood would have solidified this year because of suffering grief from two deaths very close to me and other anguish that often tags along with it.

My platelets are creeping a bit,but it is nothing to be scared of because I am being monitored/cared for.

Hope this is a little reassuring because I remember how stressful it was in the early days.

Regards 🤗

[Hidden in reply to Bridie123]

I had labs 3 months ago and have had them non stop the last 3 years. This is the first time I’ve ever had elevated platelets. They normally run 300-370. 3 months ago they were 370.

[Mazcd Partner MPNVoice in reply to Hidden]

Hi Cmb18, I am sorry to hear that you have been having these problems, but we cannot give you a diagnosis, you really need to discuss this with your doctor. Best wishes, Maz