Blood platelets count

[Lewisgirl1]

Hi I got my blood results back from my first prenatal yesterday and I’m extremely nervous because my blood platelets were 481. Everything else was normal except for slightly low red blood count. I’m thinking the worse that maybe it’s cancer. My anxiety is just killing me. Any helpful comments please 🙂

[Alexbits]

I know it’s easier said than done. But try to not overthink this. Your platelet count is just a bit above normal range. And anxiety will not make this number lower. This raise in platelets may have numerous reasons.

[Lewisgirl1 in reply to Alexbits]

Yeah I was curious if anxiety could make it slightly rise but some people said it couldn’t. Thank you for your response.

[Chaz1]

Congratulations on your pregnancy. Please try not to worry, the upper level of platelets is 450 but "normal" range is for only 95% of the population, you might naturally be slightly higher in any case. However, platelets to have a tendency to be higher in the early stages of pregnancy. What you could find is that they decrease, again nothing alarming but if they drop too much (ie the lower range) then your Dr will look into this. Have you got a repeat blood test booked? Is your Dr concerned? If your Dr isn't then really please don't be, if they are then I'd assume that you would have another test scheduled in a few weeks. Blood counts change regularly, so don't panic. Remember you are growing a child, that puts a burden on your body & it needs to get use to it, added stress won't help so stop googling, you'll be able to diagnosis yourself with every horrible condition possible using Google. I have about 100 blood conditions if I go by Google & I'm not the one with an MPN hubby is!

[Lewisgirl1 in reply to Chaz1]

Thank you so much for your response. I had my blood drawn about a year ago and the doctor said something was slightly high but I can’t remember but they did a ct scan and checked me for blood clots but I just had some inflammation in my chest from my anxiety. My husband thinks that the inflammation may be back with the stress of pregnancy and that’s what causing it.

[Chaz1 in reply to Lewisgirl1]

Hubby could be correct. Feeling unwell can cause platelets & other blood counts to change. That's often the first thing they check before ever looking at the worst. And stress & anxiety plays a part too.

[Superwoman]

Hi Lewisgirl

I think you will find that being in the first stages of pregnancy is what is sending up your blood count, all be it a little on the high side of normal, my daughter was the same with both her two children so she was kept an eye on and given baby aspirin, which was reassuring for her as I was diagnosed with Et JAK 2 positive six and a half years ago and had pre-eclampsia having her and by god that was 39 years ago now.

All your hormones are playing havoc which is normal, and I am sure that the hospital will keep and eye on you through your pregnancy with constant blood tests to make sure that all is well.

I only hope that you have not done Dr google to find out why, this will not help as google can scare the living daylights out of you and are usually wrong, and you cannot self diagnose it’s wrong, which can cause you to panic big time, if there is a persistent problem with your bloods, they will make sure not only do you have your Midwife and team you may also have a Haematologist who will keep and eye on you as well.

So NEVER, NEVER use Dr Google. Trust in your team of doctors and Midwife, if they are worried they will sort it out, that’s what they are there for.

There are mums on here who have gone through pregnancy with an MPN, so please try not to worry to much as this does not help when pregnant, eat healthy plenty of fruit and veg, take gentle exercise, drink water this will help enormously. And if you are still worried please speak with your doctor who is looking after you.

On this forum all of us have an MPN we are a very rare breed, some have had for many years. So be positive and all will be well, I am sure you have a good team around you from to start to finish and you hold that baby in your arms.

Jean x

[Lewisgirl1 in reply to Superwoman]

Thank you so much for your response. Yes the first thing I did was google when I got the results back and panicked but a bunch of people were telling me it was only slightly high. I went to the hospital a year ago for chest pain and they checked my blood and something was slightly high but I can’t remember and that’s when he did a ct scan for blood clots but just found inflammation in my chest. So idk if that’s what’s possibly causing the elevation? I’ll try to relax and worry less and hope for the best. 😊

[Irishgal12]

I had high platelets at the start of pregnancy and they went back to normal 2 years later I have high platelets again and going through tests

[hunter5582]

Reactive thrombocytosis can happen when you experience bleeding, injury or inflammation. Slightly elevated platelet levels can be nothing more than your body's normal reaction to a stressor (e.g. pregnancy). Your platelet levels are not very elevated and given the normal range of how our platelet levels vary, you may well find them down below 450K the next time you have a CBC.

To the extent you can, try not to worry too much about this. The docs can do some testing to check for the common MPN mutations (JAK2, CALR, MPL), but I would bet on you being negative for them. Even if you did have ET, you can carry to term, have a successful pregnancy and expect a long rich life. I was diagnosed with ET over 30 years ago. It progressed to PV 6 years ago. Still alive and kicking!

Congratulations on the impending birth of your child. All the best to you.