no treatment - low platelets

[Voxx66]

Blood work wasn't good. Platelets down to 73k. We are going to try again next week but I am not sure they will rise to 100 in a week. As much as I like the Thanksgiving break - this worries me.

[janderson]

i've been fighting low platelets for over 3 months now but my oncologist cut off point is 70 so I have only had on delayed treatment although I have been riding that fine 70 line for quite some time.

[Voxx66]

What treatment are you on? The cut off is 100 for folfox from my Onc. I did read that the flu vaccine can temporarily lower platelets and I had one last week.

[bitchslapped]

Well that sure takes the "thanks" out of Thanksgiving. This falls in that old "hurry up & wait" category that one never gets used to. I hope you can compartmentalize it here & there so as to enjoy a little peace over the weekend.

Best Wishes
Bitchslapped

[GrouseMan]

Hummm.... How to increase platelets. You eating any good green leafy vegies? I know you like your alcohol Voxx, but you may need to lay off it for a while to get your numbers up. It can adversely effect them. Also are you getting enough Zinc? It along with Vitamin B-12 helps build platelets. Might look into taking some of that Cold-eeze and a B12 supplement? Are you on Oxi now? - I can't remember! It does do a number on them. Without Oxi my wife's platelets are running on average in the 150's with 5-FU/Leuc and Avastin treatment once every three weeks.

Good luck man and have lots of turkey anyway - that is if you can avoid all the violence in your area getting to the feast.

GrouseMan

[FatBob2012]

I haven't seen 100 in years!! Lucky to get much over 50. LOL
Each Oncologist has his or her preferences I am sure and how aggressive they are may play a part too.

[jdepp]

My onc gave me Folfox a few times when I was hovering around 75K platelets. Some docs consider it a perk of being stage 4.

[Voxx66]

I'll try some of those suggestions Grouseman. Yes I am back on Oxi. And I haven't had a drop to drink in 8 weeks. ( actually I made one Mai Tai at some point but I declare that as not counting ha) I have actual zinc supplements here from when I had an anaesthesia reaction on my tongue. Also have some B vitamins. Will give it a go. Also I haven't touched NSAIDS though I really could use some.

[Kiwi Debz]

I scraped in this week at 101! On Folfox and find my platelets drop around 50 per
Cycle so tend to get three in and the fourth is delayed one to two weeks and they seem to recover to just over 200 or so.

Had thansgiving dinner Sunday night as by Thursday everything will taste of
Cardboard! Managed to get my onc. To delay one week for Xmas session though so at least I can get one holiday to enjoy.

Deb

[Don.in.Dallas]

My platelet cutoff is 100 according to my onc and I had two 1-week delays on FOLFOX cycles 5 and 6. I spoke with my onc about my desire for aggressive treatment and, to his credit, he recognized my goal and adjusted accordingly. Medication was cut by 10% (instead of the 20% he had planned) and my platelet threshold was reduced to 75. There has been no reason for delays since then (thanks to Neulasta helping WBC count). I am in the middle of #10 now (platelets were exactly 75) and my onc expects 55-60 at treatment #11 but assures me he will allow treatment because treatment #12 is four long weeks later due my pre-scheduled vacation.

Your onc will likely work with you up to his comfort point. My onc indicates the early treatments are most important and the final treatments have more room for adjustments. Keep a good dialog with your onc and his team.

[Voxx66]

The problem is, this isn't my first FOLFOX cycle. My platelets never really recovered from the original 8 rounds. But this really seems to knock the heck out of my tumors.

[DBF]

I'm sorry you had to delay treatment. My platelets always dropped low from FOLFOX. We had to delay a few times. My onc's cutoff was 75. She explained that while 75 wasn't dangerous in itself, another round would knock them much lower, which wouldn't be good. I tried juicing (lots of kale, carrots and other veggies) one time, and they went up a lot in a week. Another time I did nothing and they went up the same amount.

I hope you enjoy your Thankgiving.

[mstults]

You sound a lot like me VOXX. My first meeting with my oncologist I told him I wanted to be aggressive. I had 17 folfox treatments and rode my platelets down into the 20's. then he dropped the Oxaliplatin and continued with 5-FU. Platelets didn't rebound much and after a few treatments he switched to Irinotecan. I haven't had anything for pain in over 2 years except Acetaminophen and narcotics. Very few narcotic pain pills. My system was so weak he had to start with a reduced dosage of Irinotecan. My last 2 treatments the dosage was raised and its hit my WBC and RBC, especially WBC pretty bad. I did have Avastin with some of the last few folfox treatments. My platelets today were 89, highest they have been in 2 years. But my CEA is gotten pretty high and now I have to hit the tumors hard. If I was you and scans and CEA looked ok I wouldn't worry too much about skipping a treatment. On the other hand if it looked bad I'd push for a lower platelet threshold. If you have no other problems that would put you more at risk and you are careful about taking anything that thins your blood and getting cuts, a platelet level of 50 is not so bad. My nose starts to bleed some at 30k. Above 30 I'm ok. One problem is if you get cut or need surgery you may need a platelet transfusion. Hopefully the extra week will see a big jump.

[elise]

Crud

I'm on a 2 week break due to neuropathy. Yuk.

[Voxx66]

Mstults - yeah - we have a very similar problem. My CEA is normal. It's the lung stuff and the stuff popping up outside the liver that is an issue. I will likely push for it next week depending on levels.

Elise - sorry about the neuropathy. I certainly know your pain - especially in colder weather.