low platelet count - tips?

same here
My platelets are almost always down and I have to skip a week and then through rest and just letting my body recover they have always come back on their own. My oncologist wont let me get treatment if platelets are less than 100,000. They seem to go around 75,000 after treatment and take two weeks to go over 100,000. I actually hope sometimes that the platelets will be low so I can get an extra week break from treatment. I just finished my 60th treatment and a little break feels good. I'm sure its not good in fighting the cancer. Pray all will be good with your platelets. Jeff

johnnybegood said:

me too
mine are down for the second week.i dont have any words of wisdom i am feeling so down about this because chemo is my choice of weapon and i feel the fight is leaving me.thanks for posting this i hope someone chimes in with some suggestions seems there are a few of us whose platelets are down and good luck to you....Godbless....johnnybegood

darn darn darn
there ......that is the only smart help I can give you three. No help at all....sorry. Thinking about all three you of low platelet kids and sending love and a hug for better days..

mags

How Low, Tara?
If you want to share - what was your count, Tara?

In my early days, my onc said the "gold standard" for not receving chemo was 100,000. I was doing Folfox then and it damaged my platelets to where I could no longer produce a high number even with weeks or months worth of rest...it got worse over time and eventually we suspended treatment because I could not keep on schedule.

My new onc had different ideas about the blood levels and the administeration of chemo and when we did the Folfiri he said it would not be a problem to do chemo treatments under 100K and even much lower.....like in the 60's and 70's.....I got as low as 58,000 and we never skipped a treatment.

Now, I hover between 72-76K and it's adequate...it will be an issue for me anytime that I'm doing chemo. I don't have anything to add from the other suggestions mentioned that might help. Your onc ruled out a transfusion and I have heard about that, though it never was suggested to me.

So, perhaps some time will help you re-assemble the troops and you can continue...that's a strong combination you've been doing and you have undergone so much in your fight. It's only natural that the body doesn't always snap back with all that it has to take.

This could be a trend as you move forward - or perhaps a 'one-off' here and there...most of the folks here have an issue with the platelets, then they wait a week or two and then they are back in there.

My situation is different in the fact that Folfox 'damaged' the blood machine to a degree that I can't ever again produce enough platelets, even with all the rest in the world...and maybe even with a blood transfusion.

Apparently, my spleen just seeks and destroys and flushes those platelets as part of the normal disposal process that the spleen does. There is not much that I know of that I can do about that. It was the fallout from that fight. I'm the exception though and not the norm as most everyone does have a setback and then adequately recovers.

Best wishes!

-Craig

No answers here, Sorry
But I did want to let you know that I read your post, and was reminded of how many obstacles you face.
Sorry Tara, SteveandNat and Johnnybegood......
Really wish I had more to offer than support.
Take care--and keep up the fight. Medicine and science change often.
TC

ccfighter said:

Over here from the gyn board
Over here from the gyn board but was searching for some topics on Platlets. I too failed my blood test with a platlet count of 55. Two days later they tested again and I was only a 58. Not much movement. I'm also slightly anemic and neutropenic but not enough to delay treatment, just enough to make me feel wiped out. I have not been able to find much info on getting these numbers up other than adequate nutrition and rest. But...I don't know what cycle of treatment you are on, but I think the cumulation of chemo toxins makes these numbers slower to get up. I only have one more chemo to go and I am done with treatment, which is why this delay is so frustrating, I'm almost done! I did 3 rounds of high dose carbo/taxol, then 5weeks low dose cisplatin with concurrent whole pelvic radiation, then another high dose carboplatin. This is where I am at. One more high dose carbo to go. Did you have radiation? I am wondering if that doesn't also make a difference in the myelosupression and the low counts. Take care. Good luck.

hi Tara
Wow - you have a progressive onc to suggest peanut skin soup. I like that.
I have read also about the red skin from peanuts (not necessarily the soup), so I' ve done that before. Just wondering if the peanut skins alone (without being "heated up" as in soup) may be more potent. I guess at this point, i eat pretty raw thinking that heat destroys nutrients.....but that's just my thinking and rationale.
Also, i eat a lot of spinach (or juice it) for a couple of reasons. With platelets necessary for clotting, and vitaminK is good for clotting.....i do the spinach (high in Vitamin K) thinking that will boost clotting. My platelets get on the low side, but never dropped out of normal range. (Approaching chemo #30)
Not sure if there is a correlation there, but it made sense to me.
Best to you!

danker said:

Platelet count
My onco. suggested folic acid to raise the count. Its over the counter and fairly cheep. Good luck to you!

caution - warning
Common synthetic folate / folic acid becomes hemo (blood) toxic when used with 5FU based chemo, including FOLFOXIRI, and nukes the platelets (and RBC, WBC).

Been there, done that. The natural reduced folates in liver are safer and more useful. In fact, my wife avoids multivitamins and "(folate) vitamin enriched" food (imitations) like "enriched" breads to avoid synthetic folate, and has less problems with daily chemo.

Juicing picks up a set of natural folates, too. There are at least 8 natural folates, not in ordinary multivitamins. Common synthetic folate has to be metabolized into active, natural form by a series of enzymatic steps that are often inadequate in many people even when young and relatively healthy.

tanstaafl said:

hemo
My wife's chemo for almost 2 years is less myelosupressive. She uses "PSK" and liver to maintain her blood counts as well as several supplements for the liver - milk thistle extract, lipoic acid, selenium.

Our version of PSK is actually the 5 capsule Life Extension Coriolus-Versicolor-Super-Strength mushroom extract. PSK was developed specifically with 5FU chemotherapy and better balanced her WBC, RBC and platelets than PSP (most Coriolus extracts).

Her liver dishes are half to one 4.25 oz can of Underwood Liverwurst and several chicken livers per day. Liver contains active vitamin K2, active reduced folates (vit B9), active B12, alpha lipoic acid, coQ10, glutathione that are hard to find in anything else. Bone marrow is supposed to be a prized blood builder too - no experience.

Although we've never gotten around to it, I've heard that the alkyl glycerols in shark liver oil helps platelets. We're still onshore with our liver.

the same here Tara!I had to skip many of my treatments!
There is nothing except transfusions but just suggested in leukemia patients, so.... just be patient.
Johnnybegood , I think to skip some treatments shouldn't mean that it doesn't work, so cheer up my friend!
Hugs!

Tara
First congrats on the lower CEA!! Whoop Whoop!!! When my platelets were down, and I had to skip treatment, I asked the onc if there was anything I could do to speed up the process, he said, "Time", it just takes time. We are so used to finding something to hurry up and take care of a problem and it's hard when they tell us, "time" will take care of the problem.
However, having said that, it hasn't seemed to have hurt the majority of us, having to skip a treatment and wait until the next. I kind of thought of them as a nice break, sorry it had to be a forced break, but happy to have had the break nonetheless.
So here's to your platelet count getting back up to where it needs to be, and you enjoying a little break.
Winter Marie