Treatment
The treatment of choice for my essential thrombocytosis is hydroxyurea , 2 capsules a day. There are potential side-effects. What drug doesn't have some? A short list of potential side-effects: Constipation; drowsiness; hair loss; inflammation of the mouth; loss of appetite; nausea; redness of the face. Read more: http://www.drugs.com/sfx/hydroxyurea-side-effects.html#ixzz0tbpx1vMp Maybe with the loss of appetite I could lose this last 10 or 15 pounds that won't go away, but please NOT the hair. Oh well, wigs are fun. (About 10 years ago I had a friend going through chemo. She lost all her hair. So one day we went shopping for a wig. We found one and amazingly it looked good on both of us, a real surprise as I am a W.A.S.P. and she was Asian. (Past tense intended. She passed away a few years ago.) She would wear the wig in the morning and I would wear it in the afternoon. She was always up for fun.)
Alas, I did not lose my appetite, but I didn't lose my hair either, and the platelet count was coming down steadily. Yea. Then my doctor mentioned that my hemoglobin was a little low, so he was prescribing an iron supplement. I said, "Great, I need all the hemoglobin I can produce. I am going skiing in March." He froze. "You are doing what?" I told him I had a ski trip planned. He was very concerned because one tends to become dehydrated at altitude. The dehydration could make clotting a potential danger. I promised that I always drank enough water when skiing that my urine was clear. He wanted to wait until the following week to decide. The following week, he begrudgingly ok'd the ski trip. I asked if he would be more comfortable if I had a blood count while skiing. He said yes and wrote a prescription. The ski trip was great!
Alas, I did not lose my appetite, but I didn't lose my hair either, and the platelet count was coming down steadily. Yea. Then my doctor mentioned that my hemoglobin was a little low, so he was prescribing an iron supplement. I said, "Great, I need all the hemoglobin I can produce. I am going skiing in March." He froze. "You are doing what?" I told him I had a ski trip planned. He was very concerned because one tends to become dehydrated at altitude. The dehydration could make clotting a potential danger. I promised that I always drank enough water when skiing that my urine was clear. He wanted to wait until the following week to decide. The following week, he begrudgingly ok'd the ski trip. I asked if he would be more comfortable if I had a blood count while skiing. He said yes and wrote a prescription. The ski trip was great!