ITP treatment is a funny thing it’s like you are presented with a few options and you have to pick the right one for you. Well that’s pretty much how it has been for me – my doctor feeds me the information about each treatment method, their individual side effects and their success rates. Then it has been my call to decide my poison of choice to medicate with.
So far I have only stuck to one form of treatment and that is prednisone. I’m lucky this treatment works for me and that I am steroid responsive however I have to take a high dose in order for it to work and the effects of this drug on my platelet count don’t last long. Therefor I’m on prednisone for about 2-3 months however it only really helps my levels for the first few weeks or so then I come crashing down. Luckily last time I was on prednisone it gave me enough of a boost to stay clear from any major bleeds and my levels ended up stabilising at around 30,000-35,000 which I was more than happy with. I’ve currently just finnished my second dose of prednisone (had to go back on it due to a slight inconvenience in my levels) and am hopeful it will give a similar or same result, hoping that my levels stabilize and that I can go on without treatment.
Even though I have only opted for Prednisone for now I have done my research on all treatment options available to me and know what I am comfortable with – to learn more about conventional treatment options check out this blog post.
However there is one form of treatment that gets a massive “HOW BOUT NO” from me and that is the idea of removing my spleen. I understand many have done this and have had success however for me a 50-60% success rate is just not enough for me to say “lets lock it in eddie” (I’m a catastrophic thinker and with that I always think of the worst possible outcome) + you then have to factor in life without a spleen.
Which leads me to the below what is the role of ones spleen?
Well your spleen is a very busy little organ and its main function is to act as a filter for your blood. What is does is it removes old/damaged red blood cells when they try to filter themselves through however allows the healthy red blood cells to pass and continue to circulate around the body. The blood cells that it won’t allow pass then get broken down by the large white blood cells in your spleen.
Always resourceful the spleen ensures that any of the broken down damaged red blood cells have completely been used – for example if there is still some iron in the red blood cell the spleen will store the iron from that red blood cell as a form of ferritin or bilirubin and eventually return that iron source back into the bone marrow. Not allowing anything to go to waste.
Another beneficial thing your spleen can do is store blood therefor if for any reason you require extra blood (eg. Have had a trauma or some severe bleeding) your spleen can respond by releasing the reserved blood it’s been storing.
Your spleen also plays a very important role when it comes to helping your body fight infection. What it does it is works with the body’s lymph nodes, by creating an army of defender cells called lymphocytes (these are a type of white blood cells that produce antibodies) and what happens is they work together to create special proteins that attack/ kill bacteria, viruses or anything that can cause infection. These antibodies also help stop infection from spreading throughout the body by trapping them and destroying them.
For me this is enough information to not want to remove my spleen however some people have no option (if your spleen is enlarged it has to be removed) and if you have tried all other forms of treatment and nothing is working then removing the spleen may be the only option available.
Other people may see 50-60% success rate and feel confident to proceed and I’m not one to judge these people. I believe how you decide to treat your condition is completely up to you, it’s your body!
On the plus side you can live without a spleen and other parts of your body like your lymph nodes and your liver will step in and take over your spleens functions. However because your spleen is an important player in your immune system living without a spleen means you are more vulnerable to infections. Still there are many people living without a spleen and are able to enjoy their full life.
If you have had your spleen removed due to ITP please comment below – was it successful?
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