Hallelujah! That is right, I'm on the rise.
Often what goes up usually goes down, well that has been my experience with (ITP) Immune Thrombocytopenia Purpura. Nevertheless, here is what to expect when your platelets begin to increase.
Energy - not the go out and run a marathon energy. But actual energy to get through the day without feeling like your about to pass out or needing to nap every few hours.
Bye petechiae - obviously, as your platelets begin to rise you do not get the usual symptoms of ITP
Bye bruises - as per above
Brushing Teeth – YES! I can now brush my teeth without a pool full of blood.
The chains disappear - with ITP we are surrounded with so much fear and whilst we do our best to ignore our circumstances, the fear of the unknown is buried inside. Every time my platelet count goes above a new level, a chain disappears. One chain for getting out of a danger zone where my body could bleed for no apparent reason. One chain for getting out of the zone where a small trauma could potentially make me bleed out. One chain for being able to play contact sports again.
Balance - you start to regain balance and can focus your energy on better things. I use to be so tired and trying to multitask between work, family, household chores was becoming increasing difficult. But lately with my newfound energy, I am finding I have more hours in the day to achieve things because my body is not overrun with fatigue.
Excessive Eating – since my platelets have begun to increase my feeling of hungriness has decreased, I can only put this down to my body trying to eat to gain more energy to keep me awake. Since my platelets have gone up my need for extra food intake has deceased. Which overall has been good in maintaining a healthy diet.
Good Vibes – ITP caused me fatigue and if you have ever suffered from fatigue you can rest assure that it makes you miserable and often short with others. I have notice my temperament has changed of late, I am more available to people, especially my husband and son. Without the fatigue, clouding my body and mind I can hold a conversation and do more things with them opposed to only lasting a few hours before I needed rest.
So far, I am far from remission and I cannot guarantee that my platelets will stay up for long. Although, I am hopeful the rituximab works and I can continue to see an increase and somewhat get my life back on track.
For those suffering with ITP, hang in there. It is not an easy journey and everyone assumes because you look well that you are well and even you begin to believe that. However, it is not until your platelets increase that you truly understand the difference in your body with how it is supposed to feel vs how you felt with low platelets.
Your platelets increasing is a real awakening to what healthy actually feels like. It makes you wonder how you have survived so long suffering, how you still managed to push yourself though each day and function on what I can only call a low battery. Be proud of yourself for getting through each day and have faith that one day you will experience what “healthy” feels like.