Hi Brad, Of course I’m not a doctor but that seems like an awfully high dosage to start the hydroxyurea on. When first diagnosed with PV, my platelets were 800. I was put on 500 mg daily. After two months, lowered to 5X a week. It takes about 6-8 months to get the dosage correct. I’m aware that they can to-yo it throughout your lifetime depending on your labs. I’m currently taking it just 3X a week . My red cells remain high but they aren’t too concerned with that as long as my platelets are 600 or under, hematocrit doesn’t go over 45 and white cells stay reasonable. I am 57 and diagnosed with PV one year ago this month. Hang in there!