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Starting 17th year with ET. What's ahead?
Blood Cancers & Disorders | Last Active: Jan 19 4:08pm | Replies (52)Comment receiving replies
Thanks for your reply. My first lab was 12/16/24 and level was 1255000 and 1/10/25 was 988000. I just saw the hemotologist/oncologist yesterday. Yes, I was sick with a sore throat the weeks before my first lab. I was very sick with what seemed like a bad cough, sore throat, and cold on a family vacation to Switzerland in mid July and it took at least six weeks to recover from that. Prior to that, I had not been sick with anything for years! So yes, this new diagnosis is very stressful.
Replies to "Thanks for your reply. My first lab was 12/16/24 and level was 1255000 and 1/10/25 was..."
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The HU should help to bring down the high platelet level to a more normal level. Your hematologist will moniter your blood work carefully to see if it’s working for you. The reason I asked about infections is that can sometimes cause a temporary elevation of platelets. When you mentioned your numbers were found on a routine blood test, my concern is that your primary care physican was prescribing the HU. Having a hematologist on board is important. ☺️
We have quite a few members who take HU and have for years. Most people seem to tolerate it very well with many side effects. Here’s a link to a current discussion with other ET members and their experiences. https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/jac2mutation/?commentsorder=newest&pg=1#chv4-comment-stream-header
It can be helpful to find the underlying cause of the elevation though. ET (essential thrombocythemia) is one of a group of blood disorders (myeloprolific neoplasms) that can be caused by an acquired mutation to a gene which controls production of blood cells, such as JAK2. Did you have any genetic testing done?