I have had Essential Thrombocytosis for almost 6 years now(with 1,250,000 platelet count) Was started on Hydrea 500mg the very next morning. First 5 daily then gradually, decreased to the now 2 a day. Diagnosed and confirmed with JAK-2 in early May 2016. I have a lot of other issues which can be aggravated by the ET but for the most part I have been under a great Hematologist/Oncologist here in San Antonio, TX., after being diagnosed in the middle of Venezuela and coming here for Bone Marrow Biopsy and confirmation. I have been on here before but have not written in awhile. Busy caring for my elderly Mom who after 5 years caring for her passed away in December. I have not read all the new discussions but I do want to say that I have had in the past year and a half or so, to take epidural steroid injections for a lumbar stenosis causing severe sciatica in my left leg. It seems to cause my platelets to go up to a concerning range and we have to adjust dosage for that. Also, I have had severe peeling and blistering of one foot. (Crazy it is not both) but treated it as athlete's foot for months. Then, I asked my hematologist if it could possible be an effect of the Hydrea, since I had read that skin changes could be an effect. She sent me to a dermatologist who scraped my foot twice in two weeks and sent it off to be studies. NO FUNGUS, Just seems to be an effect of the Hydrea. Could be worse, although if I don't take care of it it gets pretty sore and hard to walk in any shoes or sometimes even without shoes. All this to say, it could be a lot worse. But wondered if any of you have had any problems like this with the "HAND-FOOT" disease that I have found out people with other types of cancer and chemo treatments have experienced? Have had no real problems with my hands so far. But I do keep a heavy cream on my feet and cotton socks when I have a flareup. On a side note, I had had COVID and passed through it. No real fever or loss of taste or smell... but it did exacerbate my asthma, bronchiectasis, and lung issues which took two rounds of antibiotics and steroids to get over. I am just now feeling like I might be on the mend. I am grateful for every breath of air as I have had lung problems all my life. A funny thing happened last week. They had called me to donate plasma. I have always wanted to give blood but never been able because of Hepatitis A when I was 14. However, after talking to the young man and telling him about ALL my and DX, he supposedly checked with his nurses and old me to come in for an antibody test. Well, I took my long list of ailments, along with a list of all my meds; I actually took in a bottle of my Hydrea. I told them I would be glad to donate plasma but I couldn't believe they would want it. They had not heard of anyone with ET and thought at first I said TROMBOCYTOPENIA. I explained the disorder/disease to them and after conferring with several higher ups, they told me that I was placed on a permanent deferral list. 🙂 I tried to tell them. Hope everyone is well and that no one has sever complications if they do get the COVID. I think my recuperation was helped by the fact that even before I tested, (I really thought it was just my lung issues of each winter as I had no fever) I called my pulmonologist and requested a Zpak and antibiotics. TOok two rounds, but I got ahead of it. When my husband did have fever and tested positive at the VA, I figured I should test and sure enough it was positive. God bless each of you. EsperanzaM