@asindelar your story is familiar to mine for sure💕 i had to keep my platelet count down below 600k to keep from having TIAs thats why i went on hydroxyurea 35 years ago. I must say it really worked well. The only thing I can say it affected is my immune system. My hair loss was minimal and my skin did suffer from more squamous cell carcinomas. But living in the sun for so long also affected my me. Recently I’ve changed to the new drug (2014. Approved .) Jakafi. This has made a huge difference. It is marketed for polycythemia but your onc doctor can prescribe it for ET. You have to try hydrea first possibly and show you cannot tolerate it. After being on Jakafi for a month i have improved my energy and my hair is growing thicker and my skin feel and looks better than ever! Ask doc about that and see if it can be prescribed. Its not chemo and is more targeted. You will live a full life ! You do not want to keep having TIAs! That could turn into a stroke! Get the counts down however you can and good luck and good thoughts 💕🌺leene