Low platelets again………

[ButchL]

As you can tell by my signature, my wife had MDS.

I just got a call from my step daughter Ashley (Kelly’s daughter) and she has been feeling run down. She is 20 years old. She hit her arm at work and a large bruise appeared. She also has some petechiae. She had the blood work early in the week and was supposed to have a follow up Friday. The doctor just called and her platelets are at 12,000 but all other levels seem normal. Her regular doctor got her an appointment for tomorrow with a hematologist.

I have learned since Kelly’s death that benzene is used in fly sprays for horses. Kelly owned horses since she was a child. I asked Ashley if she had worked with that spray as well. She said they both used it all the time. I have only found 1 reference to it on the internet where they made the connection.

We never knew why my wife got sick, but when I found out about the spray, it made sense. I’m just wondering if I am about to go down this road again.

One positive thing is that I have stayed with this forum daily even though Kelly is gone and have learned a lot. There are many treatments that all of you have tried that were either not mentioned to us or not available at the time.

I’ll post what we find out tomorrow. Please say a little prayer for Ashley…..

Thanks,
Butch

[Alice S]

Hi Butch
I am fairly new here, don’t post too much but sign on several times a day just to check new posts. Kelly was the same age as I am and I too have kids, my son will be 20 next July. I have seen your posts, but I had to reply to this one.
I hope and pray that Ashley will be okay, that it will be something else, something curable!
I will follow your posts. You are very brave and Ashley is lucky to have you to support her.
Will watch for your post tomorrow and pray.
Alice

[sdrake]

Butch,

Lots of prayers for Ashley … and you too. Keep us posted.

God bless,
Shari

[sarah]

Prayers are lifted up for Ashley. Keep us posted.

[gemloyear]

Butch, I’ll be praying for Ashley. I would not want anyone to go through this again. Take care, Ellie

[campbell]

I am hoping someone will be able to answer my question. My husband has MDS with no Chrom defect. He was officially diag. last Dec. 06 but I know this has been going on for several years.
He is Tx dependent every 2 weeks and over the past several weeks his PLT keeps going up – 155 to
186 today… his wbc 3.8 and this is going up slightly each week RBG 2.87 HCT 28.7, HBG 9.9. This is after blood last week. I was wondering does the numbers rise showly…. any input would be great. I read all the post and have learned so much.

[riley]

Hi Butch,

I’ll be praying for Ashley and for you too. I’ll check back for your update tomorrow.

Nicole

[Engel]

Hi Buctch,
Prayers and good wishes for you and Ashley, hope this is not MDS. Thank you for keeping us informed this forum is a blessing. Gloria

[Caroline]

Butch,

My prayers are with you and Ashley. I hope that Ashley has been spared.

I didn’t know that they use benzene in horse spray !!! I thought it was illegal to use benzene anymore. My Dad had MDS and now has CMML. My daughters have horses and have used fly spray for many years. One of the girls is barn manager at a 30-horse show barn. She goes through gallons of spray monthly from spring to fall. I will follow your posts closely. Thanks for the information.

Blessings,
Caroline

[ButchL]

It took me the whole day to find this article again. I believe I was wrong on the benzene link. It seems to be something called Lindane which is an Organochlorine.

The article:

http://www.michaelandjudystouffer.com/judy/articles/horsefly.htm

“Lindane is an organochlorine pesticide found in horse sprays. Lindane is neurotoxic, causing grand mal seizures, and it is highly carcinogenic in laboratory tests. It also causes aplastic anemia, as well as other blood disorders.”

[ButchL]

UPDATE:

Doc thinks it is postinfectious thrombocytopenia. The doc is giving her prednosone for a week. She said it may take more than one round of steroids. Retesting on Tuesday. I’ll update when I get more info. She is currently at 5,000 platelets! Doc is trying to keep her out of the hospital if possible. I’ll update when I get more info.

Thanks for the prayers!

[sdrake]

Butch,

So happy to hear the good news. Our son had ITP when he was 2 years old. His platelets got down to 6,000. It was a pretty scary time, but he responded well to treatment and is a healthy, happy 7-year-old. Take care and keep us posted. I’ll pray that Ashley has a quick recovery.

Shari

[Alice S]

Butch
Happy to hear your news, I know Ashley will recover. Actually I cried when I read your post after having read that Sarahs father passed away, lost my contact lens so now I have to write with my old glasses! Keep us posted.
Take care, God bless.
Alice

[ButchL]

I went with Ashley to the doctor today. Her platelets are at 7,000 with 5 days of steroids. The doctor is increasing the steroids to 60mg. and recheck in a week. The doctor says it should start coming around soon. We’ll see.

[riley]

Hi Butch,

Thanks for your update. I’m sending up prayers for both of you. Please keep us posted on what Ashley’s numbers look like next week.

Nicole

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