Bruises | Me, Myself, and Evan's

The Inconsiderate Assumption

Posted on July 3, 2016

On our way to the cottage yesterday, my husband and I stopped at a thruway rest stop to use the restroom and grab a snack. As I was washing my hands, the lady at the sink next to me was blatantly staring at the bruises on my arms in horror. She was NOT subtle at all. Judging by the look on her face, I am 99% certain she thinks someone beat me and gave me these bruises. Part of me wanted to yell, “I have low platelets, bitch!” or perhaps a simpler, “I have a medical condition”, but then I realized it’s none of her damn business! I shouldn’t have to explain myself to strangers.

Though I find it rude, strangers have every right to stare, but they have no right to know my personal business. I shouldn’t have to feel self-conscious washing my hands in the restroom. If you’re going to make assumptions or judge me, fine, but please at least be subtle about it. It would be different if her face showed concern, but it was just disgust. I’m sure she went back to her car and told her husband or friend or driving companion some crazy story about the bruised woman in the bathroom. Speculate all you want, lady, I’ll just be over here trying to find a long sleeve shirt to wear all week in the eighty degree weather. So, thanks for that. I know I shouldn’t let other people’s looks or judgments bother me, but it’s hard to ignore the looks.

Fade, bruises, fade!

The Third Treatment

Posted on June 24, 20161 Comment

When I woke up this morning, I immediately noticed that yesterday’s infusion spot was bruised/discolored, warm to the touch, and swollen. Also, I was short of breath, so I was a little nervous that my hemoglobin levels had dropped again, but this morning’s blood work showed my hemoglobin was back up to 11.0. I’m almost at a “normal” level! I showed the bruise to the nurses and told them about the shortness of breath I had been feeling and they determined it was merely a reaction to yesterday’s infusion.

The nurse this morning chose a vein on my left forearm for my blood draw and IV. She drew three vials in order to run a full CBC, as per the doctor’s instructions. The results showed that after only two days of the IVIG treatments my platelets were up to 59,000! That is the highest my platelets have been in months and I’m only halfway through my infusions!!! After the blood draw, the nurse started the IV fluids and I felt an immediate sharp, stabbing pain in my arm. It turns out the vein blew up. It isn’t dangerous, but it means the nurse had to immediately remove the IV and find a new vein for the day. The blown vein is something I hope to never have to endure again – it continued to throb for a half hour or so.

The nurse chose a vein in my right forearm, so I had to keep my arm facing up most of the day, but it wasn’t so bad. The Benadryl burned a little when it went through the IV today, but I think I was still just on edge from the blown vein. Between the swollen green bruise on the back of my forearm from yesterday’s infusion site, the blown vein in my left forearm, and the needle marks and petechiae covering both elbows, I feel like a human pincushion.

I just pray that some of these heal by Monday because I am running out of good veins.

The doctor wasn’t in today and I still needed to ask about this weekend’s Prednisone dosage, so I had to speak with the on-call hematologist. I explained that I’d been on the 100 mg dose for a month and was worried that taking no steroids at all over the weekend would cause withdrawal. She completely agreed and told me to take 80 mg Saturday and 80 mg on Sunday and then my doctor would likely decrease my dosage to 60 mg on Monday. Since the pills I have are 50 mg pills, she said I could simply take one and a half each day (75 mg). Easy-peasy! I’m not so sure I’ll be ready to decrease to 60 mg on Monday, but I’ll worry about that when the time comes.

Today was a slow day at the hematology center. For the first time all week, I was surrounded by patients that wanted to talk, but another patient was talking loudly on her phone right next to my face the entire time she was being transfused. It was extremely rude and frustrating. Taking a quick phone call is one thing, but talking loudly over a TV and other patients trying to converse is annoying as hell. SHH. Thankfully, she was just receiving iron so her transfusion only took about a half hour. It was refreshing to talk to other patients afterwards about their conditions and treatments. I felt less alone.

Apparently the office closes early on Fridays and the nurses and doctors can leave as soon as their appointments are done. By 1:30 I was the only patient left for the day, so the nurse had to stay another two hours just for me. The room felt sad and lonely with me in the corner surrounded by empty recliners, but I was able to watch Netflix on my laptop. I threw on “House” and curled up with a blankie and some snacks.

10:45 AM – 11:55 AM : Vial 1 : 1 hr, 10 mins
11:55 AM – 1:05 PM : Vial 2 : 1 hr, 10 mins
1:05 PM – 2:10 PM : Vial 3 : 1 hr, 5 mins
2:10 PM – 3:05 PM : Vial 4 : 1 hr, 5 mins
Total time required for IVIG treatment : 4 hrs, 30 mins

My husband picked me up around 3:30 PM and we headed back to our apartment. I had a little bit of a headache, but nothing like yesterday’s. The only difference between Wednesday/today and Thursday was the time of day the Solu-Medrol was administered. I am inclined to believe that yesterday’s side effects were due to receiving the steroids in the afternoon, rather than the morning. I’ll make sure to ask for them first thing on Monday.

The Game Plan

Posted on June 21, 20162 Comments

I spoke too soon… treatment will begin tomorrow (Wednesday) at 10:00 AM. I will be at the hematology center for 5-6 hours a day Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, & Monday. On Friday the doctor will check my platelet count to make sure the treatment is working. From what I understand, the IVIG is meant to give a quick boost to my platelets and my numbers should skyrocket.

When I called the hematology office this morning to see if I would be starting treatment today, I was sure to describe my spontaneous bruising. The doctor had his staff call me around 1:00 to come in for blood work. My hemoglobin was up to 11.1! The steroids definitely seem to be working for the RBCs! My platelets, however, were down to 22,000. They dropped 9,000 in five days. Once I noticed the spontaneous bruising, I had a feeling they had dropped, so I’m not all that surprised. The doctor said that since I’m starting IVIG in less than 24 hours he’s not concerned about the drop, but that if any of the following occur I should go straight to the ER:

A large unexplained bruise
Bleeding from the gums
Nose bleed

After IVIG ends on Monday, the doctor is likely to schedule an appointment with me for Tuesday or Wednesday to check my counts and start tapering me off the steroids. I am a little nervous about my numbers dropping once I start tapering off the Prednisone, but the side effects are becoming a nuisance and I can’t stay on the medication long-term. The best case scenario here would be a very successful IVIG treatment, 2-3 weeks of tapering off the steroids and getting regular blood draws, and then remission! If my numbers hold steady as I taper off, I should definitely be set for a while! Maybe then blood draws will only be once a week or once a month! Say a prayer that this course of treatment is going to do the trick!

The Haunting of the Platelets

Posted on June 19, 2016

My low platelet count is starting to haunt me. It is affecting more and more things in my daily life. First, the problem was that I couldn’t commute into the office anymore and had to work from home. Then, I had to start using a soft toothbrush and electric razor. This past week I found out I cannot drink any alcohol until further notice, which is basically all people my age do in social settings. I’m nervous to ask when the alcohol ban will be lifted. I know my health is most important and I truly believe that, but I hate being told I can’t do something, especially with July Fourth and summer right around the corner. Today presented a couple of new challenges. To celebrate Father’s Day, my in-laws and husband and I went to Stony Creek Brewery in CT for a tour and tasting. I had to sit back and watch as everyone around me drank. Luckily, I don’t like beer anyways, otherwise it would have been hard to resist.

When my husband and I got back to NJ tonight I noticed a couple of bruises on my body that weren’t there earlier. I have a purple bruise on my chest and two brown/yellow bruises on my arm. It literally feels like they appeared out of nowhere. I didn’t run into anything or bump myself at all. I tried researching what could have caused the mystery bruises, but the internet told me what I already knew – my low platelets (ITP) caused the bruising. I’m not used to being considered “fragile”. This just proves, though, that even if I am extremely careful and I don’t bump into anything, I am not immune to bruising.