HealingWell
Search Close Search
☰

Sulfazine may be causing my platelet count to drop

Support Forums
>
Crohn's Disease
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply
❬ ❬ Previous Thread |Next Thread ❭ ❭
Posted 5/8/2012 9:50 PM (GMT 0)
huh.  I get an annual physical at work and for the first time in YEARS I am not borderline anemic.  My hemoglobin was 11.3!  Hurrah!  Ok, it's not great, but it's not awful either.

Anyway, my platelet count has dropped from where it was last year, which was already low, and lower than it was before I started taking sulfazine.  That is the one med I take that can cause low platelets.  The DR said my level is not dangerous and he wouldn't worry about it until it gets to 120 (it's 148, the low end of normal is 184).

I'm curious if others have had this reaction?

Posted 5/9/2012 1:03 AM (GMT 0)
I Just looked mine up because I've never looked up mine before. I can see my whole chart online. It looks like mine was 191 twice last year and went down and the last test I had done was 184 in April. But it shows next to it a range it should fall into and it shows 140-440.
Posted 5/9/2012 1:38 AM (GMT 0)
Think I've tended to have the opposite problem: overly high platelets :-/

I dunno where I stand with it now, but a couple of appointments ago my consultant told me that my platelet count had dropped (attributed to the Remicade). Apparently high platelets are one sign of inflammation.

Sorry, that's really quite useless, but just thought I'd mention it <_<. Hopefully somebody with low platelets will come along to answer your question!
Posted 5/9/2012 2:16 AM (GMT 0)
Mommyof2little1s, I guess each lab is different. I don't think it's a big deal, but I have noticed that when I get bruises they last a heck of a long time. My mom has really low platelets, probably as a result of chemo she took many years ago for breast cancer. So she laughed at me when I said mine was 148. Hers is 70!

NCOT, I did some reading about this and what you said is right - the reason people use baby aspirin to prevent heart disease is because it "thins the blood" and people at high risk for heart attacks usually have lots more platelets than they need (like they have elevated CRP, too). So us lucky IBDers who take 5-ASAs and sulfazine, etc., actually have a lower risk than average of heart attack. YAY! LOL.
Posted 5/9/2012 11:41 PM (GMT 0)
I did read somewhere that IBDers have twice the normal risk of a heart attack. I suppose it's because of the increased platelets and the blood clotting more easily. That worries me a bit, because there is very strong history of heart disease on my dad's side. On the other hand, my Crohn's was a 'gift' from my mum's side of the family, which is heart attack free, as far as I know. Still, maybe I'll go on a 5-ASA to be on the safe side... <_<
Posted 6/1/2012 4:36 PM (GMT 0)
OK, so I realized this week that my last few menstrual cycle (TMI alert!) have been longer than usual and more red blood than ever before. I realize I'm perimenopausal and that usually means that abnormal is the new normal, but it seems weird to have these 7 days of red blood when I used to have 2.

I'm thinking it's the low platelets that are keeping me bleeding this way, and debating whether I need to call my OB/Gyn for a check-up or my GI for a medication talk.
Posted 6/1/2012 9:48 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Kaz,
I don't know anything about platelet counts so I can't help you there. I just wanted to say that this has to be frustrating for you! It sounds from your previous posts that the sulfazine was the one medication that controlled your Crohn's arthritis. Maybe ask for a repeat test in a few months before giving up a medicine that works so well for you

I am close to menopause although every 8-9 months when I think I'm in menopause for sure, I get a period and then it goes away again. I don't know if it's the platelets causing your longer bleeding or just the weirdo hormones. I guess it couldn't hurt to run your platelet lab results and symptoms by your GYN just to see what s/he thinks.

Let us know what you find out. I hope things straighten out for you soon.
Posted 6/2/2012 12:10 PM (GMT 0)
Both my GI and a hemologist confirmed that sulfasalazine was lowering my platelet counts.  It was never low enough to be a huge concern, but they liked to keep an eye on it.  I was having enough periodic bloodwork as it was, so that wasn't a problem.

It seemed to fluctuate a bit.  When I noticed bruises all over, I could usually count on it being low.

Posted 6/2/2012 1:28 PM (GMT 0)
Seconder, thanks for your comment. I'm glad to know I'm not imagining this. So did your DR ever do anything to help your platelets get back to normal? Or did you just go with the flow, so to speak?
Posted 6/2/2012 2:58 PM (GMT 0)
I just went with the flow. 

My platelets were low for awhile, but neither the GI or GP thought much of it.  At a certain point, my GI thought I should see a hemotologist just to rule anything else out.  When I explained everything to the hemotologist, he immediately said, "It's the sulfasalzine."  He did a quick physical exam to make sure my spleen wasn't hard or enlarged, and it wasn't.  That was basically the end of it, no treatment.

They told me not to worry about it, and I didn't.

After years of sulfasalazine, I've been mostly off it for about six months now (for other reasons), and the platelets have crept back up.  The sulfasalazine worked great, especially for joint pain, and I'd still take it despite the low platelets if I didn't seem to have developed an intolerance to it.

✚ New Topic ✚ Reply