Platelets??

Newts17 · November 2014

Has anyone been told their platelets are too low? Was just wondering? I'm waiting on midwife phoning me back. Will let you's know what she says to it hopefully nothing too serious

howin23 · November 2014

I've been extensively tested due to a genetic bleeding issue and while my platelet counts are fine, they are still going to take precautions and have platelets on hand during the delivery. Hopefully yours are only borderline low, in which case I'd expect them to either give you DDAVP (a hormone usually given through IV) or just have platelets on hand for the delivery.

If your counts are really low, they might give you platelets beforehand, but of course there are risks to that. If they do, ask if you can get "single donor" platelets to reduce the risk. Also, be aware that it takes 20 minutes for platelets to thaw and then they are no good after four hours so it's not something you can get at a moment's notice.

Newts17 · November 2014

Thank you for your advice. I'm not entirely sure of the severity going to hopefully speak to the midwife tomorrow. Thank you again it's very much appreciated

phdprocrastinator · November 2014

I just had an appointment with a perinatalogist about my platelets. We've been monitoring mine for a few months because they were "borderline" and they just dropped below 80K. Here's what I've learned:

-Under 80K, they get concerned about epidurals/spinals and any sort of assistance during childbirth (vacuum, forceps) due to the possibility of bleeding (epidural could cause paralysis - so it's good to know if you're going that way). For obvious reasons, I'd rather deal with the pain than risk paralysis. However, my "worst case" for delivery is c-section under general and I'd like to avoid that at any cost. DD was posterior presentation and had to be vacuum extracted after 4 hours of pushing - if that hadn't worked, I would have had a c-section. So this is something I worry about.

-You can still have narcotic pain relief, which can give you a rest from pain if needed. They don't, however, give this if you're likely to deliver soon as it can make pushing hard/cross over and effect the baby.

-If you need a c-section, the only option will be to go under general anesthesia. However, low platelets (at least borderline) are no reason to plan a c-section

-Prednisone is recommended to increase platelets - but it's not without its side effects.

So my plan is to do a three day course of steroids, check platelets, and if they're above 90K induce labor this weekend. If I go into labor before then, my numbers will be checked before I can have an epi. I had this happen last time - but my numbers weren't as low, so they just checked when I was admitted.

Good luck to you!

turtles7 · November 2014

My platelets were low after delivery. I had to stay an extra night but everything turned out ok. The dr didn't really explain much on what happens if they continueD to stay low. Hope everything turns ok for you.

phdprocrastinator · November 2014

turtles7 said:

My platelets were low after delivery. I had to stay an extra night but everything turned out ok. The dr didn't really explain much on what happens if they continueD to stay low. Hope everything turns ok for you.

From my understanding (not a doctor): this may be because there are many different causes of low platelets. If it's caused by pregnancy, they should start to increase quickly following delivery, but if the cause is something else they will stay low. But I don't know what they would do at that point/how long you'd stay in the hospital/etc.

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