Tag Archives: ITP
Out of Remission, Back on Prednisone
Cue the long groan, I am out of remission and my platelets hit a startling 53,000 this week. This triggered swift action by my new hematology team, so I am taking 40mg of prednisone daily.
Before I get into that- let me tell you how much I love my new hematologist. Dr. Ahn retired February 2018, so I was nervous about seeing a new doctor. Friends of mine recommended Dr. Harrington at UM (who’s father happened to discover how ITP works). He’s brilliant, funny, and practical in his treatment of ITP, especially when it comes to steroids. I was so glad to hear him say he won’t keep me on prednisone for a long period of time.
I had blocked out most of the negative experiences I had almost 5 years ago with steroids. After all the moon face, acne, weight gain, constant hunger, anger, poor temperature regulation, and insomnia were horrible. Well, that’s all back and I have been expressing my frustration about it. I was finally able to sleep last night, thanks to medical marijuana (more on that in an upcoming post). I wish I had that stuff back in 2014 when this journey started. I woke up this morning a bit more refreshed and less hungry. My goal right now is to not gain any weight while moving through this part of the treatment process.
I’m documenting bruises again and getting weekly CBCs. Obvious goal: using Rituxan again. But I run into the same problem I had in 2014, safety data is scarce. I’m leaning on my team at UM to trust that since it worked once, it will work again. Since I am traveling a lot this month, I am hoping by mid-May we will be able to get those infusions going.
If you have used Rituxan more than once for ITP and are willing to share your experiences with me (and your CBC data), please email me at [email protected]. I’m planning on doing something similar to what I did in 2014, creating a mini data set to show the efficacy of Rituxan for immune destruction of platelets.
There’s more to this story, I am still hard at work behind the scenes to get ITP patients access to a CD 20 inhibitor ON LABEL. Stay tuned.
The Struggle of Being Disabled in Law School
Discrimination and bullying of disabled students is rampant in colleges and universities. Now that I have a full year of law school under my belt since being diagnosed with a rare disease and three other chronic conditions, I connect with those who have had similar experiences. I refuse to be silent about “administrators” who torment students with invisible disabilities because they are ignorant. It is obvious that they disregard the Americans With Disabilities Act and university policies with their outrageous and targeted discriminatory behavior. It is an epidemic for the largest minority in the United States. Continue reading
I’m Not Sorry, I Hate My Body
It is no secret that since I became sick and was stuck on prednisone for months that I began to hate my body. After all, I’m up about 30 pounds from where I was nearly two years ago and I lost a lot of muscle that I had worked so hard to gain. I never acknowledged to myself how much I hate my body until I was out for a walk tonight. My hatred isn’t just for the weight gain or loss of muscle. It comes from a feeling of betrayal: my body tried to kill me. My immune system malfunctioned and for some miraculous reason, I survived months of physically challenging work in heels without internally bleeding to death.
Tis The Season for Action!
Kona wanted to make a special holiday appearance in honor of our call to action for the Senate over the 21st Century Cures initiative. I sincerely hope that when I arrive in DC in a few weeks, progress will have been made. There is no time to waste when 30 million Americans depend on Congress to take action.
My blog is a road map of my rare disease journey, starting last year when I decided to take a chance and use Rituxan off label. It is not approved for ITP patients. Why? Because we don’t have enough information and research on ITP to conduct a comprehensive clinical trial. One of my goals for 2016 is to change that. Through my research, I have been able to isolate a population of ITP patients who can and will benefit from use of the drug. Simply put, this drug is a life saver and the people who achieve remission from it enjoy a few years of a fairly normal life. There is absolutely no reason why this should be denied to people like myself.
Tomorrow is December 18th, which happens to be the one year anniversary of my remission. I truly believe this gift was bestowed upon me to give me a chance to fight for others. I have lost a few friends in the past year to ITP, it doesn’t get any easier and it makes me realize just how fortunate I am.
I’ve spent the last 365 building my new normal, now it is time to change medicine.
Contest Winners!
I want to congratulate the following people on winning a signed copy of How To Heal A Bruise!
@Marilia_lia18
@missplaquetas
@MissesSuit
Thank you to everyone for posting your ITP Awareness Day photos! Remember that awareness and advocacy is important every day of the year.
Win a Signed Copy of How to Heal a Bruise!
A wonderful platelet pal, the owner of ITPandMe.com has published a book! I am so excited to be giving away three signed copies of the book.
Rules:
Contest begins on Wednesday, September 23, 2015 at 11am EST.
Three (3) people will be selected to win a signed copy of How To Heal A Bruise by sharing a social media campaign message to raise awareness of ITP.
#ITPAware day, Sept 25! Check out How To Heal A Bruise: http://itpandme.com/itp-awareness-day-coming-soon/ #raredisease @RareCandace @meghan_brewster
**Make sure you put Meg & I in the tweets so I can see them!**
Also, I will accept bonus submissions if you tweet using #ITPAware and link to How To Heal A Bruise on Amazon!
BUT WAIT!
Take a photo holding a sign discussing life with ITP, the 21st Century Cures Initiative or how much you hate Prednisone and you will receive TWO (2) bonus entries!
Note: you’re giving me consent to use your photo on social media to continue to raise awareness about ITP. Get creative and have fun! Make sure you tag me on Instagram and Twitter: @RareCandace
Winners will be announced Thursday, October 1st at 5pm EST (if I am late, forgive me as law school and my new autoimmune issues have been kicking my butt lately).
This isn’t About Passion
In the last few months as I slowly get to know professors and administrators in my school, I have noticed a trend. I wouldn’t say it is an academic thing, or law school related, rather it is just ignorance. When I express my motivation (or insanity) behind deciding to go to law school such a short time after being diagnosed with my rare disease, I’m met with a strange reaction. Everyone says the same thing except in different ways. It boils down to, be passionate but focus on your studies. Continue reading
Stay Out of My Bubble
With two weeks of law school completed, I am physically drained. It isn’t due to the work, I have worked longer and harder hours doing physical and mental labor that was nothing short of torture at times. The difference now is my health. I cannot sustain myself for extended periods of time because my body has to try and fight off germs from the hundreds of people I encounter at close proximity every day. I almost exploded this week because people can’t respect personal space and therefore were making me worry that I might become sick. Up with a scratchy throat at 8am on a Saturday, I’m afraid that my concerns were justified. Continue reading
Five Things I Learned Living With ITP
September is ITP awareness month, so it is only fitting to start off with a list of the things that I have come to discover about life with low platelets. It has been a challenging, difficult and frustrating journey. However, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a better person because of it. Continue reading