I started aspirin with ET diagnosis, nothing else

I started on daily low-dose aspirin with platelets in the 600 and 700s.

Because I'm 69, statistically at higher risk for blood clots, I also started taking one 500mg HU capsule a week in October. A month later, when my platelet count was still in the 700s, that increased to three 500mg capsules/week. And because my platelet count is still high (although it's stopped going up), in January I started taking five 500mg capsules/ week.

Does this show HU doesn't work? Quite the reverse! It often takes 6 months for HU to lower platelet production. Note -- it's not temporarily removing excess platelets. HU is addressing the core problem: overproduction of platelets.

It's this mad platelet overproduction that makes us feel exhausted, all the while depleting our bone marrow.

I am very grateful to have HU, as well as an oncologist who started it slowly, enabling me to adjust easily to the medication.

Scroll through all the conversations and articles on this forum. Then you'll be prepared for a great discussion with your doctor next month.

Me too.