Platelets symptoms and conditions

I took my first pill of Levaquin 500 and started having abdominal pain.later I started feeling cold and shaking for about one hour. My arms and legs were so sore that I couldn't stand straight. Joints hurt a lot..My husband told me that my eyes were rolling and he was scare. Next day I had red dots in my whole body.mostly my legs. I went to the doctor for a blood test and my platelets were 35. Put me on prednisone. week before were 220. Almost sure was the levaquin. Shoud be taken out of market.

Researchers have been doing studies for many years regarding trying to determine the role of genetic factors in patients response to Singulair (Montelukast).

This study from Spain identified the following gene variations hypothesize to be related to leukotriene pathway response. Sixty one patients with asthma were studied. Three gene types were identified:

type 1. Thirty-two patients (52.5%) were homozygous for the five repeats allele;
type 2. 17 (27.9%) were heterozygous (4/5 repeats)
type 3. 12 (19.7%) were homozygous for 4/4 repeats.

The study showed that montelukast was effective for types 1 and 2 but not effective for type 3. Type 3 represented approximately 20% of the group study.

"After the montelukast treatment decrease number of asthma exacerbations, improvement of FEV(1) and decreased use of beta(2) agonists was observed in patients with 5/5 or 4/5 repeats. Conversely, the patients with 4/4 repeats genotype did not modify these data after treatment."

So it seems logical that if it can be identified that montelukast is not effective for certain gene type variations, then montelukast could cause adverse side effects in certain gene type variations.

It is interesting that 20% of this group does not respond positively to montelukast. That is the exact same number that even Merck says gets a headache from montelukast. Headache is the highest incidence of adverse side effects that has been reported. That comparison, however, is just a coincidence because it has not been studied and proven. Maybe.

Where are the studies that pertain to gene type variations and adverse side effects? You would think that somebody could do them.

Respir Med. 2008 Jun;102(6):857-61. Epub 2008 Mar 12. Links
ALOX5 promoter genotype and response to montelukast in moderate persistent asthma.Telleria JJ, Blanco-Quiros A, Varillas D, Armentia A, Fernandez-Carvajal I, Jesus Alonso M, Diez I.
Institute of Biology and Molecular Genetics (IBGM/CSIC), University of Valladolid, Valladolid, Spain. ******

BACKGROUND: It was hypothesized that asthmatic patients with mutant alleles in the leukotriene pathway should not respond to leukotriene receptor antagonists and the concept of a tailored treatment is increasingly supported. METHODS: Sixty-one patients (mean age 24.9 years, range 14-52) with moderate persistent asthma were clinical and immunological assess prior and after a 6-month treatment with montelukast. Tandem repeat polymorphisms were genotyped in the promoter (-147 to -176) of 5-lipoxygenase gene (ALOX5). RESULTS: Thirty-two patients (52.5%) were homozygous for the five repeats allele; 17 (27.9%) were heterozygous (4/5 repeats) and 12 (19.7%) were homozygous for 4/4 repeats. After the montelukast treatment decrease number of asthma exacerbations, improvement of FEV(1) and decreased use of beta(2) agonists was observed in patients with 5/5 or 4/5 repeats. Conversely, the patients with 4/4 repeats genotype did not modify these data after treatment. CONCLUSIONS: It was confirmed that ALOX5 promoter polymorphisms have a clear influence in montelukast response in atopic moderate persistent asthma patients. The genetic study could identify those patients most likely to respond to montelukast.

PMID: 18339529

Can Fosamx D 70 mg be the cause of Ecchymosis Petechiae, I have developed what looks like an "under the skin" rash, on the ankles and upward on the leg, sometimes dark and also gets lighter, Doctor is doing blood work now, concerned about my platelets, it is possible there is no relation to Fosamax, but I am curious if anyone else has had this symptom. Thank you, dalecjim

Heres my Levaquin horror story:

In hospital for bowel obstruct. Took LevaQ. at home. 1/2 way through I noticed I wasn't feeling any better but worse while recovering. Starting sleeping for 3 hr intervals, while up I would feel as if I wanted to jump out of my skin. Calf pain. Dizziness. Intermittent instenseTingling around mouth and face. Called my MD.
I was put back in hospital due to a platelet count of 'one million'. My MD who is wonderful, consulted with others, even an oncologist. I refused a bone marrow aspiration, so they came up with a game plan -- possible reaction to the Levaquin???? So... 'flush out the Levaquin'. With each day of continuous mass flushing of IV fluids....my platelets decreased daily.
3 years later...I getting intermittent tingling, flu like symptoms, dizziness, heart palpitations, extreme fatigue-------------still looking for answers to my illness. Just had more blood work - lymphocytic profile was drawn, waiting on results. Definitely am anemic, chronic slight rise in liver enzymes with last sed rate and wbc count in norm range.

WARNING be aware of H.I.T.

IF YOU ARE ON CLEXANE PLEASE MAKE SURE THE DOCTORS CHECK YOUR PLATELET LEVELS BEFORE STARTING THIS DRUG.DO NOT BE AFRAID OF ASKING AS THIS IS STATED IN GUIDELINES.

THE GUIDELINES SUGGEST IF YOUR PLATELET COUNT FALLS 50% FROM WHAT IT WAS BEFORE YOU STARTED THE TREATMENT THEN H.I.T. SHOULD BE SUSPECTED AND ALL FORMS OF HEPARIN SHOULD BE DISCONTINUED AND AN ALTERNATIVE ANTICOAGULANT BE USED.

THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT; PLEASE DO NOT TRUST YOUR DOCTOR TO AUTOMATICALLY DO THESE TESTS. WE TRUSTED MY GRANDMOTHERS DOCTORS, THEY DID PART OF THE TESTS BUT FAILED TO ACT ON THE RESULTS!!!!!

My grandmother died from heparin induced thrombocytopenia (HIT).
This is an adverse reaction to the drug Clexane. Guidelines suggest platelet count should be monitored, unfortunately the hospital Doctors did not monitor her blood whilst she was on this drug. A 50% fall in platelet count should have alerted Doctors to act on their findings and discontinue the drug, instead they carried on giving it to her for a further 6 days. Her symptoms were as follows;
itchy
drowsy
bruises
nausea
vomiting
diarrhea
Because her reaction to Clexane had gone unnoticed she was still being given this drug her symptoms became worse they were as follows;
Black bruises (necrosis)
gastrointestinal haemorrhage
spontaneous bruising
slurred speech
confusion
falling platelet count
When the Doctors discovered the internal bleeding they stopped the Clexane but did not offer her an alternative anticoagulant and her symptoms after this were as follows;
Deep vein thrombosis, arterial thrombosis, she was still hemorrhaging, her platelets fell to 5 and her HB fell to 6.9 INR was normal.
She was transfused with platelets and red blood cells and then died. (Clexane heparin induced thrombocytopenia) is on her death certificate AFTER A FOUR YEAR BATTLE FOR AN INQUEST INTO HER DEATH! My research has led me to believe that most Doctors believe HIT is very rare and they don't bother to check for this condition, if the doctors had checked her blood test and realized a sudden 50% fall in her platelet level was more significant than the actual platelet count itself , then she would not have died.The 50% drop was a serious side effect of this drug.
PLEASE ASK YOUR DR TO CHECK AND TELL HIM/HER TO CHECK IF YOU HAVE GOT BETWEEN 30-50% DROP IN PLATELETS THEN MAKE SURE YOUR DOCTOR KNOWS WHAT HE IS DOING.

Jill (Lancashre UK)

im tore all to pieces my 22 month old had a sandpaper feeling type rash thats been there 4 2 weeks . a few days prior to the rash he had a slight caugh and stuffy nose. his dr said it was a viral rash. then a few days later developed a temp of 103. we took him back to the ped. she said he had a upper respitory infection and fluid in his left ear, she prescibed omnicef. the rash seems to be more prominent now. im very worried. she did a cbc and the white count was 15000 and the platelets were slightly elevated. she wasnt worried though and said it was a viral rash, let it run its course. so? i dont know if i should be worried or not>help

Was on Prednisone 2 years ago for respiratory problems 30mg. Gained 25 pounds, fat face, felt tired, etc.

However 2 years later, after weaning off Prednisone my muscles ache, joints are most always stiff, esp. hands plus my feet feel numb and my short term memory has not returned to normal----does any one else out there have similar problems. What can be done?

Find I get purple bruising when using Toprol. My platelets are normal. When I stopped taking it the bruising went away but I must take it for my heart.

Late in January 05 I was admitted to the hospital for severe ITP (low platelet count). They first gave me prednisone in my IV, then each day after 80mgs. I returned home 14 days later on a daily 80mgs for three months. I had isomnia and had no strength at all and just felt like a totaly different person. My platelets stabilized around 190 thousand for a few months. I was weaned off it completely. Then my platelets started to go down again. My Dr. put me back on 30mgs of prednisone. The second time around with a smaller amount is worse than the first time with the larger amount. I'm now down to 20 mgs and I have a deprresion now with low physical strength and can barely get throgh 8 hours of work. I feel an inner anxiety that I hate with no appetite. Prednisone probably helped me with my platelet count but who knows, they gave me other things, but I really hate prednisone and can't wait to get off it so I can begin to feel like a normal person. I'll tell you it's impossible to feel right when your on prednisone.

I was prescribed Levaquin the first of April 2003 as a preventative measure, and around the 20th of May 2003 lost my ability to taste, just a weired metallic taste, and noitced I tired very easily and was short of breath with very little exerction. Was advised by a Dr. friend of mine to have some blood test done which showed that my immune system was very depressed. Abnormal platelets, very low RBC (2.95), very low WBC (1.22). Just about every entry on my CBC is low, with exception of two items which were high and these have remained unchanged for the past two weeks. I have had four CBC's done in the past 14 days with virtually no change. I am going for a bone marrow biopsy as soon as I can get in. (no insurance) Does anyone have any suggestions?