Grape seed extract.
 

On the recommendations of a friend, I started taking Grape Seed Extract, figured it can't hurt. It's supposed to be a very good antioxidant and help with autoimmune and the one I take has Resveratrol, Selenium and green tea in it also.
I notice my lows are not quite so low and I don't get the "gaggy" feeling in my throat when I have a low attack. Been three weeks now. Haven't had blood taken since, but will be interested what the new counts will be if any.

I am not advocating the use of this in any way as I understand too many antioxidants are not good for some people, just saying that it seems to be helping me a little.

Grape seed extract
 

Hi Dick,
You know before I was dx with MDS I often used alternative drugs with good results like echinacea for infections, cranberry juice for cystitis and so on. Now when my platelets are low (last count 42) I always google the name of the drug + platelets.

As a matter of fact most drugs that are good for peoples health are bad for patients with low platelets because they increase the bleeding and prevent arteriosclerosis. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16160595

Green tea and grape seed extract should be avoided by patients with low platelets. Perhaps your platelets are OK :). Then you only get the positive effects of green tea and grape seed extract.
Kind regards
Birgitta-A

Thanks Brigitta. Platelets have hung pretty good for me at around the 150 level. My steady slow drops have been the whites, reds and hemaglobin. I'll keep an eye on the platelets on my next blood count.

I started taking grape seed and within a week had bleeding gums and my blood tests showed a sharp drop in platelets. It may have just been a coincidence, but I stopped the grape extract just in case.

Rob

None of the foods/nutrients ever effected John's platelets....bad or good. We tried all the stuff that was supposed in increase platelets and they did nothing for him. There are so many other things involved with blood clotting. Sometimes it's a good thing to get your clotting time tested. Even when his platelets were in the 8 -20K range, his clotting times were normal. But then John did not have MDS and his platelets worked well. Vitamin K, found in green leafy vegetables, is good for improving clotting times. In fact, at one point when he was in the hospital, they gave him Vit K.

Thank you for sharing... so many things affect platelets. You never know until you try. Thanks I will now be avoiding this option.