Hi joesmith,
It is not common that growth factor injections and txs are painful. What growht factors have your mother received?
Good that you look out for complications when your mother's counts are so low.
Too bad that your mother couldn't tolerate platelet txs! Hopefully her platelets function well. Has she any signs of bleeding like petechia (very small bleedings in the skin), nose bleeding or blood blisters in her mouth?
Remember that we should try to avoid everything that can decrease platelets or increase bleedings.
http://www.pdsa.org/about-itp/warnings.html. All kinds of pain killers can decrease platelet.
There is a growth factor for platelets called Promacta. It is not approved for MDS patients but trials have showed positive results in trials. Another growth factor, Nplate, should be avoided since it can increase the risk for leukemia.
Hope your mother's counts will increase!
Kind regards
Birgitta-A