New member, AA story

[halles25]

Hello all,

I was diagnosed at the age of 16, after tracking my declining platelets for several months before finally receiving a bone marrow biopsy & proper diagnosis.

Although I have a sibling match, I did ATG along with the range of other drugs involved - cyclosporine, prednisone, epogen shots, bactrim for several months. My aplastic anemia had been primarily affecting my platelets & red blood cells. I frequently had lots of bruising, petechia, & fatigue. My red blood cells also became oversized during treatment, which was interesting, but my doctor didn't indicate that this ever amounted to any problem.

My platelets, along with my other counts, all stabilized. My platelets hover right around the low end of normal now, at 120-140 or so.

I'm happily married now & attending law school, and so grateful for life. Going through treatment while in high school was somewhat of a challenge, as I dealt with the severity of my condition in silence, because AA patients can sometimes act and go about life as a healthy person, thanks to transfusions. It was also very difficult for friends to relate, and many people I run into had no idea I was ever sick. I now go for yearly CBC's, but just with a general practitioner, to ensure that I am still in remission. If I ever received a bad report, I would certainly be calling my treating physician.

My main health concerns in life right now are thinking of the possibility of how a pregnancy might affect my AA, but I certainly can't complain!