Signs and symptoms:
Easy or excessive bruising
Superficial bleeding into the skin that appears as a rash of pinpoint-sized reddish-purple spots (petechiae), usually on the lower legs
Prolonged bleeding from cuts
Spontaneous bleeding from your gums or nose
Blood in urine or stools
Unusually heavy menstrual flows
Profuse bleeding during surgery
FYI: My counts weren't low enough for me to have these symptoms.
Normally, you have anywhere from 150,000 to 450,000 platelets per microliter of circulating blood. Because each platelet lives only about 10 days, your platelet supply is continually renewed by production of new platelets from your bone marrow.
Mild thrombocytopenia typically has no long-lasting effects. The biggest risk of severe thrombocytopenia is bleeding into the brain or digestive tract, which although rare, can be life-threatening.
If chemotherapy is found to be the cause of your low platelet counts, you may have to stop treatment temporarily while you recover. Thrombocytopenia can be treated with a transfusion of platelets, usually done in a hospital. Your doctor may also use injections of thrombopoietic growth factors, such as Neumega (oprelvekin) to stimulate platelet production.
http://breastcancer.about.com/od/lifeduringtreatment/p/thrombocyto.htm
When the count is below 20,000, bleeding in the digestive tract or brain may occur even when there is no injury.
http://www.merck.com/pubs/mmanual_ha/sec3/ch49/ch49c.html
Aspirin, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), and antihistamines may interfere with how platelets function, although the platelet count remains normal.
Good list of drugs that cause thrombocytopenia, but not chemo drugs. I already know mine's due to carboplatin.
If the platelet count is below 20,000, people are usually treated in a hospital or advised to stay in bed to avoid injury. They are usually given a transfusion of platelets. If the platelet count is 20,000 to 30,000 and excessive bleeding occurs, platelets are usually transfused.
http://askville.amazon.com/low-platelet-count/AnswerViewer.do?requestId=4071914
Neumega® (oprevelkin) is the blood cell growth factor that is approved for the prevention of chemotherapy-induced thrombocytopenia. Oprevelkin is generally well tolerated by patients, with minimal side effects. The most common side effect observed with oprevelkin is fluid retention or edema. This symptom persists while oprevelkin is being used and is reversible within a few days of discontinuation of oprevelkin. Sometimes diuretics (or water reducing pills) are used to reduce fluid retention.
http://www.caring4cancer.com/go/cancer/effects/common/low-platelet-count-thrombocytopenia.htm
Vancomycin, the antibiotic that I was taking the hospital, not only can cause Red Man Syndrome, but also in some cases thrombocytopenia by augmenting antibody production.
"We found a close correlation between exposure to vancomycin, development of a vancomycin-dependent antibody, and the onset of severe thrombocytopenia accompanied by serious bleeding in most cases," Says Dr. Aster. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/64435.php
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