RA - Low Platelet Count | Arthritis Information

Has anybody on here experienced a low platelet count due to the RA disease itself or as a side effect of RA meds? I had blood work done and the last (3) labs have been consistantly low on my platelet count. Norm range for platelets from my docs lab is 150K to 400K and I keep falling between 110K and 119K. My rheumatologist has never brought the issue up. However, my GP has been doing his own set of blood labs on a regular basis and he has just brought the issue up and said that he was concerned about my consistantly low platelet count on my last (3) visits. Until my past (3) labs I have always been within the normal range. My GP asked if I had been experiencing any unusual bruising or having trouble healing cuts. I haven't noticed any bruising "but" I have had trouble healing cuts from shaving. As a matter of fact there have been several occasions lately where a (2) day old shaving cut or nick has sprouted a leak and started bleeding again without ever being touched. My clotting time has definately seemed to increase.

My current RA treatment meds are MTX and Plaquenil. I'll find out an my Rheumy appt. today if he wants to take me off of the MTX due to my last (2) blood labs showing elevated liver enzymes of 3x's the high end of normal.

Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Thx......Ta2d

I don't have the answers but I hope you get to the bottom of it. Good luck!

I have no answer for you. Just wanted to say... I hope it all gets straightened out for you.

Please do let us know what your RD says and does.

I don't have low platelet counts, but my HGB is always low...usually around 9-10. My RD's not worried about it, he says it's part of the chronic RA illness.I had this problem once not long after diagnosis but it resolved on its own. The RD I had at the time said not much could be done at that point and he would monitor the blood work. I never knew if it was a consequence of the RA or the meds.

Try not to stress, we have so much of that in our lives already. I hope it all works out soon and please keep us updated!
many many years ago I had a low platelet count for several months when I first started MTX....we never did find a specific link between the twoThank you for all of the replies. I had my (3) month follow up with my Rheumy yesterday afternoon. Based on the fact that I've been having a fluctuating low platelet count combined with the fact that for well over a year I've been dealing with what appears to be a "Malar" rash on my face my Rheumy has decided that we should investigate the possibility of Lupus in conjunction with my sero-positive RA. I've made complaints about the facial rash in the past and my Rheumy has always attributed the Malar rash to possible "light sensitivity" due to the MTX and Plaquenil. Even after I told my rheumy that I had not been out of the house in the sun for a several days and that this rash comes and goes he never thought anything more of it. However, this rash combined with the low platelet count has spurred him to investigate SLE Lupus as a possibility. He had never ran an ANA test on me so I have to go get an ANA test today and my rheumy has stated that a postive ANA result will lead to more tests to confirm the diagnosis of lupus.

I've read that it is possible to have lupus and RA together. At least that would explain the obvious rash that I have. My daughter has joked with me for a year saying that I look like I have a red racoon mask on most of the time. I wish there was something I could do to cover it up or make it less noticable but obviously being a male there's not too much I can do about it...lol.

Ta2d2009-07-08 07:19:12Too often these rashes are overlooked.. I have a friend who was recently DX'd w/ Lupus and was told that her facial rash was rosacia....

Good luck to you.... hope you get all this taken care of soon.

Babs10,

Thanks for the reply and for your concern. I just visited the Lupus Foundation website and according to the website the induction of cytotoxic and antimalarial drugs can bring a positive ANA down into the normal range. Due to my Rheumatoid Arthritis I'm already taking both MTX and Plaquenil and I've been taking these drugs for over 2 1/2 years. That said if the drugs have a positive affect on Lupus and the Lupus related labs such as the ANA test, I think there is a very good possibility that I may not show a positive ANA result due to me taking these meds. If that is what transpires and I get a negative ANA result, how should I proceed since the ANA result may likely be skewed due to my current meds? Obviously, I can't stop using the MTX and Plaquenil or my RA will flare up with a vengance. I truly believe that there is a connection between my flare ups and the Malar rash that I've presented with for over a year. The rash just doesn't seem normal to me and while I could be wrong my wife and I are almost positive there is a connection.

Has anybody ever heard of these malar rashes occuring due to RA and not SLE?

Ta2d2009-07-08 09:34:26Ta2d, I believe they can also run a skin biopsy of the rash to aid in diagnosing lupus. You might ask about that.[QUOTE=Hillhoney]Ta2d, I believe they can also run a skin biopsy of the rash to aid in diagnosing lupus. You might ask about that.[/QUOTE]

Hillhoney,

Thanks! I'll keep that in mind as I move forward to try to determine what is causing my facial, malar type rash and whether or not there is a connection to my RA.

Regards.......Ta2d