Thrombocytosis

Where to begin? I had intentions of posting about how much "fun" it is to go for your yearly checkup but after an interesting chain of events I have something on a more serious note to blog about.
God is AMAZING! I have been toying with the idea of changing from my doctor whom I love dearly to a doctor closer to home because of convenience and because he is A LOT cheaper, but as GOD would have it, I decided to go on to my regularly scheduled checkup on Monday. As I mentioned I had plans on writing about all the humorous things we women have to go through during these oh so pleasant visits so I had out my handy dandy notebook jotting down a few things to post when Dr. S walked in and everything changed. After all the usual "hands on" business he had me get dressed so we could discuss this platelet issue. According to his machine my levels were at 999,999 (which was the highest number his would read) and a normal level should range between 140,000 - 440,000. Dr. S was concerned. Dr. S is a very take it as the wind blows kind of person so for him to be concerned concerned me. So, after drawing more blood and rechecking there, just to be sure they sent the sample over to the hospital. A couple of hours later I received a phone call from Dr. M's office with an appointment for today. Then I received another phone call from Dr. S explaining that he was referring me to a Hematologist (Dr. M) for a more thorough workup.
I'll admit I was a little freaked out but surprisingly I haven't dwelled on it. I had really expected to be given some medication to correct it and move on...well, that is not how things went. So here's the rundown. After seven tubes of blood, three waiting rooms, two very long hours and one Dr. M later we know a lot and very little. My actual platelet count from Monday was 1.5 MILLION and today's was 1.3 million. Even though today's was a little lower Dr. M was quick to say that it is not unusual for it to fluctuate that much when levels are as high as mine. We know I have Thrombocytosis but we don't know what kind yet. There are two kinds of Thrombocytosis, reactive and essential. I will not presume to know exactly what that means but my understanding is that reactive is my body reacting to something (hopefully my IUD) or essential which means my body just produces too many platelets and they give me medication to help. Words such as chronic leukemia and bone marrow biopsy were thrown at me as well but only as possibilities and not likelys. I mentioned my IUD earlier because looking back over my levels since I had it put in until today (1 year today) they have steadily been increasing. So we are praying HARD that by having it removed my levels will begin to fall until they reach normal. I also had stated earlier that God is AMAZING because had I switched doctors the local doctor does not take blood samples during routine checkups. So I know that no matter what comes of this ordeal, GOD is already ALL over it watching over me.
I do ask that you pray for me during this difficult time and for my family.
Prayer Requests:
That the IUD removal WILL bring my platelet count down to normal.
That I make it through this week without losing my mind.
That I don't have a stroke. (Which is possible with levels this high)
That I won't have cancer. ( That word scares me.)
That I won't have to endure a bone marrow biopsy.
Praises:
Matt went with me to my appointments today.
I didn't change doctors.
Dr. S took prompt action.
I am so blessed to have such a supportive family.
That my IUD removal went well.
I leave you with this:
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Hebrew 11:1