In recent months, doctors discovered, through various blood tests, that my father's blood platelets were extremely high. How high, you might ask? Well, a person's blood platelet count should be 250,000. My dad's count was . . . are you ready for this . . . one million four hundred! It was like winning the lottery, only this was NOT the lottery to win. Raised blood platelets can put a person at a high risk for a stroke.
Dad's doctor, a hematologist, which is someone who specializes in diseases of the blood, tested him on two drugs - Hydroxyurea and Anagrelide. The first drug is actually a type of chemotherapy drug, which was very scary news to hear when our pharmacist counseled us about the medication. Unfortunately, Dad was not able to tolerate either of these drugs; they both made him very ill, to the point that he said he would rather risk having a stroke than to be that sick.
Luckily, his doctor was very compassionate and, though alarmed at the high platelet count, did not force him to try either of these meds for an extended period of time. The doctor said that, if he made Dad take drugs that caused him to be very sick, we would have a worse problem than high stroke risk on our hands. He said he would continue to monitor Dad's blood and keep a check on the platelet count.
This satisfied Dad, but did not satisfy me at all. His count was over four times what it should be. This sounded dangerous to me. All I could think was, "Dad is a walking time bomb!" He was also diagnosed with a fairly aggressive form of prostate cancer this past January, and he had already been battling low iron (which required frequent transfusions), diabetes and an underactive thyroid for several years prior to the cancer diagnosis. I did not want to have to add another condition to the list that could truly jeopardize his life.
One of the things I have learned from my dad through the years is to pray about everything. So, as I do in all situations, I prayed about Dad's dangerously high blood platelet count. I asked God to either heal Dad and make his platelet number normal, or lead us to what to do to lower that number ourselves.
My answer came quickly and was very clear and simple. God led me to examine the word Platelet. "There is a clue in the word itself," a voice seemed to say. I saw it immediately - the word Plate. Plate, as in a plate that holds food.
"So, this platelet issue is diet related," I said to myself. "I can find foods for Dad to eat that will lower his platelets."
I went to the internet for help. It turned out that Dad had been eating a lot of foods that were not necessarily unhealthy, but still contributed to his platelets being too high.
Here is what I learned, and I will divide this information into two categories - what to eat and what NOT to eat.
WHAT TO EAT: Salmon (Alaskan Wild), Tuna, Sardines
Nuts (especially walnuts)
Cinnamon, Garlic (you can also take Garlic supplements)
Any food rich in Omega 3 fat such as fish and walnuts
GOOD OILS TO EAT: Fish Oil – it is also good to take Fish Oil Supplements, but make sure they are made from 100% pure Wild Alaskan Salmon – not corn-fed, farmed fish.
Any oils LOW in Vitamin K such as Safflower, Sunflower, Sesame Seed, and Peanut
WHAT TO AVOID: Foods HIGH in Vitamin K such as Broccoli, Brussel Sprouts, Asparagus, Soy, Cucumber, Spinach, Lettuce and Cabbage Beef
Leafy green foods in general
OILS TO AVOID: Oils HIGH in Vitamin K such as Olive, Corn, Soybean and Canola
IS THE DIET WORKING? So far so good!
Dad started the diet the first week in February, and, as I said earlier, his blood platelet count was one million four hundred. When his blood was checked on April 25th, almost 3 months later, his platelet count had not come down a whole lot; it was still at one million two hundred. But, when it was checked on June 6th, the count had come
down a little more this time; it was down to 944,000! It was as if his body said, "OK, I'm getting the hang of this now!"
Just to clarify, I did not spend an abundance of hours researching this topic. Pressed for time, I went to only a couple of sources via the internet for my data, so it's possible that some of this information might not be exactly accurate. But 100% accurate or not, the diet is working to bring down my Dad's blood platelet count. His doctor said that he would be happy to see Dad's count down to 400,000, but we are going for the ideal 250,000!
I wanted to share what we have learned with all of you in case you are ever in the same boat as Dad. Also, I fully believe that we are all what we eat, no matter what our health issues are, and eating the proper foods to provide the best possible nourishment for our bodies is of utmost importance.
To summarize, your PLATElets definitely matter!
UPDATE: As of October 9, 2019, Dad's platelets have come down to 800,000!
As of January 7, 2020, Dad's platelet count is down to 692,000!
As of April 30, 2020, Dad's platelet count is down to 579,000!
As of August 20, 2020, Dad's platelet count is up a little to 633,000. Doc says it is probably due to stress (Mom was just diagnosed with liver cancer).
As of November 2, 2020, his count is 682,000. Why have they suddenly starting going back up?