Treatment For Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura

Medication To Boost Platelets

Your doctor might recommend a variety of different medications to boost platelets. A thrombopoietin receptor agonist is capable of helping a person's bone marrow to produce larger amounts of platelets. Two of the most commonly used medications are romiplostim and eltrombopag. As with most other medications, there are potential side effects. You might experience nausea or vomiting, dizziness, headaches, and an elevated risk of developing blood clots. If your body creates too many platelets, you might have the opposite problem; your blood might clot when it isn't supposed to, rather than bleeding when it should be clotting.

This course of action is generally used when a patient's platelet count is so low that the increased risk of clotting is negligible. If a course of corticosteroids doesn't work, a doctor might prescribe these drugs following a relapse, possibly with a second corticosteroid course. However, the corticosteroids will usually be attempted on their own, so as not to risk the potential side effects from these medications.