Posts by Melissa Ramirez70

wiredcanyon2 said:Thrombocytopenia can be linked to certain tumors—mostly those of hematological origin, like lymphomas or leukemias. That said, there are plenty of other reasons for low platelets besides malignancy. Honestly, I think trying to link low platelets directly to a brain tumor is a huge stretch; in my view, such low counts are often just an incidental finding that doesn't actually have anything to do with a potential tumor. Are you taking any medications? Certain drugs are known to cause thrombocytopenia. Generally speaking, I don't think the focus should be on the platelets right now—the priority should be figuring out what's causing the headaches and vomiting.

Thank you so much!
The second set of results arrived today, and everything looks normal!
We'll see what the rest of the tests show, but I’m feeling a lot more at ease now.
Thanks again!!

wiredcanyon2 said:What kind of tumor are you talking about? Like, a brain tumor?

To be honest, my doctor wasn't exactly crystal clear with me—whether we're looking at a brain tumor or a pituitary tumor—but it's definitely something along those lines.

So, it actually is possible...
Well, I’m not going to start panicking just yet—we’ll wait to see the next blood work results, and then we'll check the CTG.
Thank you all so much!

vividsailor7 said:Aside from some very mild thrombocytopenia and platelets of varying sizes,
the results look pretty standard.

So, it's not actually cause for alarm then...
Could you please tell me—just to put my mind at ease—if that slight drop in platelets or the variation in their size could possibly be linked to a tumor??

So, wiredcanyon2:

(vK) SE - 3 (4-24)
(vk) Erythrocytes 4.35 (3.86-5.08)
(vK) Hemoglobin - 131 (119-157)
Hematocrit - 0.382 (0.356-0.470)
(k/Erc) MCHC - 343 (320-360)
(k/Erc) MCV - 87.8 (83.0-97.2)
(k/Erc) MCH - 30.1 (27.4-33.9)
(k/Erc) Reticulocytes - 10.0 (5.0-21.6)
(vK) Leukocytes - 6.3 (3.4-9.7)
RDW - 12.500 (9.000-15.000)
Eosinophils - 1.0 (0-7)
Segmented - 68.0 (44-72)
Lymphocytes - 28.0 (20-46)
Monocytes - 3.0 (2-12)

MORPHOLOGY
Platelets - anisocytosis
(vK) Platelets - 128 (158-424)

METABOLITES AND SUBSTRATES
(S) UREA - 4.4 (2.8-8.3)
(S) URINE ACID - 276 (134-337)
(S) T. BILIRUBIN - 12.1 (3.0-20.0)
(S) CREATININE - 91 (63-107)
(S) GLUCOSE - 4.90 (4.40-6.40)

ENZYMES
(S) AST - 13 (8-30)
(S) ALT - 14 (10-36)
(S) GGT - 7 (9-35)
(S) ALP - 46 (54-119)

ELECTROLYTES
Sodium - 141 (137-146)
Potassium - 4.2 (3.9-5.1)

TRACE ELEMENTS
(S) Fe - 19.2 (8.0-30.0)
(S) TIBC - 54.9 (49.0-75.0)
(S)(S) UIBC - 36.0 (26.0-59.0)

And that’s about everything. Thanks a bunch!

Hi everyone!
I’ve been lurking here and reading through your posts for quite a while now, but since my headaches have started coming with vomiting, I finally decided to step up and ask for some advice...
I went to see my doctor, and naturally—given the symptoms—they immediately suspected either migraines or potentially a tumor, so now I'm starting the whole diagnostic process.
I just got my first set of blood work results back today, and I was wondering if there’s anything here that should actually worry me. For the most part, the blood count looks okay, but a few things are sitting outside the normal range:
(vK) SE - 3 (4 - 24)
Platelets - anisocytosis
(vK) Platelets - 128 (158 - 424)
(S) GGT - 7 (9-35)
(S) ALP - 46 (54 - 119)

I’m still waiting on the second round of lab results, but since everything is slowing down for the holidays, I won't be able to get those remaining tests done until after New Year's!

Thanks!

brightbear said:The whole point of these permissions is just to uphold the rules. Look, even my OB-GYN hasn't always made the best calls, but hey, there’s always a second opinion out there.

But seriously, this girl asks a question about the most basic, totally normal spotting, and instead of an answer, she gets some horror story involving HPV, cervical cancer, dried-up ovaries caused by birth control 😕( ?? — honestly, I’ve never heard of that, never read it, never seen anyone mention it, let alone find it in any medical literature )
All that exaggeration is just completely unnecessary. Creating massive drama over a little bit of brown discharge—which, by the way, happens to almost everyone when they first start on the pill. For what?? What is the actual goal here? I truly believe we women should be looking out for one another, not scaring each other half to death with baseless info...

Look, like I’ve already told you—and I really don't see the point in repeating myself here—I don't owe you any explanations!
Look, is it really that out of line for me to call you out on spreading baseless rumors? Because—and please, just walk through my logic here—what exactly would my motivation be to claim I’m making things up? What possible reason could I have to suggest I’m spinning some wild tale just because a girl is dealing with brown discharge? Do you honestly think my goal here is to go out and scare some woman I haven't even met in my entire life? I genuinely don't follow your train of thought at all. Seriously, what am I supposed to be trying to achieve here? What kind of endgame could I possibly have?
I wanted to explain why I went about things the way I did—and honestly, maybe I shouldn’t have gone into such exhaustive detail regarding how unprofessional that gynecologist was, or all the heavy stuff about cancer and HPV. But I ended up writing a whole manifesto because, let’s face it, experiences like that tend to stick with you for a lifetime. You can't truly grasp what it feels like when a doctor looks you straight in the eye and tells you that you have cancer—especially when you're young, terrified, and just trying to process it all. And just to be crystal clear: this isn't about brown discharge or birth control pills. This is entirely about a physician's lack of professionalism. Anyone reading this should be able to see that my issue lies with the doctor's conduct, not with some supposed link between oral contraceptives, cancer, or HPV. My only real intention here was to draw attention to the fact that being vocal matters. It doesn't cost much, and it certainly doesn't take a lot of time, but speaking up can mean everything. Every body is different—truly—and not everyone reacts to hormonal pills the same way. Some people might have wonderful experiences with them, but, well... clearly, I am not one of those people.
Look, there’s really no need for us to get defensive or end up in a shouting match over this! Honestly—and I say this with all due respect to everyone involved—getting worked up and picking fights just isn't productive. We can disagree without making it personal, right? Let's just keep things civil.

brightbear said:Honestly, your logic is full of holes...
And you didn't even mention which brand of birth control you were on. You're ready to pin everything on the doctor, but conveniently ignoring the fact that you made a conscious choice to mess with your own health and gamble with your body... like that doesn't count for anything.🙄

Now you're out here scaring some girl who's having the most standard, textbook reaction to her first dose of hormones...
Give me a break...

I’m truly sorry—it certainly wasn't my intention to frighten anyone; I was simply sharing my own experience, as raw as it was. While I don't feel the need to sit here and justify myself to anyone, I can say this with total sincerity: may you never, ever have to endure what I’ve been through.
I honestly have no idea how you reached the conclusion that my story is full of holes—though I suppose it’s probably because I neglected to mention the whole ordeal with my previous doctor. He basically looked at a bad Pap smear caused by a simple bacterial infection and jumped straight to a cancer diagnosis, especially since my period was late too! And get this—he didn't even try to actually treat me. He just let things linger, which could have made everything so much worse. Once I finally switched doctors, the new guy prescribed some vaginal suppositories, and everything cleared up in a week. Just a little insight into "professionalism" for you—this man kept me convinced I had cancer and HPV for six straight months!
I just finished off a glass of Diet Coke—honestly, I’m not even sure why I bother with the "diet" part anymore, but here we are.
Oh, my dear, honestly—if I hadn’t stayed the course with my medication and actually followed my gynecologist's advice, I would have lost my second ovary too. I mean, I'm being completely serious; I wouldn't have had any chance of having children at all.
Honestly, I’m still struggling to wrap my head around it—how exactly was I consciously sabotaging my own body? Even he pointed out that taking a break was probably the smartest move I could have made. If anything, the real damage would have come from constantly running back to him and just completely ignoring all those warning signs!
Anyway—get this—even his own assistant pulled me aside and told me I should probably just go see another doctor altogether!
And yeah, I’m totally blaming him—because he really is responsible for everything I’ve had to endure, all because of his blatant lack of professionalism. Honestly, maybe that says everything you need to know about the guy; apparently, he isn't even allowed to practice at any private clinics in our county anymore, he's strictly relegated to the hospital. I don't know what it's like where you're from, but around here, doctors usually split their time between private practices and the hospital, or they stick solely to one or the other. But him? They've effectively stripped him of those private opportunities—and frankly, I'm not complaining. When I was undergoing various tests and follow-up exams with other physicians—doctors I actually had to seek out just to get them to successfully perform surgery on my other ovary after everything he put me through—they told me straight up that I might have grounds for a lawsuit due to medical malpractice.
And honestly—I just couldn't bring myself to deal with the legal circus. Between the paperwork and the endless back-and-forth in those courtrooms, it felt overwhelming. I decided that my priority had to be elsewhere—specifically, focusing on my own recovery. It was more important to heal than to spend all my energy fighting through the system.
I honestly think that says much more about him than it does about anyone else!
Metric, I’m so sorry—Sam totally schooled you!

And honestly, I find myself feeling quite grateful toward my current gynecologist for everything they've done—really, it’s been such a relief.
At this stage, I'm just holding onto hope that we'll be able to successfully welcome a second little one when the time is right...

Metric, look, I don't know—my OBGYN always told me it was totally normal during the first month while the body adjusts to birth control, but if I were in your shoes, I’d definitely give my doctor a call just to be safe. It’s possible those specific pills just aren't the right fit for your system.

That’s exactly why I’m telling you this—I really think you should hear about what happened to me with hormonal contraceptives:
I was actually pretty skeptical about taking them at first; we had always relied on other methods of protection. But my periods were becoming incredibly heavy and painful—I mean, there were times I actually had to go in for injections just to cope—so my doctor insisted that I HAD to start birth control. He argued that besides preventing pregnancy, it would help regulate my cycle. So, I figured, hey, he's the professional, he probably knows best. During that first month, I started seeing this brown discharge, so I went back to see him. He didn't even bother giving me a physical exam; he just brushed it off, saying it was normal and to keep taking them. The second month, the same thing happened (I was basically living in pantyliners at that point), so I decided to stop taking them on my own. I went to another gynecologist, who told me it was actually a smart move to take a break rather than forcing myself to continue through the next cycle. When I eventually restarted them and experienced the exact same symptoms, I went back to the first doctor, and once again, he claimed everything was fine. Naturally, I took matters into my own hands and stopped again. And then... the fallout happened. My period vanished, only coming once every sixty days. I went back to him, he ran a Pap smear, and called me back a month later to tell me I had cervical cancer!!! And that I had HPV!!! All without any proper testing! I was in total shock—disbelief, tears—I was only 23 years old. To me, it made no sense; I knew for a fact I hadn't been unfaithful, so it had to be him! We fought about it, and he kept insisting he wasn't 100% sure. He eventually sent me over to the Mayo Clinic for HPV testing. That whole ordeal dragged on for six months, and through it all, he didn't offer me a single shred of actual medical guidance. His nurse actually pulled me aside and told me I needed to find a new doctor immediately!! As it turns out, my HPV test came back negative! I took all my records to a different specialist, and get this: No cervical cancer (the second doctor pointed out that if he truly suspected it, he shouldn't have said anything until a biopsy confirmed it), and no HPV. Instead, it turned out the pills he prescribed were far too strong for my body, and they actually caused one of my ovaries to shut down completely—it doesn't work anymore!! He really should have taken just one moment during all those appointments to check if those pills were actually compatible with my biology!
So now, I only menstruate every sixty days, which means I'm ovulating half as often as a healthy woman should. And all of that because of one incompetent doctor!
Fast forward to today—my husband is now my partner, and when we decided we wanted to have a child, it took a full year of hormone treatments, monthly ultrasounds to track ovulation, and a mountain of other tests just to conceive. I had to be incredibly careful not to even catch a cold or something similar, because I was terrified of losing the function of my one remaining healthy ovary entirely!
Thankfully, we have a very happy one-year-old running around today!!!
That’s why I’m telling you: it is so much better to double-check and prevent a disaster than to spend the rest of your life dealing with the consequences!