What Might You try Next ? Suggestions ?

Hello. I have a Hematologist appt. tomorrow, and i would like to go to it "armed" if at all possible. I am out of ideas. Originally Diagnosed in 1999, remission from 1999 - Dec 2011. In 1999, took Pred (didnt work) then Danazol + Natural stuff from a Naturopath.
Since Dec, i have been getting Ivig (80g x 2 Days). That gets me from a count of 2-4 to about 200, but its short lived, it only lasts for 2 - 2 & 1/2 weeks if im lucky. The side effects of Ivig are awful, and when i crash, its fast, and I can barely wake up in the (late) morning.
With the Ivig, ive tried Danazol - almost 7 weeks now, and its not working. Dexamethasone 4 day x 40mg - I think it made it worse (did nothing).
Had a H Pylori breath test, havent "oficially" been given results, but secretary said negative (im not sure if there is a "grey area" in the test or not).
What would any of you try as a "safer" next step?
Oh, I am keeping my spleen - its clearly doing what its supposed to do, just may be a little confused with platelets.

Rituxan would be a next step to consider.

Had you taken any medicines like Omeprazole, Prilosec, etc before your breath test? They can cause a false negative. I got the blood test for H Pylori back in November and didn't know until I looked it up myself that the IVIg could have caused a false positive. Based on my stomach symptoms before irradiation and lack of symptoms since irradiation, I think it was a true positive. The breath test would likely have been a false negative because I was on Omeprazole to prevent the Prednisone from causing ulcers.

Has anything happened in your life that you feel pushed you out of remission? I sometimes wonder if there is a connection. Too much stress or something else. Having a 12-year remission is a long time.

Sandi, thanks for the suggestion.
Dave, Took Dexamethasone prior, did suffer a lot of heartburn, but did not take anything, other than Danazol, and Dexamethasone.
DeeDeeMarie, Yes, i think stress was a huge factor, however, i have been off work since just before christmas - i kind of feel less stress, however this time around, my ITP is pretty sggressive (im sure other people have it worse... but...) and i have no idea what to do about it.
I want to go back to work, and i want my life back, and i am not a fan of side effects - obviously i dont want to die, or do more damage with "new" drugs, i mean, you turn on the t.v., and almost always see a commercial to sue a drug company because "you, or a loved one suffer...."
I have almost decided to give Revolade a try, if i can maintain a count around 50 (or heck as long as i can stay over 10) while also pursuing Natural methods, and a complete diet change ( saw an infomercial today for the Chef Dini i kinda want it (and, it would be the first time i ever fell for one of those infomercials...))Hopefully something, or my body will knock itself back into remission.
Getting Ivig every 2- 2 1/2 weeks sucks. Revolade may suck too, but was told it has a higher success rate than Rituxin, (around 70%) hopefully i will be one of the 70. Only thing is... its flippin expensive !!! I live in Canada (southern Ontario) am told its about $4000 a month.

Heysuess, won't our Medicare cover it? I didn't have to pay a thing when I got my Rituxan.
Good luck.

and almost always see a commercial to sue a drug company because "you, or a loved one suffer...."

Not to diminish the seriousness of it all, but those adverts are nearly always put out by lawyer/solicitor firms...aka; 'ambulance chasers'. Their 'business' is suing drug companies.

Yes, Revolade/Promacta is expensive; $4,000-$9,000 a month, depending on the dosage and where you are. It has decreased in price over the past two years though.
Promacta has worked very well for me. Least side effects of anything I've used over the years.

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Revolade at 70% success rate is really good. My platelets are up right now, but I could live with platelets between 20-30 (with no treatment). But, when mine crash, they go below 5 and I do start to worry. But, I feel like you; it seems like after a long remission for some reason, it's hard to get our platelets back up. It' hard to understand what's going on with our bodies.

I do try to watch what I eat to a certain extent and I don't drink or smoke. I also stay away from artificial sweetners. This is always a good start.