Hi there, I'm 23 years old and was recently diagnosed with ET. My platelet count was 1.6 Million. Being a very active and healthy individual, this has been very shocking to me. Doctors prescribed me 1000mg of hydrea and baby aspirin. My biggest fear is side effects from the drug, and I would love to hear if there are any younger people who have experienced anything.
Ironically, I've had no symptoms of this disorder at all, and found out during a routine check-up for stomach aches; I literally found out 5 hours ago.....
For those of you who have been diagnosed with ET at a young age, there is a considerable amount of hope. My father (in law) and M.D. has been doing some extensive research and evidently, because ET is a genetic disorder, we are about 2-4 years off from having appropriate gene therapy treatment that specifically targets ET (without all of the unpleasant side-effects I've been reading about).
It has been wonderful to find this forum, thank you all for providing me with the feeling of support and re-assurance.