Does Aspirin Help with Erythromelalgia?
Does Aspirin Help with EM? The short answer is that is can, but that if it does, it may be a double edged sword. Let me explain- If aspirin does in fact improve your EM, you will notice. A small amount of people with experience a dramatic improvement in debilitating erythromelalgia symptoms with only a small dose of aspirin. If aspirin is helpful, it can feel like a godsend given drug trials for EM can feel like a total crapshoot. And yet, there is something vital you need to know if aspirin is a cool firehose to your EM inflamed feet…
If you have EM- relived by aspirin or not- you should have some specific bloodwork done yearly. This blood test you need is called a complete blood count with differential and is often referred to in doctors’ slang as a “CBC with diff”. Why do you need this test yearly? Because a small amount of people diagnosed with erythromelalgia will later be diagnosed with myeloproliferative disease (AKA- blood cancer). This totally freaked me out when I initially learned about the possibility. If EM wasn’t challenging enough, you now had cancer hanging over my head? Here’s the deal- It’s unlikely you will develop blood cancer, but if you do, this bloodwork can catch blood cells growing abnormally early in the game which is ideal in albeit a shitty situation. I get my yearly complete blood count with differential just to keep myself safe. In time, and after many normal CBCs under my belt, fear has receded into the background. Ok, so back to how this correlates with aspirin.
If aspirin has been helpful for your EM, you should be especially diligent about having your primary care provider or another medical provider draw a CBC with diff each year. Those that have EM success with aspirin are more likely to later develop blood cancer. The doc that does your bloodwork doesn’t need to know everything about EM to be helpful, but they should be willing to order this yearly CBC with diff to rule out myeloproliferative disease. In addition, you should lay eyes on the results. If anything looks outside of normal limits- meaning it is running high or low- push your medical provider for answers. Gently remind this (hopefully) kind soul that EM makes you more likely to develop myeloproliferative disease. And if you are diagnosed with myeloproliferative disease, don’t despair. Of course this double whammy feels defeating, but there is much that can be done to support your body!
If- on the other hand- you give aspirin a go for a few weeks, and you don’t note any improvement, nix the aspirin. Why waste money or put a pharmaceutical in your body that carries risks if you aren’t seeing a benefit?
You can read more about my journey as a medical provider hellbent on healing her own erythromelalgia here.
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