What blood counts can I expect with CLL?

[john133]

My Thanks to all for your advice about exercising, I do get tired but always feel better having done a work out so that can't be bad. Can anybody tell me what are the healthy counts for:

Hb Mine is 10.6

WBC 39.1

Plts 167

Neuts 3.1

Is this good or bad???

[Cllcanada Top Poster CURE Hero]

You don't give units.... you might want to bookmark this page. Blood counts are about half way down... as you see ranges vary somewhat.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refer...

[AussieNeil Administrator]

Hi John,

We established via a PM, that your platelets are 167, rather than 16.7. You are slightly anaemic, so you should check with your doctor about what you can do to improve your haemoglobin (Hb) result. You should find you'll be less tired after exercising when you get that back into the normal range. Your other counts are good for someone with CLL. Yes your WBC is higher than normal, but that's to be expected for someone living with CLL.

The Wikipedia reference Chris provided you is excellent, though rather overwhelming until you get more familiar with this very involved topic - that's why we have Haematologists!!

Here are some previous posts that you'll find will help you gradually increase your understanding of the different blood counts and what they mean:

Lab Tests...what are they, how are they done, what do they mean?

healthunlocked.com/cllsuppo...

How high can your WBC go and does it matter

healthunlocked.com/cllsuppo...

There's a great deal to take in so expect it to take several readings. If you get to understand the basics of the different blood cell types (Red, white blood cells and platelets) and what they do, you are doing well, and very well if you can appreciate the importance of the two main white blood cells, neutrophils and lymphocytes.

Neil

PS, I've changed your title to better reflect your question and added it to the "Living with CLL/SLL" categorised. Also, if you specifically want replies to your question, then use "Ask a question" rather than "Create a post".

[Cllcanada Top Poster CURE Hero]

As I say a hundred times a month...track your absolute lymphocyte count (ALC) over time, like 6 months to a year.

white blood cell count (WBC) is not a very accurate count in CLL, because of the high percentage of neutrophils...

Look for TRENDING in the absolute lymphocyte count (ALC) , when it doubles in under 6 months, then a pretreatment discussion should be started...

~chris

[lankisterguy Volunteer]

Although the web site is no longer actively updated, CLL Topics has a great primer for new patients clltopics.org/Primer.htm

and after reading that, look for a link at the upper right side that says " Your Charts" follow that link to clltopics.org/datafiles/Rec...

and that will provide a Excel spread sheet for tracking and graphing your results over time.

If you have problems getting the graphs to display correctly I may be able to help fix the date scale on the graphs for you.

Len

[HAIRBEAR_UK Founder Admin]

Hi John have just posted these in another thread but you may find them helpful

Understanding Your CLL Blood Tests: Immunoglobulin, Complete Blood counts, platelets and more.

youtube.com/watch?v=bfcYedv...(Not working as expected?)

Strategies for Understanding Your CLL Blood Tests and Engaging with Your Physician

youtube.com/watch?v=jQvPHWX...(Not working as expected?)

Blood Tests 101: Understanding the Acronyms

youtube.com/watch?v=TV-pYAN...(Not working as expected?)

Dr. Susan Leclair Explains Lymphocyte Doubling Time

youtube.com/watch?v=xQ5_bVv...(Not working as expected?)

[Hidden]

Hi Len

I use an excel chart to keep a record of my readings and I find it most helpful. It also has what normal readings should vary between. I find different places/sites do vary but not significantly.

After checking I see the chart you have the link to, is the very one I use, so as it's likely you have posted it before and most probably how I found it, thank you. I always have the hospital's test print out, and updating the chart from them makes me feel I am monitoring myself, although of course what I do is having no effect at this stage, but gives me opportunity to discuss any readings that concern me.

That and a glossary of CLL terms has helped me understand so much more than I did at first. I was a bit taken aback at dx. so only have my ALC as a starting point, but for me that was the important one.

Now to get to grips with all the technical goings on.

Bub