Blood counts very poor, soon to start BR, and unsure whether to have jabs? (See later post)

[Ruhi9]

Hi everyone,

Thanks for all your responses to my post 3 weeks ago. The blood test results on 10th December were confusing to say the least - WBC had increased from 81.6 to 123.5 since the previous tests at the end of November, while neutrophils, HB and platelets were all improved.

My consultant was pushing me to start chemotherapy on 15th Dec, but I felt incredibly well (and still do), and held out the hope that perhaps the complementary therapies and supplements I’ve been having were doing the trick - after all, miracles do sometimes happen!

Admin: Ruhi9 subsequently advised this post was incomplete. See the full repost here:

healthunlocked.com/cllsuppo...

[Cllcanada Top Poster CURE Hero]

That's a fairly rapid increase, but the fact your neutrophils are up, might account for some of the rise.

Track your absolute lymphocyte count (ALC), it is a much better indicator of CLL progression...

But counts are just part of the treatment decision, how you are feeling plays a role. If you are uncertain about treatment get a second opinion...

With regard to vaccinations, not likely will offer much protection... may stress the immune system...

~chris

[AussieNeil Partner Administrator]

Hi Ruhi9,

Given your blood test results are being propped up by transfusions and Dr Claire Dearden is your CLL consultant, then it does seem that treatment will soon be upon you. My completely unqualified medical opinion would be that you'd get little to no benefit from any vaccinations now, as it takes several weeks for the humoral immunity response to occur. If you are going to start treatment that will wipe out the B-cells involved in that response making antibodies, why bother? if you are concerned about lack of immunity that can be mitigated by specific vaccinations, then I'd recommend discussing this with your consultant as to whether having vaccinations is worth while now and if so, now long you should wait before starting treatment.

Neil

[Cllcanada Top Poster CURE Hero in reply to AussieNeil]

I just read your previous post... and I agree with Neil's comments...

[Ruhi9]

Thank you so much for your prompt replies.

For some reason half my message was missing when I posted it, and then my internet connection was lost. I’ve rewritten and re-posted it now, so it should make more sense.

Ruhi9