Blood Cell Crowding :

Never have I seen blood cells platlets reaching out to each other and so crowded.

Could this be acute phase eventually crowding out healthy cells.

Do I have to look out for enlarged lymph nodes.

[AussieNeil Partner Administrator]

How blood cells appear in a microscope depends on many factors; how much fluid you've drunk beforehand, the preparation technique, the ambient temperature, how thick the smear is, how long the slide has been exposed to the air and so on.

Standard blood cells report the different cell types by blood volume and you should check those rather than trying to determine blood cell density via an optical microscope.

Do you have a diagnosis of CLL?

Neil

[Hidden in reply to AussieNeil]

Hi AussieNeil thanks for reply.

Your right about slide prep ... but think pain in legs backs up cell crowding issues.

As do I have CLL jury is still out on that as am undergoing test but it could be any number of Leukemia AML being just one or even doxycycline induced Pancytopenia.

What I have discovered is a lot misdiagnosed for reasons similar to what I am saying talking about that a simple antibiotic Doxycycline could be masking.

But I guess your right .... Surpose people just wake up with Leukemia not that they have hard slog getting there or even DX when other issues factors are taken or not taken into account

[lankisterguy Volunteer in reply to Hidden]

Dear JeffAjaxSmith,

Do you have a Hematologist/Oncologist involved in the diagnostic effort? Are blood tests like Flow Cytometry being run? That is the best way to sort out which blood condition is present. Wikipedia has a long list of possible causes of Pancytopenia, see: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pancy...

While leg pain (both muscle cramps and joint pain) are often credibly reported by CLL patients, the doctors have rarely found a proven cause (cytokine release is the most likely suspect). Blood crowding and clumping are sometimes found in other Leukemias but not in CLL, even with 100X normal Absolute Lymphocyte Counts, since our abnormal Lymphs are small and don't clump.

I hope you have found a good Hem/Onc to help you sort this out.

Good luck,

Len

[sallylou]

My last blood test, a few weeks ago, said I had aggregation of platelets. I just had a tooth pulled, I don't know if it had anything to do with that. But my doctor said come back in six months, so I guess all is ok.

[MsLockYourPosts Passed Volunteer]

Be very careful about trying to self diagnose! You need a specialist who is familiar with blood cancers to evaluate your situation, as treatment for an acute form usually requires immediate treatment, while treatment for the usually less aggressive forms is often put off until symptoms warrant it. Push for answers from your doctors. Any good medical professional knows that it is dangerous to try to be your own doctor, though it does sometimes give you an advantage when trying to follow conversations about your case.