neutrophils

[johnl]

at what point should low neutrophils effect your lifestyle? diet? avoiding crowds? etc. Mine just came in at 1100 I'm wondering what I should change.

john

[newyork8]

I believe under 1000 perhaps.

[DaveCll]

I think it has to do with your overall health. Mine has been under 1.00 for a while but feel fine. Of course I always take precautions like washing my hands often and avoid sick people.

Best

[W00dfin]

Even though you may feel conspicuous, wearing a surgical mask in public places is an option especially during cold flu season. You may want to consult your medical professional on dietary restrictions regarding raw fruits and vegetables if your counts drop further.

[lexie]

Those pesky neutrophils! When first diagnosed my neutrophils were 500 on your scale. I was scheduled for some surgery where the neutrophils should be in a better range of 1000 so the night before surgery I had blood drawn for a manual count and also a sample sent to lab. Manual count said fine for surgery. The next day after surgery I got the lab count results from night before and I was 500!! So wasn't fine for surgery. There can be discrepancies with neutrophils. I brought this up to my new CLL specialist a month later and after a BMB he said I have plenty of neutrophils being made in the bine marrow, just not showing in the blood, but they are there.

Later I read that if you exercise just prior to blood draw the neutrophils are pushed out of the marrow into the bloodstream and can give a temporary higher count.

Despite knowing I have adequate neutrophils I am careful with raw stuff, wash vegetables in vinegar water, avoid sick people, meticulous about clean hands, carry masks and sanitizer. I avoid being in confined spaces with others, like carpooling, because when I do catch something it hangs on so much longer than before I had CLL. I think you are asking the right questions.

[johnl in reply to lexie]

Lexie,

what sort of vinegar mix do you use to wash vegetables like bag salad?

john

[lexie in reply to johnl]

This is probably overkill, but 1/4 cup white vinegar to gallon water. Then after swishing the vegetables in, drain and rinse with plain water. A salad spinner removes excess water from bagged salad mixes, or a colander if you have the luxury of time.

[W00dfin in reply to lexie]

We keep a spray bottle with a vinegar and soda mixture to spray on fruit like apples. Let it sit for a few minutes then rinse.

[bhayes84 in reply to lexie]

I seem to recall reading that the simple small paper masks aren't very effective because a lot of air is drawn in around the edges. I assume that's not the case for the type of surgical mask that surgeons wear.

[johnl]

Thanks everybody for your input

john

[AussieNeil Partner Administrator]

Dr Susan Leclair recommends adopting a neutropenic lifestyle when your neutrophil count falls below 1.0: healthunlocked.com/cllsuppo...

it's also the health our neutrophil count that determines whether it is safe to eat certain foods. With a count below 1.0, we need to watch carefully what we eat: healthunlocked.com/cllsuppo...

healthunlocked.com/cllsuppo...