Coronavirus antibodies

[anapurna]

Can people with CLL develop antibodies to Coronavirus?

[Justasheet1]

Ana,

Probably to a lesser extent but you have to be infected to know.

This is not something you need to find out.

Stay inside and wash your hands. Wipe everything down and never touch your face until you have washed your hands.

Sorry to say something that you already know but habits are tough to start.

Jeff

[anapurna in reply to Justasheet1]

Thanks Jeff

Just wanted to know if the government’s mythical antibody tests would be of any use to me!

[PlanetaryKim in reply to anapurna]

I have been wondering same thing, anapurna. will the antibody test, when it comes, be useful for CLL people? is suspect we will have less of an antibody response - meaning less antibodies produced, and for shorter length of time. so if we are tested for antibodies a year after we had it, we may no longer show antibodies. but if we are tested 3 months after we had it, we may show antibodies. that's just my theory.

[anapurna in reply to PlanetaryKim]

I guess that a vaccine will be more useful in the long run - so long as it’s not a live one!

[PlanetaryKim in reply to anapurna]

I think vaccine will have same limitations for us. I think a vaccine is of reduced effectiveness on immune-compromised people. But still some effectiveness. Stay safe!

[Traudel in reply to PlanetaryKim]

Good Morning Kim,

How are you on your new path?

Hhappy to have switch away from Ibrutinib?

Are you side showing (AFIB) much better now?

How are you dealing with our Corona Virus Impact.

I had December a year ago twice Pneumonia with fewer

and an uncontrollable cough which was affecting my life extremely

during recovering time till December 2019

Still feel, I at that time had already Coronovirus

Had to be at Mayo clinic in Phoenix in January and February last year where they discovered my IgG level was only 2.1 and the did not see another choice then giving me the infusion.

Fortunately upon my return they accepted in Vancouver to continue and

starting in December with Ibrutinib, with 30 years of wait and see.

Would you hav an opinion, if this could impact my vulnerability the corona virus

in a different way?

Of course we are all concerned and doing our best to isolate any way we can.

Love to hear from you,

Stay Strong,

Traudel

[PlanetaryKim in reply to Traudel]

Hi Traudel Good to hear from you!

I am doing pretty well at the moment in Nanaimo. Just had lab tests earlier today and I will be very curious to see those results. I am hoping that the venetoclax has not taken my neutrophils or RBCs or platelets any lower than they were a month ago. But I will know this evening!

I am feeling pretty good. Had low fever, and dry cough and shortness of breath for 3 full weeks in March. That seems to have passed. No idea what it was.

Ibrutinib (or venetoclax) could help us in some ways and hurt us in others, with regard to coronavirus. If we were severely immune-compromised before treatment, due to CLL progression, then the treatments could help us by turning that around and actually raising our neutrophils and our health in general. But of course both of these treatments explicitly suppress lymphocytes - which includes useful cells in our immune system as well as CLL cells. So I feel I have a somewhat suppressed immune system due to the venetoclax itself. And I think ibrutinib would be the same. But I know for a fact I would be in worse shape without any treatment right now. So it's a difficult position we are in.

My afib seems to have disappeared since stopping the ibrutinib March 4th. So that's good! Venetoclax has not been a problem in terms of any day to day side effects I am aware of.

Good luck to you Traudel!

[Teddo in reply to PlanetaryKim]

Kim-

Just now read your post. I know you are a very knowledgeable person, and don't want to offend you by asking, but is it possible you had covid 19 in March? Fever, dry cough and SOB are classic sxs. If I were you I'd want to know if at all possible. All the best to you.

[PlanetaryKim in reply to Teddo]

Hi Teddo. I certainly thought that's what I may have had! And I would sure like to think I had it and now have some (half-hearted) antibodies. But no doctor would allow me to be tested at the time. So now I am waiting for the antibody test to become available... and maybe I will then find out one way or the other whether I had it. In the meantime though I must assume I am still susceptible and use all the protection protocol. All the best to you too! Stay safe!

[Teddo in reply to PlanetaryKim]

I do hope you will be able to find out, for your benefit and all us CLL'ers who are classified as high risk and are highly anxious. It would be such welcome and hopeful news to know your body fought it off, and with what seems like relatively mild sx's. Forgive me if you actually were a lot sicker than what you stated. If it was covid-19, halellulia

for you! Just thinking, if you have a CLL specialist I would think he/she would very much want to know ,too, since there seems to be so little info out there abt CLL and covid 19

[PlanetaryKim in reply to Teddo]

My CLL specialist was one who insisted I did not qualify to be tested... even though these symptoms I had are listed everywhere as the trademark symptoms... and I kept pointing that out, and I had been back and forth to vancouver multiple times just before I got sick, for my venetoclax ramp-up. Vancouver was having covid cases then. and no, i wasn't really sicker - just fever, dry cough, shortness of breath... and tired.

i agree it would be awesome for all of us to know if it is possible for a CLLer to actually have a mild case of covid-19. That would be so uplifting for all of us to know. No one seems to want to test me.

[Teddo in reply to PlanetaryKim]

One final thought. I wonder if reaching out to Brian Koffman of CLL Society might help. Perhaps he'd have some pull in getting you tested. As we have been saying there is a universe of us who could benefit from knowing of your experience re Covid-19 ( potentially) and CLL.

[PlanetaryKim in reply to Teddo]

I am in Canada, and I think scope of Brian and CLL Society may be limited to US.

[cajunjeff]

I am almost sure the answer to this would be a qualified yes. Those of us in early stage cll with mostly intact immune systms will crank out enough antibodies to do the job whilst* those with more impaired immune systems may struggle to make enough antibodies in time to win the race against covid.

* I used "whilst" instead of "while" so our UK friends could understand my response.

[Peggy4 in reply to cajunjeff]

🤣🤣

[seelel in reply to cajunjeff]

You made my day with your use of 'whilst'.

Recently I thought that civilisation may be collapsing, but even though the health and economy of nations may be tanking, the thread of culture persists.............

[Shepherd777 in reply to cajunjeff]

As one who reads the King James Bible I had no problem in /America understanding "whilst" and rather enjoyed it. :>)

[virdieblue in reply to Shepherd777]

Or British novels-