Hello. I’m a 78 year old female in the U.S. who has been in W&W since 2017 when I was diagnosed with CLL. At my bi-annual checkup with my hematologist on August 21, for the first time she voiced some concern as my WBC had gone from 25.1 (in February) to 45.8. We set up a follow-up bloodwork and appointment for mid October to recheck with the possibility of a discussion about treatment if the WBC numbers continue upward. My question has to do with what possible light some recent surgery may have had on my WBC jumping around. Back on July 3 I was diagnosed by ultrasound with an abdominal cyst at the ER where my WBC on that day was 24.9, just a month and a half before my 45.8 WBC at my hematology checkup. Fast forward to the lab work associated with my surgery on August 29. The surgery was a bit more complex than expected as the cyst had grown very large, impinging on my kidneys, pancreas and stomach. Here are the WBC numbers starting with pre-admissions testing through date of discharge: day before surgery: 31.8; day of surgery just prior to the surgery 26.6; WBC for 3 additional days at hospital 40.2; 36.9; 46.0.
I’m wondering if anyone has experienced a similar jumping around of WBC due to surgery and hospitalization. I’m getting a bit nervous about what my October bloodwork will show with my hematologist, and I guess looking for some hope that things other than CLL might have caused a jump from my “usual” WBC of 25. Many thanks for any thoughts.
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Myfavoritecat
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I did. I had prostate surgery and a bladder cyst removed the same month I was diagnosed with CLL. My WBC (15.03 k/ul) and ALC (5.68 k/ul) both were elevated and I met the CLL criteria. Three months later my WBC (8.38 k/ul) and ALC (2.61 k/ul) dropped to within normal range and my diagnosis was changed to SLL. I never had an infection identified, but I certainly had inflammation and bleeding.Bigfoot
Your WBC increase could well be mostly due to a temporary increase in your neutrophil count, not lymphocytes (CLL) . Hopefully it's just the impact on your health from what you've been through and your WBC will settle down. It's not uncommon for this to happen, even in people not going through surgery, as is shown in these plots.
Some of our members still in watch and wait have ALC/WBC counts well over 200.
Neil
Natural lymphocyte growth patterns in CLL can stabilise or even reverse
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thank you. I tried to add 3 different images, but only one got attached, so I decided to just wait until I see my hematologist to try to figure things out. I appreciate your help.
Myfavoritecat, my doctor attributed mine recent rise due to dental work. No worries, since I still feel well. We'll check it out at my next 3 month checkup. I'm 75, W&W 5years, WBC back then was 54,000 in 2020. Recently at a 3 month interval, went from 164.7 in May 2024 to 180.2. In August 2024😊Sandra
When I had my gallbladder out 2 years ago my WBC jumped from 30 to 56 which I think was due to surgery related infection. They had me on daily antibiotic drip while I was in the hospital. This was only temporary. It was back down to 30 about 2 weeks later. Since then it has actually dropped down to 19.
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WBC and Lymphocytes are increasing 
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