low white blood count

[poodlegal]

dr rang this morning to say wbc 1.8 always been low but not that low,in past 3 weeks its gone from 1.98 to 2.84 to 1.8 they now say stop mmf till weds then futher blood test anyone else have such a low count? dr said stay away from snotty children,i wrk in care and there is a bug going round at some of the other buildings and my nephews school,had some good news yesterday after 17 mth i came off steriods from 40 mg to 1mg feels like a slap in my face

[Shann07]

Hi i also have a low wbc cant remember what reading is exactly but it has dropped drastically in the last 3 wks. I was feeling rubbish and GP phoned to advise heamoglobin & wbc very low, so put on iron too. GP says my wbc always low but has suddenly dropped? Im with Rheummy next week, so see what he advises. Im also fighting a chronic toe infection so maybe this has something to do with it? Is very comforting we all suffer similiar probs, take care x.

[poodlegal]

thanx sophieh,your toe infection sounds nasty!! hope you get better soon xx

[Chablis]

Hi

I have have been diagnosed with autoimmune neutropenia which results in low WBC, neutrophils and haemoglobin ( but not sure if his one is related) My treatment was to increase steroids (injection) and increase the methotrexate and whilst we had an anxious wait, after 3months there is some improvement. Rheumatologists and not GP's tend to set your baseline readings lower than a normal person, so try not to panic.

Good luck, hope that you feel better soon

M

[poodlegal]

thank u chablis,there has been talk going back on steriods,will wait and see,hope your blood counts keep topped up xx

[heatherp]

Hi - I also suffer continually from low white cells and in particular low lymphocytes. I've had to come off MTX and leflunomide as my counts were too low (have a crossover between SLE and RA)....the only time they have been in normal ranges has been when on steroids! At the moment the consultant is trying to see if it is lupus causing the low counts, so had a steroid infusion a couple of weeks ago - hoping this has increased all counts, but will see after blood test tomorrow! If they have she is suggesting rituximab, so hoping the results have improved!

[poodlegal]

hi heatherp,steriods do that to me 2!! i see on thursday if my counts have gone up,hope yours have 2 im going mad with hand gel!!! xx

[heatherp]

well yippee got the news that for probably the first time ever pretty much all blood counts are within normal range, two weeks after steroid infusion! all white cells and lymphocytes the best they have ever been! good luck for yours...

[poodlegal]

pleased for u hun,had my blood taken today,hopefully find out in the morning xx with steriod infusion do u get the dreaded side affects? moon face etc? xx

[heatherp]

actually I was worried about things like that, but didn't put on any weight (in fact lost a bit in the days just after, but back to normal now) and don't think I have the moon face! Was actually great as I have an overlap with RA, and took away all joint pain completely for a week or so (foot pain is back now unfortunately!)! Also didn't have any issue with insomnia or any of the dreaded side effects...the only thing I noticed was a metallic taste in mouth (but took some boiled sweets to suck on for second infusion). Got really thirsty, so took a bottle of water...I suffered a bit of water retention for a day or two afterwards, but that soon resolved...

[poodlegal]

hi all,blood count gone up a little but still low so have to stay off all meds again to further testing on monday,keeping my fingers crossed lupus keeps a low profile and doesnt notice im not taking any tablets!!!