Hello everyone,
am wondering if anyone experienced a spike in RBC WBC and Platelets after taking the vaccine? as my husband who has PV and has taken the first Pfizer shot is presently experiencing high blood counts (RBC 8.24 and WBC 24,200 and PLT 491 and HCT 45) and his BP has also shot up to 170/88.
Seeing these numbers the doc wishes to start him on hydroxyurea daily. He is 54 and his present regime is phlebotomy and daily aspirin.
Thanks in advance for your response.
Hello, I had been thinking about asking this exact same question. I was diagnoses with ET Jak 2+ 3 years ago, my blood counts were relatively stable since that time. I got the Pfizer vaccine in Feb, both doses with not problems. In the middle of March I had my regular blood tests and my blood counts were all elevated. My Hgb went up to 16.5, my Hct up to 53%, my platelets up to 566. So we repeated the tests 2 weeks later and my Hgb was up to 17.1, my Hct was up to 56% and platelets up to 630. WBC up from 8.4 to 9.4. Something obviously changed and is changing fast it appears to me. We also checked my allele burden and three years ago it was 27% and last week it was 50%, seems like a rapid rise to me. I believe that I am now on a fast track to MF or worse. My BP has also elevated. I have also had immature granulocytes in peripheral blood which I never had before, it is not normal to have them in peripheral blood. My doc says I now have PV, he says that happens in about 15% of ET patients.So I wonder if this has anything to do with the vaccine or if this is just a progression of the disease.
My understanding today is that Interferons are the only drugs that can lower the allele burden, slow progression, and reverse bone marrow fibrosis. Unfortunately, I live in the US where drug plans dictate what medicine you can have and since HU is so cheap I will likely be on it after seeing my doc next week. It is a known carcinogen and mutagen and can cause many problems including secondary cancers. If everyone would fight to get Interferons maybe something would change. At the 2020 ASH meeting this past December several studies were presented which recommended that Interferons become the first line treatment for ET and PV. Interferons don't work for everyone but they do for a very significant number. There are also a lot of people who cannot tolerate them but it seems to me that they are worth a try. Sorry to go off topic.
This is just my opinion, this is not advice. Talk to your doc to see what is the best treatment for you.
Best of luck to you always, maybe we will see if any others have had significant changes since getting the vaccine, I hope not.
