Should Hydrea lower my WBC’s?

[Wewo01]

I have ET JAK2+ on Hydrea. My platelets have lowered but not WBC’s.

[hunter5582]

Hydrea can lower all blood cell levels, but does not always do so. Leukopenia is one of the potential adverse effects, but clearly it does not always happen. Hydrea does affect all hematopoiesis, so continued monitoring is important. The good news is that if the med is reducing thrombocytosis without causing problems with erythrocytes or leukocytes then it is doing what it is intended to do without unwanted effects. Hope you continue to have a favorable response.

[Wewo01 in reply to hunter5582]

Thanks, Hunter!

[Solyesh]

I have been on Hydrea now for about two months with monitoring about every two weeks. My initial platelet level was 1.400 and I was also had leukocytosis with my WBC at 14.6 (and steady between 13 and 14 in most recent tests prior to Hydrea). The Hydrea brought my platelets down to around 700 (so we are still working on that) and my WBC is in the normal range for the first time in years (at 10.8)..will monitor to make sure it doesn't continue to drop...

[Wewo01 in reply to Solyesh]

Thanks for your reply, Solyesh. My WBC stay between 13 and 14.9 and have not budged on Hydrea…I guess we all react differently.

[Solyesh in reply to Wewo01]

Definitely - we all react differently. How long have you been on Hydrea. My platelets dropped before the move in WBC and since it's been only one reading with the WBC in range we'll have to see moving forward....

[Wewo01]

I have been on Hydrea for 7 months. My hematocrit keeps hanging around 46.5-47. Hemoglobin this last time was down from 16 to 14.

[hunter5582]

Interesting. Note that the reference range for HCT for a female is listed differently by some labs.

My lab shows it to be 34.1-44.9%. Similar to what the Mayo Clinic lists

mayoclinic.org/tests-proced...

The Red Cross lists HCT reference range for women as 36-48%.

Am wondering which reference range your lab uses and what your doc has said about HCT. You are wisely tracking your CBCs and asking really good questions about your status. It might be worth getting an interpretation of your currant status from the MPN Specialist. No big emergency here, but certainly worth checking out.

[Wewo01 in reply to hunter5582]

Thanks, Hunter. I am firing my current provider and going to Ochsner in New Orleans. I see a Hem/Onc dr there in a month!

[hunter5582]

Glad to hear that you are advocating for yourself. Not saying this is the case for you, but my old hematologist had me misdiagnosed as ET when I had actually clearly progressed to PV. I was not treated properly for 5 years. That is part of why I became so invested in learning more so I could manage my MPN more effectively. My old hematologist fired himself saying "Your health is more important than my ego." He helped to arrange me getting to a colleague with greater expertise.

All the best my friend.

[Nynana]

Mine did, it dropped from 37 to 27.9 after 2 months on Hydrea. I am not sure why it happens for some but not everyone. But nothing surprises me as it seems each person here has a slightly different version of MPN.

[Garstongal]

When I queried the fact that my white cells were not affected by the Hydroxy but platelets were and asked why, I was told it was because every type of blood cell has a different length of life span which is why some are not/appear not to be affected.