Low white blood count

[Carolsos]

I have reposted this as put it on the wrong forum My doctor rang me up to say I have a low blood count so I said shall I just come in for another blood test. But no they are sending a letter to the rumey department to ask what to do next which could take like forever. I asked can I take mtx and they said am waiting to hear back from remey consultant! I am due to take mtx tomorrow and don't know if I should take it now. A low white blood count Thanks guys

[bubblyalex]

Did he say you should stop this weeks dose of MXT? Rather than waiting for your doc to hear from the rheumy ... I would call them yourself and ask. Does your Gp give you a print out of your blood test results? Mine emails me mine and I message them over to rheumy. It means I also get to see my levels and compare to previous ones. You have to ask your GP direct if he/the surgery can do that each time. No point asking the receptionist or practice manager because they will just say no.

[Soundofmusic52 in reply to bubblyalex]

Just read your message my friend had the same problem she had to stop methotrexate straight away they told her 4 weeks she had to wait more blood tests x ray and now she is on different meds don’t no if this helps you but good luck x

[Carolsos in reply to bubblyalex]

Before lockdown I always got a printout off my results from my blood tests. But last 2 times I have not had anything and to tell you the truth I completely forgot to ask especially with all that has gone on in my life these last few months! I will not take my mtx and will ring up again on Monday. Do you know can doctors give s steroid shot as I will ask for one of those.

Thanks for your reply. X

[bubblyalex in reply to Carolsos]

I don’t know about that.

[springcross in reply to Carolsos]

When I saw my rheumy doctor in March, he increased my MTX as my disease was still a bit active and sent a letter to my GP asking if they would do a depo medrone injection if I felt I needed it. I don't know what they said as I didn't feel that I wanted it but you could check with your GP as to whether or not they would do it.

[Deniseelk]

Do go back to them and ask directly about your next dose of Methotrexate to clarify. If you don’t hear straight away do remember that you can push your dose day back a day or two. I know your chosen Methotrexate day may suit with your weekly commitments but you can eventually get it back by pushing back each weeks dose a few days ( if your disease activity is not affected too much by pushing doses to , say, every 9 days rather than 7). Hope you get clarity quickly and your bloods sorted too.

[Pulfs]

Very confusing for you. My blood tests are on a DAWN program that's linked to the rheumatology dept so they see the results same time as my GP so if any problems they contact me directly. As has been said I'd hold back on methotrexate till contacted. My GP gave me a steroid injection a few months back as requested from hospital. Hope they get back to you soon xx

[allanah]

I've had low wbc and my rheumy in my case continues my treatments but I think you need to check. You can delay a couple of days probable to be safe .

[oldtimer]

It really depends on how low the white blood cell count is. If it's really low then you should not take the methotrexate. If marginal, then you could continue and monitor.

My surgery always repeats the blood test the next day or the next week depending on the level. It's happened quite often.

While waiting for clarification, it might be safest to postpone the next injection.

[Mistydawn]

Surely it makes sense to repeat the bloods just in case the first result was erroneous? That's what I was told when my results were a little unusual. Also, are you able to contact your Rheumatology Nurse specialist for advice?

Good luck

[Oshgosh]

Do you have access to an advice line ??

[Waffs]

Hi I had the same problem but it was my Rheumy nurse that told me about the low blood count. She said that I needed to have a blood test straight away and that I should stop the Methotrexate until they had the test results back. Unfortunately the results came back and yet again I had a low blood count so had to have another blood test. This time it was ok and I was told by the nurse to restart the Methotrexate. Hope this helps.

[Brychni]

I had a similar situation. It kept going down, went up then went down again. GP was more concerned than rheumatology. However, it is the constituent parts of the overall which are important and it was explained to me that individual count were OK. Just waiting for my chest xray and then should start on methotrexate.

[Carolsos]

I just received a letter from my consultant today and have appointment by phone on 24th September but am hoping to hear something back in a couple off days. I also have been told to take whole bloods again as there were some other things wrong with my blood tests. So am ringing up doctors on Monday. Thanks for your help x

[AgedCrone]

Don’t panic...missing one week of Mtx won’t hurt....then sort out your future medication.....speak to your rheumy nurse.

[Knit12]

I would phone or email your rheummy department. Did they not give you contact details in the past so you can contact them if you have a problem

[Carolsos]

I have a phone number which I rang on last friday and left a message. I have just got a letter from my consultant to ask me to get another blood test as he says there were a few things wrong with my blood test. So I will ring up the drs tomorrow. Thanks for your replies x