Hello all, I’m sure there might be a pinned post here but have been unable to find one.
I have had full bloods taken as I was feeling so fatigued and unwell. All has come back abnormal with increased levels in white blood count, haemoglobin, platelets, red blood cells, lymphocytes etc. I’m wondering if this is caused by prednisalone and is a normal occurrence.
Waiting for advice from gp....
Thank you in advance, Claire.
It is very unusual for EVERYTHING to be out of normal range! So I hope they check it before jumping to conclusions. But it is difficult to say anything much without the actual figures and the normal ranges for your local lab.
An increased white count and platelets are often seen with pred. If one sort of white blood cell is raised then that will raise the total count as well and lymphocytes go up if you have an infection. Was your haemoglobin high or low? Slight anaemia is common in autoimmune disease but anaemia can be due to other changes too.
Thanks PMR Pro. Haemoglobin was high too. GP wants me to start reducing to 12.5mg tomorrow. I was starting Dorset Lady’s 5 week taper but that’s gone out the window now.
Ask for a repeat and make sure you are hydrated. Labs do make mistakes, techs, instruments, and computers. You really shouldn’t be treated using very unusual results without a repeat.
Thank you for the advice, making sure I’m hydrated is a good point as I am a bit poor with fluids! My baseline neurosis with my health went into overdrive when I saw all my results this afternoon!! GP thinks it is steroid induced and is repeating full blood count in x4 weeks.
At least he is being sensible! If it were me I would like it to be done sooner but that is me
Had to wait 2 weeks for that blood test and felt really unwell / fatigued whilst waiting, feeling much better now with less fatigue and so hopefully a good indicator that all is ok. Have to keep my anxiety under wraps as my imagination would otherwise run wild! 😬. Had an ultrasound of my rt shoulder today too and felt so nervous being in so close proximity to other people in a confined space, it took ages as someone was being trained. And I was the guinea pig 😬!
Not all bad - they will have looked extra carefully to do the training 
When I was first diagnosed with Temporal Artritis my blood work like yours was all over the map. After I was placed on prednisone, the blood work started creeping back to normal.
Long term use of steroids and blood pressure
PMR and low White Blood Cell Count
High white blood cell count
High white blood cell count on prednisone
PMR without steroids
