Blood test questions

[sferios]

Hi everyone,

I got back my third major blood panel. The only things that have been (slightly) high each time since starting the pred were my WBC and hemoglobin. Is this the normal for 25mg pred? Or something I should worry more about?

Also, I haven't gotten a blood test for IL-6 yet. If I do, and if it's high, does that indicate something worse than PMR (such as GCA or LVV)? Or would high IL-6 also happen with PMR?

Thanks! 😀

[SnazzyD]

Your white blood cell count may be raised because Pred causes an increase in Neutrophils so you need to see the breakdown to know if that is the case.

[PMRpro Ambassador]

Raised IL-6 applies for PMR, LVV and GCA - and for other things too. Nothing simple here!!