High WBC and leukocytosis. Hashimoto? Pls help im freaking out

[Vegass]

Hellow everyone. I noticed i been having a high WBC for almost 2 years now. But in my last 2 exams i also had high leukocytes. I found out about this today and i suffer from health anxiety/hypochondria which made me go crazy about this. The last exam that i did was today and my leukocytes were above 4500. Around 5000ish and googling about the condition got me extremely paranoid and stressed. Im about to have a panic attack because all i see is things about leukemia. I can't sleep or eat after this. I am extremely nervous.

After hours of hopeless research on the internet i came across some cases of this being related to Hashimoto's hypothyroidism which i have. However it is not clear to me since you can't find many info on this online. I am a 27 year old male and i got diagnosed with Hypothyroidism/Hashimoto about 1 year ago. This condition was triggered by a psychiatric medication called Lithium, however it is for life now. Since before i got diagnosed with Hypothyroidism i had briefly researched online about WBC since mine was high...but it was just the overall WBC and not the leukocytes for the longest time. At that time i was on lithium and i thought that this high WBC condition was related to Lithium since one of the well known lithium side effect is a high WBC. However i stopped taking lithium about 4-6 months ago and my WBC still high...and now i got this high leukocytes too. And i am freaking out about this.

I will have to wait days to get a simply appointment at a specialist doctor. I dont know how i will handle my health anxiety until there. It is pretty bad right now and i am fearing for my life like i had a gun pointed to my head where every second pass by slowly and the tension is constantly skyrocketing.

I dont know what to do about this.

Did anyone had a similar condition with high WBC/Leukocytes related to Hashimoto's? Can anyone please give me an insight about this? Im very scared right now to be honest.

This is my blood exam for reference(only showing elevated values):

WBC: 14560mm³

Lymphocytes: 5242mm³

Monocytes: 1325mm³

For quick reference this is what a normal blood exam should look:

WBC: from 3500mm³ to 10500mm³

Lymphocytes: from 900mm³ to 3100mm³

Monocytes: from 200mm³ to 900mm³

And if this is any relevant this is my FSH and LH:

FSH: 2,9 UI/L

LH: 4,0 UI/L

Reference values of FSH and LH:

FSH: Adult Male - 1,5 to 12,4 UI/L

LH: Adult Male - 1,7 to 8,6 UI/L

Pls someone help i need to calm down

[Caroline888]

Hi Vegass,

I am not qualified to comment on your results but I do know that Dr. Google has caused me to panic about my health more than once.

However it can obviously be very helpful too and I have just read that there are many causes of high leukocytes and most are relatively benign. For example, stress can cause a high level of leukocytes, as can smoking, allergies, infections, arthritis, certain foodstuffs and also, as you say, autoimmune disease, which you have.

Certainly I have read that high levels of white blood cells are common with thyroid issues so you may well have your explanation there.

Try not to worry. And stop Googling!! Make an urgent appointment with your GP as soon as possible, just for your peace of mind.

Best wishes

Caroline

[Vegass in reply to Caroline888]

Thanks Caroline. I been all night up after freaking out. It is morning here already and i am still up trying to study about this in any way i can reading academic and scientific publications as well trying to find more info on this being related to Hashimoto's. And this is the part that scares me the most. I been since midnight till now 6:30am trying to learn about this condition in every way. And i see almost nothing explaining the relationship between Hashimoto's and Lymphocytosis. I do know that the disease's name is chronic lymphotic thyroditis or something like that... which "SUGGEST" that this is a "chronic Lymphocytosis" thyroid problem. However... Absolutely no info about the the WBC, Lymphocytes and Hashimoto's.... everything i see everywhere is about chronic leukemia, lymphomas and other types of leukemias...im really scared right now.

I can't really get my mind off it no matter what i do. The doubt still there. And i cant make an appointment until monday because seems like most doctors dont work on weekends here. So im in this limbo of paranoia,fear and terror 24/7. Im trying to get in contact with a doctor that can talk to me about it. All this fear and paranoia may seem very irrational...it may be to some extent but i dont think it is delusional at all. This is my problem with health anxiety. It gets worse when you worrying about something that you may actually have

[Caroline888 in reply to Vegass]

Since I have seen the connection between autoimmune disease, such as Hashimoto's, and high levels of white blood cells, why don't you focus your research on that? If you must google, then enter "Hashimoto's and elevated white blood cells".

"In Hashimoto's disease, your immune system makes antibodies that attack the thyroid gland. Large numbers of white blood cells called lymphocytes which are part of the immune system, build up in the thyroid." (niddk.nih.gov)

Leukocytes are the cells of the immune system involved in protecting the body against both infectious disease and foreign invaders.

You already have a very probable cause of your high white blood cells. I don't think doing all this research is good for you. Just wait and see what the doctor says. Just make sure you see or speak to him on Monday. Tell him you can't sleep for worrying if that's what it takes to get an urgent appointment.

There are so many relatively benign causes of elevated WBC. Focus on that fact.

Take care

Caroline