I've had chronic low white blood cell counts since high school. They're pretty much always in the 2.0 range. The normal range is 4.0 - 10.0. Sometimes I get lucky and have a 3.0, but never much higher than that ever.
Most of my doctors have shrugged their shoulders over it. My LLMD said that he's not worried about it if I've had it since high school. But this last test I got back they were 2.2 - the lowest they've been yet.
I made an appointment to see a hematologist in two weeks. But I'm worried. Is it possible that I've had cancer for over such a long period of time yet never gotten sicker??? Just really confused is all.
Anyone else here have chronic low white blood cell counts for as long as I have?
Any ideas?
PS - I'm only 24 years old, but have had this for years, so it's just really strange. And I don't know what to think about it anymore.
[ 09. May 2008, 01:45 PM: Message edited by: disturbedme ]
Posted by Alv (Member # 15192) on :
mine was 1.5 for 5 years.Nobody told me .
I had ehlichiosis and lyme besides , BART And babs.
I had been on 2 month before learned about lyme on detox and parasite cleansing and chelation to some degree...
Somewhow..I read that HULDA CLARCK -says that parasites can cause wbc low -whne thye are in spine.
Was that the bugs were in my spine ...yes they were -i had electrical waves in my spine .
But using all the suplement and all I did increased it to 5.5 for the first time.
Which particulary helped.Have no clue..but I was not addressing the lyme and company just -parasites and metals...
So take that under consideration.
That is the first thing I had been woried or said I have ....cancer leuqimia and other stupid diagnoses....
IT WAS LYME and co-infections-including high levels of metals and parasites !
Posted by disturbedme (Member # 12346) on :
Alv - I know I don't have high metals, those were tested and came back fine. Not sure about parasites, but can ask my LLMD about those at the next visit.
I'm pretty sure I don't have Ehrlichia. And even if I did, it's been treated as I was on Doxy for many many months... and my WBC never went up during that time.
Posted by sparkle7 (Member # 10397) on :
I posted this about castor oil packs about a month ago...
More specifically, he found in two separate studies that patients using abdominal castor oil packs had significant increases in the production of lymphocytes compared to increases among those using placebo packs.
Lymphocytes are the disease-fighting cells of your immune system. They are produced and housed mainly in your lymphatic tissue.
This includes the thymus gland, the spleen, the lymph nodes and the lymphatic tissue that lines the small intestine (called Peyer's patches, or more commonly, aggregated lymphatic follicles).
Strangely, other than knowing it produces the body's white blood cells, most doctors are not very knowledgeable about the lymphatic system.
The lymphatic system is an amazingly complex structure. It works hand in hand with both the blood circulatory system and the digestive system.
-----
You may want to try it (?)...
I've been using it & it does make me feel better. It's not that hard.
You just need some flannel (preferably unbleached), castor oil, some plastic & a heating pad. You can order it over the internet or find it at most health food stores.
You can use some baking soda to wash the oil off afterwards. They say it's good to rub it in, as well.
Posted by Carol in PA (Member # 5338) on :
AHCC is derived from Shiitake mushrooms, and increases the number and activity of white blood cells.
It has been used for patients taking chemotherapy, to restore the white count.
AHCC has been shown to improve liver function in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and cirrhosis and reduce the levels of certain tumor markers in the blood.
You can do an internet search for information and vendors.
Carol
Posted by sparkle7 (Member # 10397) on :
ProBoost is supposed to be good, too. I didn't notice that much of a difference when I used it but it may help some people.
my WBC have been low since having the lyme and babesea. My counts would go up to 4, then drop to 2, even 1.5. Before I knew what was wrong with me, I noticed some symptoms would get worse. Finally, I figured out that I had Babesea, that really seems to knock my WBC count down low. But Lyme can do that too.
My Doc did tell me that some people can have lower than average WBC, but they always got worried when it was below 3.
FYI - I tried the AHCC for 3 months, and I did not see any improvement in my WBC counts. The stuff is really expensive, as I was taking the maximum recommended dose, 6 capsules a day. I'm sure its helpful for certain dieases, but I didn't notice it doing anything for me aside from draining my wallet.
Posted by disturbedme (Member # 12346) on :
There's no one else out there who's had chronic low white blood cell counts (for years)???
Posted by Glassgal (Member # 668) on :
Yes, I've known I've had low WBCs since first being treated for Lyme in 1990.
Doctor stopped IV because of it. Through the years, I've told doctors that it is always low and I hardly ever get sick.
Don't know if I had the problem previous to Lyme and co-infections.
Ellen
Posted by MarsyNY (Member # 7766) on :
DBMe,
I had chronic low WBC for many many years since the time of the bite.
Last year i met with a hematologist who wanted to do a bone marrow test. I asked him if there was a way to look at my blood and tell if I had a co-infection.
The well known LLMD that I went to would not test me neither would my PCP and now the hematologist looked at me like I was crazy.
PS. The next lyme Dr. tested me for Erlichiosis after I asked him several times. Yes it came back positive and again 6 months later.
M
Posted by jblral (Member # 8836) on :
My daughter had low WBC for several years BEFORE she got sick with what turned out to be lyme and coinfections. And then continued to have low WBC while being treated for Lyme and co's. Finally, we went to a LL-naturopath, who recommended shark liver oil for the low WBC. Bingo. WBC count came right up where it's supposed to be. Went off the SLO, and WBC stayed good for quite a while, but then when down again, so we're doing SLO again.