[Lisa V]

Paula, is this the first CBC he's had since July? That makes it kind of hard to know which way the counts are really going. It may look like they are all decreasing, but they could have gone up and down within that time. If you could see that fluctuation I think you'd probably feel better. As it is, it looks like a sign, and I don't think that's necessarily the case.

At any rate, they're all still within normal range, which is the main thing. It seems he's had an excellent response to the ATG! Many AAers never return to full normal counts, so that is something to celebrate. Still, given that every line seems lower than the last reading, if it were me I'd want to see results more often, just to gauge if it really is a downward trend. Ken still gets CBCs every month, even though it has been several years since his last ATG. That way we know that a single lower count one month may not mean much if it goes up again the next month. Is there any way your husband can get more frequent CBCs?

Frankly, I'm more concerned that they're cutting his cyclo from 120 mg to 50 mg. AA doesn't like sudden changes. There seems to be growing evidence that a slow, gradual taper is very important in preventing a relapse. Ken relapsed after a fast taper and so have others that I've talked to. I think it's better if he can reduce it by the smallest increment possible, which may be 25 mg, then wait and monitor his counts to be sure they remain stable before going further.