Thread: Help with cbc
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Old Fri Jan 31, 2014, 01:24 PM
KMac KMac is offline
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Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Golden, Colorado
Posts: 103
Hi Craig,

You can certainly feel comfortable with the rest of your counts outside the WBC, as they look great!

As Neil said, an ANC below 1000 is a cause for concern. That said, my ANC usually runs about 650 (with a WBC of 1.5), and I seldom get sick (details of my condition on my signature below). I feel well and live a fairly normal life.

I sure understand your concern though. Psychologically it is difficult being neutropenic, wondering why, and wondering if it will one day cause a problem. In my case, I know my cause is aplastic anemia, but still we don't really know why my other counts have recovered so much more after treatment than my WBC/ANC.

Also, I know of nothing that can be done to provide a durable boost to my low ANC, outside of something drastic (more ATG, BMT, or medical trials). I was hoping to get my case reviewed at NIH, but Dr. Young (pioneering doctor in aplastic anemia treatment) reviewed my records and determined I was doing well enough not to warrant an appointment. I feel if he is not concerned enough with my ANC to see me, that is probably a good sign!

I more-or-less successfully responded to my treatment about 18 months ago, but this WBC issue has been basically the same since then, I am at about the same place I was over a year ago when I wrote the post (if you are curious to see more detail on my WBC questions):
"AA & white blood cells - Any experience with alternative methods to raise WBC?"

I'd wager you don't have aplastic anemia, especially with the percentage of your WBC that is ANC. At diagnosis my WBC was about the same as yours, but my ANC was only about 10% of the total. I think it is a good sign that your ANC is as high as it is relatively speaking.

I know people without any diagnosed blood disorders who have ran low in their WBCs for a year or more, and then the counts just went back to normal as mysteriously as they had fallen.

As a layperson, it strikes me that of the 3 main bloodlines (red, platelets, and whites), the whites are the most complex, and the most mysterious to hematologists; even in this age of ever-improving understanding and treatment. I know of people with three times the ANC I have who get sick three times more often than I do. Over Xmas most of my relatives (all without blood disorders) were sick, not me with an ANC of 650. Late last year I stopped 'unplanning' events with friends and family when one of their kids got sick. I still am very careful, but no longer to the point of quarantining myself away from others.

I hope this post provides you more comfort than worry, in that:

1) Your counts look quite good, relatively speaking, and most likely your currently low WBC will resolve on its own (although it'd certainly be good to see a hematologist if it continues).

2) Even with a low WBC and a blood disorder, a person can still have a good quality of life.
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Kevin, male age 45; dx SAA 02/2012 - Hgb 5.8, platelets 14, ANC 200, 1% cellularity. Received ATG 03/2012. As of 03/2015, significant improvement - Hgb 15, platelets 158, ANC fluctuates around 1000, Lymphocytes 620. Tapering cyclosporine. BMB 20-30% cellularity.

Last edited by KMac : Fri Jan 31, 2014 at 01:38 PM.
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