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I agree with Marlene: my mother was taken off antibiotics once (except acylovir) where where neutrophils averaged over 500. Now, my mother's neutrophils are always between 900-1500 (for the past 6 weeks). Acyclovir is not not essential, although the doctor told her she should take it.
We were told by mother's hematologist that neutrophils rising to over 1000 (1.0) and staying up is a true sign of recovery. Neutrophils will rise first and then hemoglobin and platelets for most. In slow-responders, it can take almost a year for the hemoglobin and platelets to really stay up and hold. You can still have big spikes without transfusions and then sudden big drops on your way to recovery. It is normal. My mother, for example, recently went from 8.6 to 10.5 without a transfusion in a few days. We were amazed. However, 3 weeks later she dropped to 5.4 and needed 3 units of blood. The doctor was not alarmed: this is just classic aplastic anemia.
Yes, platelets are usually the last thing to rise for fast and slow-responders (not always, though, as every aplastic anemic is different)
One more thing: look at your mother's CBC results to see if her neutrophil % is higher than her lymphocytes % at times. If it is, it's another sign that her autoimmune condition is calming down a little, all pointing to bone marrow recovery.
You will hear this over and over again on this forum: aplastic anemia is a disease of elimination that requires a lot of patience to make a full recovery from ATG + cyclosporine. I've read of an older woman with aplastic anemia who took over 2 years for her ATG treatment to kick in. She was transfused every week with blood and platelets for the entire time (2 years). She went on to make a full recovery and was doing well 5 years later (can't remember).
Please take care of yourself and your mother.
We are here to talk when you need us.
Health and happiness,
Matthew
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