Re: -Rich- white blood count

[Guest guest]

My doctor monitors my bloodwork monthly due to the intensive antibiotic therapy

I am on. One area of concern is my consistent low white blood count. It is

usually around 2.9-3.1. My doctor explains that it has some effect on the bone

marrow. My questions are(1) exactly what does a low wbc mean with regards to my

bones and (2) is there some supplement I can take to help boost wbc production?

Phil

Thanks for posting this Phil. I too have a strong interest in this as my WBC

has been low too for a long time.

Rich-Can you comment on low WBC. What does it mean? Does it mean signs of a

chronic low grade infection..or maybe that's when it's high. Any ideas on

Phil's quesions about effect to bones and how to boost it?

Kathy

[Guest guest]

Phil and Kathy,

There are several types of white blood cells. Most white blood

cells are made in their finished form by the bone marrow.

(Lymphocytes start out there, but are finished in other tissues: the

thymus gland for T cells, and other lymphoid tissues for the B

cells.) The most abundant type of white blood cell in a normal,

healthy person is the neutrophil, which can comprise over half the

total white blood cells. In order to address your other questions,

I will need to know which white blood cell counts are low. Are you

talking about a low neutrophil count (known as neutropenia), a low

lymphocyte count (lymphopenia), or something else? If you can give

me your total white cell counts and the differentials (expressed in

percentages), I can sort this out.

Rich

> My doctor monitors my bloodwork monthly due to the intensive

antibiotic therapy I am on. One area of concern is my consistent low

white blood count. It is usually around 2.9-3.1. My doctor explains

that it has some effect on the bone marrow. My questions are(1)

exactly what does a low wbc mean with regards to my bones and (2) is

there some supplement I can take to help boost wbc production?

> Phil

>

>

> Thanks for posting this Phil. I too have a strong interest in

this as my WBC has been low too for a long time.

>

> Rich-Can you comment on low WBC. What does it mean? Does it mean

signs of a chronic low grade infection..or maybe that's when it's

high. Any ideas on Phil's quesions about effect to bones and how to

boost it?

>

> Kathy

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

---- Original Message -----

From: rvankonynen <richvank@...>

lymphocyte count (lymphopenia), or something else? If you can give

me your total white cell counts and the differentials (expressed in

percentages), I can sort this out.

Rich

Rich-

I had your basic el-cheapo standard CBC w/Diff...the results just show WBC and

normal ranges. These were results of two different test dates and labs:

WBC 3.9 ranges 4.8 - 10.8**

WBC 3.4 ranges 4.6 - 10.2**

I did have an Auto Diff which showed:

Nuet % 46.9 range 35.0 - 75.0

Lymph% 42.3 range 16.0 - 52.0

Mono% 8.3 range 0 - 8.0**

EOS% 2.0 range 0 - 5.0

BASO% 0.5 range 0 - 4.0

They also list the same above except with #

Nuet # 1.8 range 1.8 - 7.7

Lymph# 1.6 range 1.2 - 4.8

Mono# 0.3 range 0 - 0.8

EOS# 0.1 range 0 - 0.5

BASO# 0.0 range 0 - 0.2

Does this mean anything? Or is this the type of test that best be done

through one of the specialized labs?

Thanks

Kathy

[Guest guest]

Kathy,

I think that you have neutropenia (deficiency in the number of

neutrophils), and that the most likely cause of this is an ongoing

viral infection. As usual, note that I am not licensed to diagnose

or treat disease, so please view this simply as a layperson's

opinion, and consult your doctor for medical advice.

Rich

> ---- Original Message -----

> From: rvankonynen <richvank@a...>

> lymphocyte count (lymphopenia), or something else? If you can

give

> me your total white cell counts and the differentials (expressed

in

> percentages), I can sort this out.

>

> Rich

>

> Rich-

>

> I had your basic el-cheapo standard CBC w/Diff...the results

just show WBC and normal ranges. These were results of two

different test dates and labs:

>

> WBC 3.9 ranges 4.8 - 10.8**

> WBC 3.4 ranges 4.6 - 10.2**

>

> I did have an Auto Diff which showed:

>

> Nuet % 46.9 range 35.0 - 75.0

> Lymph% 42.3 range 16.0 - 52.0

> Mono% 8.3 range 0 - 8.0**

> EOS% 2.0 range 0 - 5.0

> BASO% 0.5 range 0 - 4.0

>

> They also list the same above except with #

>

> Nuet # 1.8 range 1.8 - 7.7

> Lymph# 1.6 range 1.2 - 4.8

> Mono# 0.3 range 0 - 0.8

> EOS# 0.1 range 0 - 0.5

> BASO# 0.0 range 0 - 0.2

>

>

> Does this mean anything? Or is this the type of test that best

be done through one of the specialized labs?

>

> Thanks

> Kathy

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

From: rvankonynen <richvank@...>

Sent: Sunday, December 15, 2002 10:37 AM

I think that you have neutropenia (deficiency in the number of

neutrophils), and that the most likely cause of this is an ongoing

viral infection. As usual, note that I am not licensed to diagnose

or treat disease, so please view this simply as a layperson's

opinion, and consult your doctor for medical advice.

Hi Rich-

Ok...I have now had a MONTH to read and reread on neutropenia using a bunch of

resources including Mayo and Medline. As I sifted through links...EBV kept

showing up all over the place. And voila..here I am with EBV and HSV.

The one thing I can't seem to wrap my brain around is what can be done about

upping the neutrophils. (I thought I saw a reference to the role of anemia and

iron supplementation.) Any feedback on what may be done to increase them and/or

make them stronger?

Kathy

PS: A good basic website on CBC's:

http://www.cc.nih.gov/ccc/patient_education/pepubs/cbc97.pdf

[Guest guest]

Kathy,

I think that a high-potency general nutritional supplement that

supplies all the vitamins and minerals that the immune system needs,

together with some flax oil to supply the essential fatty acids is a

good place to start. Taking things that will help to knock down the

viruses, such as transfer factors, natural antivirals such as olive

leaf extract, and colostrum may help, also. I think ProBoost thymic

protein A can be helpful as well in building up the helper T cells.

And of course, building the glutathione if that is low, using whey

protein if there is no allergy to it, or the amino acid precursors

otherwise, checking for elevated mercury and dealing with it first

if it is very high, and checking cysteine in the blood serum to make

sure it doesn't get too high.

Rich

> From: rvankonynen <richvank@a...>

> Sent: Sunday, December 15, 2002 10:37 AM

> I think that you have neutropenia (deficiency in the number of

> neutrophils), and that the most likely cause of this is an ongoing

> viral infection. As usual, note that I am not licensed to

diagnose

> or treat disease, so please view this simply as a layperson's

> opinion, and consult your doctor for medical advice.

>

>

> Hi Rich-

>

> Ok...I have now had a MONTH to read and reread on neutropenia

using a bunch of resources including Mayo and Medline. As I sifted

through links...EBV kept showing up all over the place. And

voila..here I am with EBV and HSV.

>

> The one thing I can't seem to wrap my brain around is what can be

done about upping the neutrophils. (I thought I saw a reference to

the role of anemia and iron supplementation.) Any feedback on what

may be done to increase them and/or make them stronger?

>

> Kathy

>

> PS: A good basic website on CBC's:

> http://www.cc.nih.gov/ccc/patient_education/pepubs/cbc97.pdf

>

>

>