My husband’s absolute Lymph’s have been elevated over the last few years (I just noticed this when I looked at his lab work). The NP, at our primary office, whom we see never mentioned it as a concern.
Good morning, @rimmy2 You’ve done some good homework in reviewing past labs. Being able to notice trends in blood test results can be helpful for doctors to discovery any changes in the body.
Elevated lymphocytes aren’t necessarily a big concern because an up-tick can be caused by things such as a viral infection or chronic inflammation with conditions like autoimmune diseases.
But the fact that you noticed this upward trend in your husband’s blood results over the past 5 years is a good point to bring up with the NP. Blood conditions can be very slow to develop so if she doesn’t feel this is worth noting, if this were me, I’d at least push for some further testing to determine an underlying cause. General practitioners and family health NPs are not always tuned into nuances of blood changes. So if you’re not satisfied, you could go one further and request a consult with a hematologist.
Were there any other trends noticed in his blood work or any changing symptoms over the years?
Hi @ppolockaz, in Dec'23 it was discovered that I had a high WBC (50), which started me on a 5 month journey of tests. I had no pronounced symptoms that I had noticed so it came as a total surprise. The short story is that I ended up being dx'd with CLL (see my other posts for more if you are interested).
For me, treatment amounted to taking a pill twice a day (Zanubrutinib/Brukinsa) and going for periodic visits to Mayo. I didn't get or need any infusions. The transition to this way of life (taking those pills, being more wary of situations that could lead me to getting sick) was mostly not a big event. I feel mostly the same, and do all of the things I did before.
If / when you get to the point of needing any meds, at least in my experience, it didn't turn out to be nearly as bad as a had first imagined it might be.
@mrgreentea thank you for all that insight. This all has had me shaken a bit since I was healthy and active and all of a sudden it’s a shock. Just getting information and listening to others is helping alot
My husband’s absolute Lymph’s have been elevated over the last few years (I just noticed this when I looked at his lab work). The NP, at our primary office, whom we see never mentioned it as a concern.
@rimmy2 you were smart to question it, mine was normal then went to 4.2 a year ago but my WBC was still within normal limits. This year the WBC was elevated and the AL was 7. I questioned my PCP and she shrugged it off and just an infection or something; a friend who’s a cardiologist NP said bs you need a blood smear and presto I’m diagnosed with CLL. Good catch and always question and do research and keep informed
I was diagnosed with cll ten years ago-stage 0 and that was the norm for 9 years. In the last year I've been hospitalized 3 times for various dire infections but really fine in between. My hematologist started me on IGG infusions almost a year ago and that's helped keep me out of the hospital. But I'm confused by what my doc tells me--that my cll isn't causing all this? Now I'm tired a lot--def. not my norm! Seems like what I'm hearing here indicates it is cll causing this.
Anyway, it's very good to see all these posts and not feel so alone--thank you all!
Good morning, @rimmy2 You’ve done some good homework in reviewing past labs. Being able to notice trends in blood test results can be helpful for doctors to discovery any changes in the body.
Elevated lymphocytes aren’t necessarily a big concern because an up-tick can be caused by things such as a viral infection or chronic inflammation with conditions like autoimmune diseases.
But the fact that you noticed this upward trend in your husband’s blood results over the past 5 years is a good point to bring up with the NP. Blood conditions can be very slow to develop so if she doesn’t feel this is worth noting, if this were me, I’d at least push for some further testing to determine an underlying cause. General practitioners and family health NPs are not always tuned into nuances of blood changes. So if you’re not satisfied, you could go one further and request a consult with a hematologist.
Were there any other trends noticed in his blood work or any changing symptoms over the years?
@rimmy2 you were smart to question it, mine was normal then went to 4.2 a year ago but my WBC was still within normal limits. This year the WBC was elevated and the AL was 7. I questioned my PCP and she shrugged it off and just an infection or something; a friend who’s a cardiologist NP said bs you need a blood smear and presto I’m diagnosed with CLL. Good catch and always question and do research and keep informed
I am a retired RN and when I looked at my husband’s lab work through his portal, I was shocked.
It’s very concerning that this was overlooked for so many years. First elevation was in April of 2020.
I’m trying not to worry and to not worry my husband.
Do you know- do they usually wait until the overall wbc count is elevated to refer to hematology? Or, in your experience, do they wait until the ALs have reached a certain level?
Last year at AL of 5.772, my husband said, the NP said, an infection was probably the cause. However, the year before it was 5.7.
It makes no sense and to me, it borders malpractice.
This is getting confusing. My husband is diagnosed with atypical CLL and has started Brukinsa. Perhaps his “atypical” dx is because his WBC are not high, they are low, and his absolute lymphocytes are normal. He does have the Trisomy indicator though, and the CT and PET scan results. Anybody else atypical?
I’m 74, and was diagnosed with CLL a couple of years ago. I’d had no symptoms except for elevated white blood counts that weren’t caused by an infection. Initially, I saw an oncologist twice a year but currently am scheduled for once a year unless I want to come in sooner. The “watch and wait” plan makes sense to me as I know that treatments, while helpful, have their own side effects.
I am a retired RN and when I looked at my husband’s lab work through his portal, I was shocked.
It’s very concerning that this was overlooked for so many years. First elevation was in April of 2020.
I’m trying not to worry and to not worry my husband.
Do you know- do they usually wait until the overall wbc count is elevated to refer to hematology? Or, in your experience, do they wait until the ALs have reached a certain level?
Last year at AL of 5.772, my husband said, the NP said, an infection was probably the cause. However, the year before it was 5.7.
It makes no sense and to me, it borders malpractice.
@rimmy2 The next thing to do is get a peripheral blood smear, that will look at the cells, then possibly a flow cytometry, after that I got a CT scan then a PET CT (which they could have done first but that's the sequence. I was gonna be a bit freaked out because I'm "coffin claustrophobic" but on both the CT (5 min) and PET (30 min) your head is pretty much out of the donut and a worst take a valium or 2 before - i listened to my music on my phone. Havent done an MRI which not sure about that - being in a tube might not work for me unless they knock me out (??). but the PET shows alot. AL of 5.7 is still low, hell mine was a 9 then 12 now waiting for today's test. WBC was 10-13 to 18, so going in the wrong direction. Plus they smears will tell if you have muted or unmuted (mine, unfortunately) cells, which if you have the muted its not as bad, so to speak. I've only been diagnosed 3 months so it's all new to me....
@rimmy2 The next thing to do is get a peripheral blood smear, that will look at the cells, then possibly a flow cytometry, after that I got a CT scan then a PET CT (which they could have done first but that's the sequence. I was gonna be a bit freaked out because I'm "coffin claustrophobic" but on both the CT (5 min) and PET (30 min) your head is pretty much out of the donut and a worst take a valium or 2 before - i listened to my music on my phone. Havent done an MRI which not sure about that - being in a tube might not work for me unless they knock me out (??). but the PET shows alot. AL of 5.7 is still low, hell mine was a 9 then 12 now waiting for today's test. WBC was 10-13 to 18, so going in the wrong direction. Plus they smears will tell if you have muted or unmuted (mine, unfortunately) cells, which if you have the muted its not as bad, so to speak. I've only been diagnosed 3 months so it's all new to me....
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Good morning, @rimmy2 You’ve done some good homework in reviewing past labs. Being able to notice trends in blood test results can be helpful for doctors to discovery any changes in the body.
Elevated lymphocytes aren’t necessarily a big concern because an up-tick can be caused by things such as a viral infection or chronic inflammation with conditions like autoimmune diseases.
But the fact that you noticed this upward trend in your husband’s blood results over the past 5 years is a good point to bring up with the NP. Blood conditions can be very slow to develop so if she doesn’t feel this is worth noting, if this were me, I’d at least push for some further testing to determine an underlying cause. General practitioners and family health NPs are not always tuned into nuances of blood changes. So if you’re not satisfied, you could go one further and request a consult with a hematologist.
Were there any other trends noticed in his blood work or any changing symptoms over the years?
@mrgreentea thank you for all that insight. This all has had me shaken a bit since I was healthy and active and all of a sudden it’s a shock. Just getting information and listening to others is helping alot
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1 Reaction@rimmy2 you were smart to question it, mine was normal then went to 4.2 a year ago but my WBC was still within normal limits. This year the WBC was elevated and the AL was 7. I questioned my PCP and she shrugged it off and just an infection or something; a friend who’s a cardiologist NP said bs you need a blood smear and presto I’m diagnosed with CLL. Good catch and always question and do research and keep informed
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2 ReactionsHi everyone,
I was diagnosed with cll ten years ago-stage 0 and that was the norm for 9 years. In the last year I've been hospitalized 3 times for various dire infections but really fine in between. My hematologist started me on IGG infusions almost a year ago and that's helped keep me out of the hospital. But I'm confused by what my doc tells me--that my cll isn't causing all this? Now I'm tired a lot--def. not my norm! Seems like what I'm hearing here indicates it is cll causing this.
Anyway, it's very good to see all these posts and not feel so alone--thank you all!
@loribmt
Thank you for your response.
We will definitely question why this hasn’t been investigated and ask to see a hematologist.
Thanks again
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1 Reaction@ppolockaz
I totally agree with you.
I am a retired RN and when I looked at my husband’s lab work through his portal, I was shocked.
It’s very concerning that this was overlooked for so many years. First elevation was in April of 2020.
I’m trying not to worry and to not worry my husband.
Do you know- do they usually wait until the overall wbc count is elevated to refer to hematology? Or, in your experience, do they wait until the ALs have reached a certain level?
Last year at AL of 5.772, my husband said, the NP said, an infection was probably the cause. However, the year before it was 5.7.
It makes no sense and to me, it borders malpractice.
Thanks in advance for your thoughts.
This is getting confusing. My husband is diagnosed with atypical CLL and has started Brukinsa. Perhaps his “atypical” dx is because his WBC are not high, they are low, and his absolute lymphocytes are normal. He does have the Trisomy indicator though, and the CT and PET scan results. Anybody else atypical?
I’m 74, and was diagnosed with CLL a couple of years ago. I’d had no symptoms except for elevated white blood counts that weren’t caused by an infection. Initially, I saw an oncologist twice a year but currently am scheduled for once a year unless I want to come in sooner. The “watch and wait” plan makes sense to me as I know that treatments, while helpful, have their own side effects.
@rimmy2 The next thing to do is get a peripheral blood smear, that will look at the cells, then possibly a flow cytometry, after that I got a CT scan then a PET CT (which they could have done first but that's the sequence. I was gonna be a bit freaked out because I'm "coffin claustrophobic" but on both the CT (5 min) and PET (30 min) your head is pretty much out of the donut and a worst take a valium or 2 before - i listened to my music on my phone. Havent done an MRI which not sure about that - being in a tube might not work for me unless they knock me out (??). but the PET shows alot. AL of 5.7 is still low, hell mine was a 9 then 12 now waiting for today's test. WBC was 10-13 to 18, so going in the wrong direction. Plus they smears will tell if you have muted or unmuted (mine, unfortunately) cells, which if you have the muted its not as bad, so to speak. I've only been diagnosed 3 months so it's all new to me....
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1 Reaction@ppolockaz
Thank you very much for your information!