low white blood cell

Posted by marvkw @marvkw, Dec 28, 2022

Under 4000, going lower for last 2 years. I have none of the "normal" causes, no symptoms, have seen hemotologists at the insistance of my primary. On levothyroxin, lisinipril, carvidilol, atoravastatin, AREDS, tamsulosin, coq10, tylenol, asprin.
So whats wrong with me?
Marv

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Hi @marvkw Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. This is a great forum for information but since we’re not medical professionals we can’t diagnose or offer treatments. The best person to answer your questions about blood conditions is your hematologist. They specialize in blood disorders.

I did take a look at the meds you’re on and see that one of your meds is levothyroxin which is a drug used to treat hypothyroidism. Low thyroid function has been associated with lower white blood counts, particularly neutrophils. Lower WBC can also be an indicator of autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, a lack of Vitamin B-12, alcohol consumption or a viral infection are causes. Certain medications can also be a factor.

I’ve posted some good reading material for you. The first two links are for Mayo Clinic’s informational articles on low white blood counts. I know the second article relates to a person asking about taking birthcontrol with a low wbc, which I’m pretty sure isn’t something you’re worried about. 😀 However, continue on with the article because it contains some really good info about low wbc.
https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/mayo-clinic-q-and-a-what-causes-low-white-blood-cell-count/
https://www.mayoclinic.org/symptoms/low-white-blood-cell-count/basics/causes/sym-20050615
This article I found interesting about the correlation between wbc and low thyroid issues.
https://www.whitelotusclinic.ca/lwhite-blood-cell/
Were all your other blood counts normal? What did the hematologist feel was the cause?

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@loribmt

Hi @marvkw Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. This is a great forum for information but since we’re not medical professionals we can’t diagnose or offer treatments. The best person to answer your questions about blood conditions is your hematologist. They specialize in blood disorders.

I did take a look at the meds you’re on and see that one of your meds is levothyroxin which is a drug used to treat hypothyroidism. Low thyroid function has been associated with lower white blood counts, particularly neutrophils. Lower WBC can also be an indicator of autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, a lack of Vitamin B-12, alcohol consumption or a viral infection are causes. Certain medications can also be a factor.

I’ve posted some good reading material for you. The first two links are for Mayo Clinic’s informational articles on low white blood counts. I know the second article relates to a person asking about taking birthcontrol with a low wbc, which I’m pretty sure isn’t something you’re worried about. 😀 However, continue on with the article because it contains some really good info about low wbc.
https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/mayo-clinic-q-and-a-what-causes-low-white-blood-cell-count/
https://www.mayoclinic.org/symptoms/low-white-blood-cell-count/basics/causes/sym-20050615
This article I found interesting about the correlation between wbc and low thyroid issues.
https://www.whitelotusclinic.ca/lwhite-blood-cell/
Were all your other blood counts normal? What did the hematologist feel was the cause?

Jump to this post

Thank you for everything. Kind of a self centered post. I should have just asked, "anyone else have this experience"?
Other blood panel good except some borderline cholesterol, hyper thyroidism, sucrose. No vitamin questions. Tha nks,
Marv

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Oh yes, new hemotologist and new blood profiles coming up January.

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@marvkw

Thank you for everything. Kind of a self centered post. I should have just asked, "anyone else have this experience"?
Other blood panel good except some borderline cholesterol, hyper thyroidism, sucrose. No vitamin questions. Tha nks,
Marv

Jump to this post

Hi Marv! I didn’t feel at all that your had a self-centered post. Anytime we have something bugging us, especially medically, it’s pretty common for that to be the center of our focus and not selfish at all. Mulling things over is problem solving. It helps us to make decisions and find answers.

We have several members in the forum who have issues with low white blood counts, for various reasons. Some are associated with prednisone treatments, side effects from chemo or related to slowly developing blood disorders.
While we’re waiting for some of them to pop into the conversation there are discussion online regarding low WBC.

I’m not at my computer right now and relying on my phone to search for links to provide. When I do that, I lose what I’ve saved…grrr. So, I’m going to toss this over to you for now if you don’t mind. All you have to do is go to the top of the page and there is a Search window.
Type in:
Low white blood count
Low WBC
neutropenia
leukopenia
These are all names for low white blood counts. But please keep in mind there are many reasons that blood counts can drop. So most of these discussions won’t be relevant to your situation because you don’t know why yours are dropping.
And for that reason, it’s really positive that you’re seeing another hematologist in January. It doesn’t sound like your previous experience was very helpful. Having a new doctor with new blood results will be a good place to start for getting solid answers. Our blood is complicated and there are so many tests that can help narrow down reasons for changes. 😊

Do you have any symptoms you feel are related to the drop in white blood cells. Do you find yourself getting colds more often?

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