Low white blood cell count

You are more susceptible to infection since they are cells to maintain immunity. My wife has aplastic anemia and has low white blood cell count and has had to get injections of filgrastim occasionally. That is a growth factor that builds white blood cells. It’s concerning that you have not had any answers from your doctors. I think you need to insist on an answer or find another doctor.

Thank you for the info. I will definitely be asking my doctor about filgastrim and hopefully get some positive feedback

My son has taken filgastrim injections many times and it does not raise his white cells. They keep insisting on giving it to him. It destroys his white cells and ancs. Almost bursted his spleen with 4 injections back to back. Gcsf shots. Be careful. Make sure they work.. long and short term injections. I dont get why they keep insisting it will help my son with his white cells. It lowers them to where he had zero anc.... and of coirse he fot influenza A.. Nplates started the downfall..

I’m sorry to hear about your son’s situation. The 4 back to back injections seems like too much. Why would they continue to give them if they are not working? My wife has had to have only two or three shots over a year and a half and it worked for her. You mentioned Nplate. She is on promacta which isn’t helping much but has considered trying Nplate. Her doctor isn’t that big on it.

Thank you for the information. I will definitely keep that in mind when I speak to my doctor about these injections or I may just steer clear of them altogether after hearing this and keep searching for a different alternative.

I keep asking them why. They , dif hematologists, say only treatment available. No it is not.

I would really question nplate. That is what started lowering his count. The first hematologist originally only wanted his spleen taken out.. I cant help but think saying No, he turned on us and didnt pay attention to labs. He told us labs are not always right.

He, Tacima General, few months later blamed me for not doing other options. I had to remind him what other options. Ivig was doing good. He said they were not approved. Yes they were. I had brought in authorization...guess he didnt like the truth.

Based on prograstim helping my wife I would still check with your doctor and consider it as a possible treatment option.

I definitely will and thank you!

So a few things. Low WBC below 1000. What was the differential? Absolute neutrophils number. Platelet count. Are you anemic? Have you repeated the test. Bone marrows produce WBC’s. So doing the BM analysis is good. That is usually the gold standard in finding out the causes. A blood morphology is also vital to investigate low white counts. Sometimes too much info is not good. I get confused and end up listening to onc/heme and not asking questions. Huh?? Is basically my response. I take a med that severely decreases my WBC. Usually around 2500 or so. But it pops right back up. It suppresses my bone marrow which is a known side effect. Good luck

The questions you bring up are all good but the doctor should be looking at all of that if he is doing his job! My wife is getting a bone marrow biopsy tomorrow on her doctor’s orders to see if her disease has transformed into a different type that is affecting white blood cells.