WBC not high enough for chemo: What can I do to get them higher?

I love seafood, but while on chemo, I couldn’t even tolerate the most basic baked codfish. Considering I couldn’t tastes or smell it I have no idea why seafood just wouldn’t go down. So kudos to you and @lathomasmd for being able to eat seafood while going through treatment! So many great nutrients and protein!

well after 2 different days of going in to be tested this week I'm still not ready for chemo... the neutrophils are still not high enough...so they finally decided to give me that shot to help them develop quicker.. but my ca125 has come down to 306 as of yesterday.. here's the graph etc and this is one dose of chemo

I believe You can get a shot of Neulasta to raise WBC. Usually given subcutaneous 24 hours after Chemo.

Che k with your Oncologist team.

yes it was something like that to raise wbc...they said because I tested out of parameters 3 times they could give it to me

well got my bloodwork back....idk if its a good thing or not, i'll be honest...yes my numbers are up....WAY WAY up... my pc was concerned about me having an infection since i was running a fever of 102.7 when i was in there...starting Thurs the pain started back up and omg its been awful!!! thank goodness for the pain meds i had. i literally have been miserable.. but my pc said she didn't know if it was the Neulasta or what, she had no idea and wasn't about to even hazard a guess... my wbc was 15.8k , my neutrophils are at 13.3... they were trying to get it to 1.5 ( I think they succeeded).... i'm wondering if my wbc being so high is what has triggered my body into "sickness" mode...
does anyone have any ideas about any of this?

Hi @mommacandy When you’re having chemotherapy treatments and have a temperature 100.2 or above, general protocol is a direct admittance to the hospital for IV antibitoics. Your WBC count is up which can be an indication of an infection. Do you have a port or picc line?? Your PC was concerned?? What about your oncologist?? You should call them immediately.

haven't heard from the oncologist yet...i've only had one chemo treatment on Feb 14th i think it was nad my neutrophils hadn't been high enough since then...my pc has never dealt with anyone having taking Neulasta and she thought the wbc/neutrophils was up because of that..i'll hear from my oncologist on Mon i'm sure...she faxed the results to them this morning. I'll shoot them a message on mychart on Mon...my chemo is scheduled for wed.... i'm 4 hours from the place i get my chemo...and i will NEVER go back to this local joke of a hospital again.... i just wondered if anyone had any idea of if it could have sent my levels so high it put me into "sick mode"

Neulasta is used to ramp up the production of neutrophils. So that most likely is the reason for your high increase. It can also be the cause of the pain. It’s generally suggested to take Claritin antihistamine medication for once daily for 10 days starting the day you get the Neulasta. It will mitigate the pain.

But it’s doubtful that high neutrophils are reason you went into sick mode. You may have an infection especially if you have a port. If you won’t go to the hospital, your oncologist may order your PC to test for a blood pathogens.

well I just talked to the on call Dr and they basically said long as I was not having urinary or bowel issues it could probably wait til Monday when my regular oncologist is in since apparently my PC spoke to their office yesterday about my low grade fever and was recommending I go to local ER but didn't believe I would. she was so right lol.. you guys cannot possibly believe how bad the healthcare is here where I live. that is why I drive 4 hours for cancer treatment. the hospital here is nothing more than a glorified urgent Care. you go in the first thing they do they hook you up to IVs, they get blood work, everybody gets a CT scan whether you need it or not, usually x-rays and/or ultrasounds as well whether you need them or not and of course you're going to set in the ER for a minimum of 8 hours and nine times out of 10 they're not even going to address what you went in for. the last time my friend went to the ER he went in about an incision line to see if the amount of drainage he was having was normal as he was highly concerned. they never even looked at that, instead they had him hooked up to IVs drawing blood work etc basically what I just explained and this was after sitting in the ER for a couple hours he got took back to a room they drew blood and nobody even came in to talk to him for it at least another two and a half hours they ordered a CT scan which had nothing to do with the drainage on his incision line, decided to cancel the CT because he had one five days ago well duh and then they basically sent him home with a call your doctor on Monday. never even looked at the incision line or the drainage and yes this happened last night.

I can see your point about the hospital healthcare situation where you are. Wow…I take my care for granted I guess. At least your PCP was concerned enough to contact your oncologist about your fever.
Just for a reference, low grade fever is generally between 99 and 100.4. Your temperature of 102.7 is not considered a low grade fever. From my experience with chemo care instructions, my oncology team would have been on high alert and I’d have been admitted. That happened twice when my temp reached 100.2. So please, do take your temperature daily, morning and night so that you get a good baseline and can watch trends. Infections can take off quickly while you’re on chemo. I just want you to be safe.