caringmom

I wrote awhile back stating that my son's white blood count was higher then normal.
Some asked what it was,,,so we just found out because it took them a while to put
it in his portal thing...and he had to keep calling.
Now he changed doctors and is waiting for his new insurance card, He has this Obama care and
it is not the best .
Anyway, his count was 11,300 We're not sure it that is bad or ok
He still has to wait till the end of this month to see his new doctor due to
this insurance process taking so long.

He developed ulcerative colitis in his early 30's.
Tried other meds..Asacol, Purenithol,,but nothing helped.
Finally the Dr. put him on Remicade 10 years ago,
He also started getting little sores on his lower arms..He has been taking
full strength Remicade every single month for 8 years. His last colonoscopy was
in January, 2019. Th doctor said his intestines looked good, no sign of colitis, so the
Remicade is doing it's work. BUT, it lowers his immune system and if he gets a little infection,
or even a cold, it takes a toll on him, and takes a while to clear up and heal. I was just concerned when the doctor told him his w.blood
count was high and he wanted him to go see a hematologist as his General practitioner
wasn't sure what to do about his higher then normal count.

Well one other thing was a few weeks back,,he sprained his back,,,lifting heavy stuff,
He was in a lot of pain so went to the back doctor...they Xrayed it and told him he had
Arthritis of his spine,,,degenerative disks all the way down his spine...and was all inflamed,
. He is 51 years old,,,but I have the same thing but I'm older.
I wonder if his back inflammation can make the white cells higher??

Did he ever get it rechecked? I would definitely check it a few times to make sure it's really up and it wasn't something his body was fighting at the moment. If it's up over a period of time, I'd definitely see a hematologist. Is he concerned? Does he have any symptoms of a flare up?

I just looked this up though:

Somebody said...
How many white blood cells (WBCs) someone has varies, but the normal range is usually between 4,000 and 11,000 per microliter of blood. A blood test that shows a WBC count of less than 4,000 per microliter (some labs say less than 4,500) could mean your body may not be able to fight infection the way it should. https://www.webmd.com/cancer/white-blood-cell-count-low

11300 would be only slightly high if you go by that scale.

Elevated cout is evidence of an active immune system, so the concern about Remicade suppressing it seems misplaced.

IF there is a low-level flare, that could be reflected in slightly elevated wbc.

good luck