HealingWell
Search Close Search
☰

Results are in - and I'm worried!

Support Forums
>
Anxiety & Panic Disorders
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply
❬ ❬ Previous Thread |Next Thread ❭ ❭
Posted 2/20/2012 8:53 PM (GMT 0)
Well, I had my doctor's appointment today and he went over my blood test results.  Everything was perfect EXCEPT my WBC was slightly low.  It was 3.6 and normal is 4.2-11.0.  So, of course, I googled low wbc as soon as I got home and learned all kinds of horrible things it could be.  My doctor indicated it could be caused by a viral infection, allergies, etc.  and that we would watch it.  But he did not schedule and apparently didn't see the need for a retest in a few months.  He's not an alarmist and wouldn't be concerned if I walked in carrying my eyeball in my hand.  He's actually a perfect doctor for me as he's always very calm.  I didn't want him to overreact but I'm really worried.  I know if he thought it was something to be concerned about, he'd tell me to have another test in a few months.  But now I'm worried about NEXT year when I have to take the tests again.  What if they come back bad and I have something horrible wrong with me.  I really hate feeling like this.  I just can't imagine feeling like this for the rest of my life, knowing as I get older things really will be wrong with me!  I should probably just refill my Xanax prescription and relax.  Easier said than done for those of us with health anxiety, huh?  I'm so sorry to be such a pain and to carry on like I am.  I wish I was a stronger person.
Posted 2/20/2012 9:30 PM (GMT 0)
I know exactly how you are feeling right now!!!

I have always had a low WBC count...in fact mine has run lower than your current result. My doctor just shrugs and says that is 'normal' for me. Those tests result ranges are just taken from a cross section of average people, and some of us are not going to fit perfectly within them.

As long as you are not always getting sick and susceptible to every virus and infection, then you are going to be fine. I get the normal amount of colds and illnesses...actually for my exposure rate...I have appox 150 dance students I see a week, I do very well...so I am not worried about my WBC.

Now my MCV on the other hand...It is out of range (too high) and when I called the doctor about it, same reaction as yours...'No big deal' I was told. Well of course, I couldn't let it go so I googled possible reasons for this result...BIG MISTAKE! I found that it could be something benign...to a rare blood disorder, to pre-leukemia!!! Guess which one my anxious mind chose to fixate on.

I am due to have my yearly stuff done, and this is the "Big Dreaded Result' that has me dragging my feet. Will this number have gone up even more? Will the doctor see the results and determine that something is indeed wrong?

I have the same thoughts going on, so I guess we are in the same boat.

I am sorry, I know how it feels, and it is NO GOOD.:(

If I can reassure you however...like I said, my WBC is and always has been a little low. I have asked friends that are nurses and even a doctor acquaintance and they all assured me that unless the other results in the CBC were off in conjunction with the WBC, then there is nothing to worry about...and your doctor would have seen that if it was the case with your results...so you are okay!:)

Try not to worry...remember most people never even look at their results unless the doctor points something out to them that is off...then you have us, who not only look, but second guess, google, question our doctor's expertise, ect...ultimately driving ourselves nutso!

Ah the 'fun' of health anxiety

Try to relax, I'll try too!

S.C.

p.s. Lol, "Carrying my eyeball in my hand" Looooove it!
Posted 2/20/2012 11:15 PM (GMT 0)
Please you are okay.

I am a pathologist and an expert in blood disorders. While the reported reference range refers to 95% of the population at any one time, your numbers are only marginally outside that.

I have  a wbc count of 2.2 to 4.0 . My heritage is Italian,and blacks/mediterraneans tend to have fewer neutrophils. What is important is that you don't have what we call pancytopenia which usually entails a platelet count below 50 along with anemia.

So forget about that 3.6. Your doctor has good reason to think it is nothing and doesn't need to be rechecked.

Edit:  Deer Slayer, I am going to request that you please refrain from giving out medical advice.  Here in HealingWell even thow many of us are professionals we leave our titles at the door and become equal peers to one another. Please refrain from stating you are a Dr. as well as that you are the Medical Director of a Pathology Department.  8. If you are a medical professional, do not use the forums to distribute professional medical advice.

Post Edited By Moderator (stkitt) : 2/21/2012 11:30:50 AM (GMT-7)

Posted 2/21/2012 12:08 AM (GMT 0)
Thank you both so very much.  I'm sure you're right about everything. 

Deer Slayer:  My Platelets are 206 and my RBC is 4.22.  My previous WBC two years ago was 4.8 so I immediately thought I had bone marrow failure or an autoimmune disease.  Maybe this is why, when I asked my doctor for a copy of my results, he said "seriously?".  I guess he was thinking that someone with sever health anxiety didn't need to see anything that could cause even more issues than it solved!

S.C.  Do you think there is a program out there that would disable our ability to google health disorders?  Like you, I've had everything including prostate cancer - and I'm female!  It's not good enough that we get good news at the doctor's office.  We have to google our little fingers off until we find something to get our anxeity levels up and our blood pressure elevated!  The odd part is, outside of you guys on this site, no one knows that I suffer from health anxiety.  When my friends talk about going for mammos and things like that, I just shake my head like I agree with them.  I couldn't tell them I haven't had one in years because they bring on so much anxiety that I almost pass out!!!  And yes...we tend to overanalyze our results.  Even if they are within the normal range, we worry if they veer towards the higher or lower end of normal!  I'm sure your "Big Dreaded Result" will be a non-event.  And sadly, I feel your pain!  But we'll get through this and be here to support others.

Once again, thank you for helping to alleviate my fears!

Posted 2/21/2012 12:30 AM (GMT 0)
Lol, specialone...perhaps a program that would administer a mild, but unpleasant eletrical shock when we log on to symptom search sites...or a tiny hand that comes out of the monitor to slap us up-side the head?!?

shocked   turn blush smilewinkgrin

S.C.

Posted 2/22/2012 12:13 AM (GMT 0)
Scardey cat

You are correct. Dr. Google can be our worst enemy.

Posted 2/22/2012 2:40 PM (GMT 0)
Hi

Good to meet you. I can relate on this one (as SC will know lol) a few months ago I got some blood tests and like you my WBC count was out of range on the low end. This sent my anxiety through the roof and I was well on my way into orbit as I to had googled possible causes for a low wbc count.

I have a good doctor who assured me it was nothing to worry about but still the health anxiety got the better of me. Luckily SC was on hand and managed to make me see sense and the anxiety came down Health anxiety is hard to deal with and I find it the hardest to keep under control.

I hope you are feeling reassured after speaking with members here. We are always here to support you so let us know how thing are going.

Hibee
Posted 2/23/2012 2:23 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks for your support!  I sometimes feel as though I'm the only one who thinks these kinds of things.  My doctor wasn't even going to mention the low wbc to me.  I just happened to notice it when he handed me the copy of my labs when I was heading out the door.  That's how much of a non-issue it was with him.  He said we'd just watch it - next year!  So since I don't have any symptoms of anything I located on Google (lol!!!) and I see that you're suffering from the same thing and you're still here, I guess we're going to survive!
Posted 2/23/2012 5:12 AM (GMT 0)
I know how you feel. I am the same way with health anxiety, but it revolves mainly around my heart. I didn't have a problem with my WBC count, but I did have a problem with what was on the report that was sent to my doc by the hospital ER. I was there in September and November.

Once I got a look at them, I started to panic! I had all kinds of blood work done, and an EKG both times, and both times the ER doc told me that everything was fine, that it was just a severe panic attack. So they gave me 1 mg of Ativan through IV and sent me on my way.

I recently had to get my medical records from my doc, and I noticed on the one report it said "Significant Murmur"! Well.....this pushed me over the edge with anxiety and panic for a bit, until I realized that if they thought it was something to worry about, I would have been told by both, the ER doc, and my pdoc. So I just let it go. I mean if they thought there was something to worry about they would have sent me to a cardiologist.

I'm not going to lie, it still does bother me to this day, but i'm just putting it down to the fact that when I had an echo done 10 years ago, they said I had a touch of mitral valve regurgitation, which can cause a murmur.

Hope everything works out for you, and just remember, if the doc thought it was something to worry about, he wouldn't wait a year to retest you.

Fox
Posted 2/24/2012 12:31 AM (GMT 0)
And he wouldn't risk his medical license trying not to upset me. I also understand your health issues regarding your heart. I have MVP and have freaked when they mentioned a murmur. All this health anxiety is a real hoot isn't it?
Posted 2/24/2012 12:16 PM (GMT 0)
I just had to chime in here because I can soooo relate to the health anxiety issues many of us have.  I'll tell you what cured me of logging into  Mr. Google.  I got up one morning, started to brush my teeth and my tongue was pitch black.  Nearly had a stroke...got on google and the first thing it mentioned on the search page was Black Hairy Tongue. This sounded so bad I couldn't even look up the symptoms. I called work and said I wasn't coming in then went immediately to the doctor.  He looked in my mouth, asked me if I had taken Pepto Bismol and...yes I had....the night before when I went to bed.  It says right on the bottle that it 'may cause black tongue or stools.'

The doctor just shook his head and laughed when I mentioned Black Hairy Tongue...I heard him tell is NP what I thought I had and that embarrassment was enough for me...I never Google anything medical anymore.

Donna

Posted 2/24/2012 2:31 PM (GMT 0)
Donna,

Love your story and I had to laugh when I saw "black hairy tongue". This is a condition that can be caused by some antibiotics - Flagyl can cause this as well as your Pepto Bismol.  My hubby was on Flagyl for an extended period of time years ago and I already knew this could be a side effect so I would ask him to stick out his tongue before he kissed me tongue Even thow he was so sick at the time this gave us something to laugh about. 

Your Dr. should not have laughed at you - shame on him - you did not know and anyone would freak if there tongue turned black.

Thanks for sharing your experience.

Kindly,

Kitt 

 

Posted 2/25/2012 12:28 AM (GMT 0)
As long as we're telling embarrassing stories...I was on a cruise and participated in the midnight party quite heavily. I ate and drank everything not already in someone else's mouth. I got up the next morning and went into the bathroom. I looked in the mirror and saw all this dried blood in my hair. I freaked out and ran to the ships doctors office. I told him what happened and that I was certain I must have a concussion from the terrible fall I had apparently taken the evening prior. I basically demanded they stop at the next port to have an ambulance transport me to the nearest hospital where I would surely die of my injuries. He indicated he would certainly comply if appropriate but that he would like to examine me first. After looking at my "severe" injury he proclaimed I could be cured with a shower as it wasn't dried blood in my hair but chocolate. He indicated I had apparently passed out on top of the mint on my pillow and it meted in my hair. Sigh...my health anxieties even follow me on the 7 seas. I guess I'll go and check out my tongue in the mirror. Just because Donna doesn't have Black Hairy Tongue doesn't mean I don't!!!
Posted 2/25/2012 3:04 AM (GMT 0)
That is too funny!!! You can't be blamed for mistaking chocolate for blood...you know they used to use chocolate syup for blood in the movies! It dries about the same color!

I just have to say that I had never imbibed to the point of ever letting a chocolate escape my radar though;p...You must have been pretty gone. Lol!

Great stories ladies:)

S.C.
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply