white blood cells at zero

notLola
notLola Member Posts: 10
edited March 2014 in Esophageal Cancer #1
Dad in hospital after first cycle of carboplatin and 5FU. White blood cell count zero and platelets at 7. Getting antibiotics, platelets and nutrients via IV. Also in sterile environment. I'm told this is not uncommon with chemo. Any idea how long it takes for WBC count to rebound?

Comments

  • linda1120
    linda1120 Member Posts: 389
    #2
    counts
    My husband and I just went through this. He was in the hospital eleven days, but does have other complicating issues with his heart. He is rebounding and eating and drinking again. His counts are back to normal! God is good! He had to have platelets, blood, IV fluids, anti-biotics, IV nausea meds, and plasma transfusions. I was happy he was in the hospital, he needed round the clock care and protection from the elements.

    I hope your Dad rebounds quickly and is able to function normally soon.

    God Bless,

    Linda
  • notLola
    notLola Member Posts: 10
    #3
    linda1120 said:

    counts
    My husband and I just went through this. He was in the hospital eleven days, but does have other complicating issues with his heart. He is rebounding and eating and drinking again. His counts are back to normal! God is good! He had to have platelets, blood, IV fluids, anti-biotics, IV nausea meds, and plasma transfusions. I was happy he was in the hospital, he needed round the clock care and protection from the elements.

    I hope your Dad rebounds quickly and is able to function normally soon.

    God Bless,

    Linda

    for Linda - WBC counts
    Oh Linda thank you for your info. So sorry you and your husband had to go through this. Great to know they can come back to normal. My dad's wife reports the doctor is predicting Friday as a discharge date. Dad feeling much better after a blood transfusion. Terrible lingering allergic reaction and severe mucositis though. Raw from his forehead to his belly, and extremely sensitive mouth. How do patients endure this stuff?
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    #4
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  • unclaw2002
    unclaw2002 Member Posts: 599
    #5
    Jennifer,My dad's blood, 79
    Jennifer,

    My dad's blood, 79 now he just had a birthday :) had a really adverse reaction to the 5FU infusions pump not many of the other side effects interestingly enough - the doctors had to reduce the dosage and change the schedule but his platelet count still kept going down.

    To give you some perspective my dad's platelete count went down to 75,000. The minimum number to receive chemo is 100,000 and a healthy platelete count is somewhere north of 150,000 up to 450,000 (the opposite is if the count is too high blood clots). As William said the worst of the effect from the chemo builds up and it takes time for the count to rebound. The problem is that chemo is most effective if it is consistently administered. My dad had several platelete and blood infusions previously, but he hasn't had any chemo since October 5th and last week his count was finally up to 96,000. For some reason the doctors did not give him a transfusion this last time. Be careful of your dad bumping things because with such a low count he can end up with big bruises and bleeding that is difficult to stop.

    Good luck - the body does recover but the chemo kills the good cells along with the bad. Have a great holiday.

    Best,
    Cindy

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