Lymphocytes

SnapDragon2
SnapDragon2 Member Posts: 720 Member
in Colorectal Cancer #1

Good morning!  Does anyone have any ideas on how to raise lymphocyte levels?

Comments

  • Tueffel
    Tueffel Member Posts: 327 Member
    #2
    Googled it once

    Hello!

     

    I googled that once for my dad. A possibility to increase lymphocytes can be due to diet. Of course you dont eat lympho, you rather eat precursors that the body needs to build lympho. 

    If it works, I dont know. My research then was useless cause my dad still got therapy even though the lympho were not in the range (it was then MS treatment)

    But I will write down what I found: green tea, garlic, zinc containing food (oysters, crabs, cereals, beef), beta carotene (like carrots), no fast foods or transfats (fried things are very bad), lean protein (poultry, fish cottage cheese, egg white, beans).

     

    These are like general things that could work. But I would contact and talk about this to your oncologist and a clinical nutrionist. They should know what is good in yoir situation and things you should better not eat. 

  • Kazenmax
    Kazenmax Member Posts: 463 Member
    edited February 2020 #3
    Drink lots of water... If you

    Drink lots of water... If you get dehydrated, it can lower your counts. 

  • SnapDragon2
    SnapDragon2 Member Posts: 720 Member
    edited February 2020 #4
    Tueffel said:

    Googled it once

    Hello!

     

    I googled that once for my dad. A possibility to increase lymphocytes can be due to diet. Of course you dont eat lympho, you rather eat precursors that the body needs to build lympho. 

    If it works, I dont know. My research then was useless cause my dad still got therapy even though the lympho were not in the range (it was then MS treatment)

    But I will write down what I found: green tea, garlic, zinc containing food (oysters, crabs, cereals, beef), beta carotene (like carrots), no fast foods or transfats (fried things are very bad), lean protein (poultry, fish cottage cheese, egg white, beans).

     

    These are like general things that could work. But I would contact and talk about this to your oncologist and a clinical nutrionist. They should know what is good in yoir situation and things you should better not eat. 

    Thank you so much, Tueffel! 

    Thank you so much, Tueffel!  I will add some of these foods into my diet that have been lacking (such as carrots, so not a fan).  I have got to get lymphocytes up.

     

  • SnapDragon2
    SnapDragon2 Member Posts: 720 Member
    #5
    Kazenmax said:

    Drink lots of water... If you

    Drink lots of water... If you get dehydrated, it can lower your counts. 

    Thank you so much, Kaz!  I

    Thank you so much, Kaz!  I did not know that.  I try to stay hydrated but some days I slip.

  • Kazenmax
    Kazenmax Member Posts: 463 Member
    #6
    SnapDragon2 said:

    Thank you so much, Kaz!  I

    Thank you so much, Kaz!  I did not know that.  I try to stay hydrated but some days I slip.

    I found that out the hard way

    I found that out the hard way. I continue to have low WBC. I went to a nutritionist and she said that I needed to drink between half an ounce and an ounce of water for each pound I weigh, every day.  So if you weigh 150 pounds, that would be 75 to 150 ounces of water a day. It's a lot... I don't get near that much but I did find that if I drank lots of water, I had better counts.

  • SnapDragon2
    SnapDragon2 Member Posts: 720 Member
    #7
    Kazenmax said:

    I found that out the hard way

    I found that out the hard way. I continue to have low WBC. I went to a nutritionist and she said that I needed to drink between half an ounce and an ounce of water for each pound I weigh, every day.  So if you weigh 150 pounds, that would be 75 to 150 ounces of water a day. It's a lot... I don't get near that much but I did find that if I drank lots of water, I had better counts.

    I went for a consultation

    I went for a consultation this afternoon with a nutritionist. I was hydrated today :) They drew blood for a vitamin and mineral panel.  I told them my diet day by day and how I am starting folfox on Monday.  I will meet with her again next Thurs to go over test results and diet. I will start keeping up with water intake to see how much Im lacking. 

  • Tueffel
    Tueffel Member Posts: 327 Member
    #8
    SnapDragon2 said:

    Thank you so much, Tueffel! 

    Thank you so much, Tueffel!  I will add some of these foods into my diet that have been lacking (such as carrots, so not a fan).  I have got to get lymphocytes up.

     

    You are welcome

    You are welcome! 

    I do really believe that nutrition and a diet can have positive effects of your life and the disease. Until now I dont have any on colon cancer (my dad is just at the beginning) but I know how my dad reacted to some foods during his MS, some times he felt more active, less tired. Considering that you are going to chemo try to eat healthy if you can but then I think that eating general the things you can eat if you have any side effects. But I hope your chemo will go and you will have zero side effects. 

    As for carrots, they are just an example of beta carotene. .. Just google food with beta carotene and you will find fruits or vegetables that are not necessary carrots ;) 

    I hope you will get better and all the brst!

  • AnneO1965
    AnneO1965 Member Posts: 182 Member
    #9
    While I was doing chemo, I

    While I was doing chemo, I had an instance where my counts were borderline for getting my treatment. I started drinking a boost every day and didn't have any problems after that.

  • SnapDragon2
    SnapDragon2 Member Posts: 720 Member
    #10
    Hi Anne,  thank you for

    Hi Anne,  thank you for letting me know this.  I started eating carrots as Tueffel suggested and drinking muscle milk every day.  Today my counts were up some, so it is working maybe.  Its not pleasant to ingest either one of those to me but hey, anything to get thru this cancer battle.  

  • abita
    abita Member Posts: 1,152 Member
    #11
    What do lymphocytes do? I

    What do lymphocytes do? I know my oncologists have always watched my neutrophils.

  • SnapDragon2
    SnapDragon2 Member Posts: 720 Member
    #12
    They help fight infection and

    They help fight infection and part of T-Cell pathway (?) that help reconize cancer cells and attack them or something like that is what I was told.  They watch my neutrophils too.  Neutrophils were high at one point but came down.  My lymphocytes are extremely low but still did 1st round of Folfox today.

  • abita
    abita Member Posts: 1,152 Member
    #13
    SnapDragon2 said:

    They help fight infection and

    They help fight infection and part of T-Cell pathway (?) that help reconize cancer cells and attack them or something like that is what I was told.  They watch my neutrophils too.  Neutrophils were high at one point but came down.  My lymphocytes are extremely low but still did 1st round of Folfox today.

    interesting. Yours are low

    interesting. Yours are low before you start chemo? The reason I know about the neutrophils is that on folfox my WBC count was always low, but sometimes so low that they were on the fence, and it when borderline, it was about the neutrphils. 

  • SnapDragon2
    SnapDragon2 Member Posts: 720 Member
    #14
    abita said:

    interesting. Yours are low

    interesting. Yours are low before you start chemo? The reason I know about the neutrophils is that on folfox my WBC count was always low, but sometimes so low that they were on the fence, and it when borderline, it was about the neutrphils. 

    Neutraphils and lymphocytes

    Neutraphils and lymphocytes were normal before chemo.  I was only on the 5fu pump before surgery.  The neutraphils came down over past 3 months but lymphocytes remain very low.  Today they came up a half percent from where it was 2 weeks ago.  The whole thing is just crazy with cancer and trying to stay ahead.  

  • abita
    abita Member Posts: 1,152 Member
    #15
    SnapDragon2 said:

    Neutraphils and lymphocytes

    Neutraphils and lymphocytes were normal before chemo.  I was only on the 5fu pump before surgery.  The neutraphils came down over past 3 months but lymphocytes remain very low.  Today they came up a half percent from where it was 2 weeks ago.  The whole thing is just crazy with cancer and trying to stay ahead.  

    oh, yeah, you said that. I

    oh, yeah, you said that. I just got home from chemo, and I am always really foggy after chemo. Thanks for the info about them needed to fight the cancer. WIth mine, it was always about my body not being able to fight off so much as a cold. I had an ingrown hair that ended up so infected that I was put on antibiotics

  • SnapDragon2
    SnapDragon2 Member Posts: 720 Member
    #16
    I feel you on that one,

    I feel you on that one, catching everything that comes around.  I've had some type of crud that I could shake for last 3 weeks, finally over it.  Thanks for the info on ingrown hairs causing infection, goodness.  More of an excuse not to shave legs and other things now, lol...How are you feeling after chemo today?

  • abita
    abita Member Posts: 1,152 Member
    #17
    SnapDragon2 said:

    I feel you on that one,

    I feel you on that one, catching everything that comes around.  I've had some type of crud that I could shake for last 3 weeks, finally over it.  Thanks for the info on ingrown hairs causing infection, goodness.  More of an excuse not to shave legs and other things now, lol...How are you feeling after chemo today?

    I feel foggy! :)  To be fair,

    I feel foggy! :)  To be fair, I had always had a problem with this one ingrown hair, but like, it would be like a pencil head, pop, and then go away. This got over two inches across of infection. Eventually, as a last resort before hospitalizing me, my oncologist spent 20 minutes getting all the pus out. It was so hard and huge that he at first thought it was my port infected.

    Oh, and I don't have to shave my legs or underarms anymore Sealed

  • SnapDragon2
    SnapDragon2 Member Posts: 720 Member
    #18
    Lymphocytes are up 4 points

    Lymphocytes are up 4 points to 9.5.  Still got a lil way to go.  I am drinking so so so much green tea, drinking 2 glasses of V8 every day and having IV vitamin C.  It was an experiment but apparently it is working so far.  Thanks to you all for all the tips on this!!!!!

  • Tueffel
    Tueffel Member Posts: 327 Member
    edited March 2020 #19
    SnapDragon2 said:

    Lymphocytes are up 4 points

    Lymphocytes are up 4 points to 9.5.  Still got a lil way to go.  I am drinking so so so much green tea, drinking 2 glasses of V8 every day and having IV vitamin C.  It was an experiment but apparently it is working so far.  Thanks to you all for all the tips on this!!!!!

    Good news

    Hey SnapDragon2,

    Very good to hear that your lymphocytes rose. Very happy that our different tipps helped you! Hopefully the amounts will rise further and maybe even normalize or close to normal!

    I wish you all the best

  • SnapDragon2
    SnapDragon2 Member Posts: 720 Member
    #20
    I think my lymphocytes really

    I think my lymphocytes really like your carrot tip, myself not so much, lol...

    They were 5 when I originally posted and are at 9.5, low normal is 15...so getting there.  Maybe keeping this up they will normal in another 3-4 wks.

  • Tueffel
    Tueffel Member Posts: 327 Member
    #21
    SnapDragon2 said:

    I think my lymphocytes really

    I think my lymphocytes really like your carrot tip, myself not so much, lol...

    They were 5 when I originally posted and are at 9.5, low normal is 15...so getting there.  Maybe keeping this up they will normal in another 3-4 wks.

    Oh god carrots

    Oh god carrots! A childrens nightmare! ;)

    It is good that it up now! Even if you dont like the carrots. I am thinking to tell my dad to drink more green tea and eat carrots. It is 15 now for him but he is only after the first chemo and corona is spreading... It seems to be working :)

     

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