Today I had chemo for the 5th treatment and my white blood cell count has dropped to 1.7. The nurse talked to my Dr. and he said to go ahead with the chemo today even though my WBC was so low. Has anyone else had that side effect and should it be treated? I have been very sick and unable to eat hardly anything for over a week. I am going to work very hard to get something down. The good thing about chemo is they give me 1 bag of fluids before chemo, and another bag after. I sure did need those fluids today. I feel better some, but still have nausea. Sores on my neck haven't cleared up and my Dr. gave me a highly strong cortiocosteriod cream today so I am using that. But I am worried about the WBC. Thanks, Angel

Also, when I read the lines on my computer I am seeing 2 lines or like 1 1/2 of the line I am reading overlapping and I have to blink my eyes to clear it up and it just goes back to being 2 lines and I blink again and it clears up aging. Weird huh? Could the low WBC be causing that or would that be something else? Thanks, Angel

The WBC being low is normal for going thru chemo. I know mine werent in the normal range for well over a year from when I was first diagnosed. I dont know at what level is too low, sorry. There are shots of something called procreate and also some others out there that will help with your blood counts. Sorry that Im not more help with this.

I hope you have told your doc everything you said here. Do you have a PEG tube? Do you have anti-nausea meds? How about magic mouthwash to soothe your mouth? No matter what, just make sure you drink everyday. You dont want to lose your swallowing ability or get dehydrated. You must get minimum 2500 calories per day in. I ended up in the hospital twice for dehydration/ malnutrition and that was with a PEG.

I hate to sound harsh here, but if you dont listen to the hydration/nutrition advice you are only hurting yourself. It will make your treatments much harder and probably put you in the hospital. You will feel like crap if you dont get these things right. Easy way to get there is my 3000 calorie choc peanut butter milkshake. You still should have boost /ensure /carnation VHC or prescription formula if you have a peg.

I know how hard this is, Ive done it twice. I also know the more you avoid eating and drinking, the worse you will feel.

Im hoping you feel better tomorrow.

Christine Yes, I told both my Dr's. that I have not been eating/drinking like I should. I definately wanted them to know. I also ask for something to increase my appetite and he ordered me something, I just have to pick it up tomorrow. I did get an Ensure doen today and ate a few bites of soup for lunch and ate 3 bites of eggs for supper and I drank sips of water on and off all day and night, No peg tube, I only have 2 more weeks of treatment so I dout they will put one in.

What is the recipe for your 3,000 drink?

Thanks, Angel

If you wanna try the shake its made of all very aproximately measured ingredients....

3 or 4 cups choc ice cream
1 cup peanut butter (I cut it back to 1/2 cup, 1 cup is like 1600 calories alone)
2 cups milk
1/3 cup choc syrup

Its a big, thick shake. You might want to cut back on some of the ice cream and add more milk to make it thinner and easier for you to drink.

Unfortunately the last week and first 2 weeks after it ends are the worst of this whole thing. Hang in there, it will be over soon. Just please make sure to get your calories and water in every day so you dont feel so awful.

Thank you Christine. That sounds wonderful. It would be great if I could taste it as well. lol So if I mix that and drink it I would get enough calories for 1 day huh. That is wonderful, so I will try it and hope I can get it down. Thank you so much. Angel

Its the calories you need, but not all the nutrition you need. Thats why you still should get a couple cans of boost ensure or carnation vhc in. Balanced nutrition is always best. Going over on calories right now wont hurt you. I had at one point been getting 5000-6000 per day cuz of those shakes. I didnt gain an ounce even with doing it for a few weeks. If you get at least 2 cans in and a shake and do that for a few days, I know you will start to feel better. It wont be back to how you felt before the big C but it will be better than you feel now.

Dont forget the minimum 48 oz water too. Of course, more is always better with that too.

Angel,

I also made a lot of shakes during my treatment, got some recipes from the hospital. I don't recall the exact ingredients but did include milk, ice cream, yogart, and ice (the cold sure felt good). I would also add Carnation Breakfast mix, whey protein powder, instant non fat milk, and various fruits for the added nutritional value.

My kids even enjoyed them, so I had to make extra each time!

Also, make sure you mention your vision problems to your doctor.

Angel,

Cut to the bottom line and just drink 6 cans of VHC every day and you won't have to do anything else about calories. I didn't have any appetite or desire to do much and you are entering the worst part of your Tx now. For the next month at least it will not be pleasant and most likely much much worse than anything so far, especially the couple weeks post Tx so you really need to just get those calories down and to me the faster and more convenient, the better.

David, I know you are right about the VHC. The problem is I can't affored it. The company that makes Ensure has a Ross patient assistant program and are providing me with the Ensure at no cost to me. When my Dr. ordered it I didn't need the Ensure Plus which has more calories as my weight was holding up pretty good. But since then, they sent me 9 more cases 2 weeks ago and I can hardly eat or drink anything due to the nausea. Some times just the thought of putting anything in my mouth to swallow makes me want to just up chuck, which makes it harder for me to get anything down. I am definately getting the water down because the dry mouth and throat makes me. But I am going to try to get all I can down to avoid the peg tube. I only have 2 more weeks of treatment. One thing I have found is after I get the fluids, I feel a lot better so I had them yesterday with chemo and I feel pretty good today so I am going to try and keep all the fluids down I can and the jello and yougart and if I can do that they said I might could make it. I sure do hope so.

Did you have any problems with your white blood cell count going low during your treatments and if so what did they do for you?
Thanks, Angel

Angel

I can't help on the White blood cell issue as mine dropped from 11.6 to 7.5 but stabilized there. I could not stand the VHC and lived ENTIRELY on Ensure Plus for two months. At your stage, I was reduced to taking a sip of Ensure Plus, then stopping and swishing some selzter water around and spitting out the mucous, then another sip, swish etc. Hang in there. I did not want a PEG so suffered through this also. At the end, it took a half hour to drink each Ensure Plus. But it was worth it to me.

Charm2017, Well you have give me some hope and I appreciate your comments. It is so hard when what you put in your mouth just doesn't want it there. lol Sometimes even the toothbrush on my tongue will also start the heaves. But overall I feel I have done really well. I am still driving myself and my grandson goes with me most every day just in case he needed to drive.

Angel

Angel,
I too lived on Ensure Plus for about 6 weeks, last three of radiation and first three after. Make certain it is good and cold. It would also take me a half hour to get a can down. I didn't have the nausea problem, but I did have the mucous problem. I found it easier to get down in the morning because for some reason my mucous was most productive around 4pm in the afternoon. Maybe because my rad appointment was 8:30 am. You have to drink the Ensure for the protein and vitamin content unless you are adding something to the shakes that will provide them. I was told I needed 80 grams of protein a day. I was never able to get more than about 60.

Hang in there. There is always the nasal feeding tube, ugly but works, if you need it for a few weeks.

Take care,
Eileen

My WBC dropped like most people but not low enough to do anything special.

Sorry about the money. I wish you were close by as I still have a case and a half left over.

Believe me I know what you mean about the nausea. It was my worse problem and I landed in the ER 3 times because of it. I have since said many times that they need to give all chemo/rad patients a port and daily hydration from the 4th week of Tx until we are out of the woods, like the 4th week post Tx. That said you still need to pinch your nose and swallow and then hold your mouth shut until the urge to throw up passes.

Alternatively, chemo/rad patients can get a PEG tube and be better equipped to avoid malnutrition/dehydration problems during treatment. (I had no weight loss at all during treatment and was fully hydrated throughout.)

my two cents, as they say.

Having had two PEG tubes for my treatments, I am in total agreement that they sure aid getting sufficient nutrition and hydration.

Hi Angel,
My husbands WBC's on Friday were 1.3 and they wanted to hospitalize him due to his WBC's...he was told that if they go much lower they won't be able to bring him back...he refused to go, so they gave him fluids and a bag of antibiotics and we went home...he is still very weak and sluggish. I too am worried about the WBC's - he is on his 10th chemo treatment and has called it to a halt...he feels very bad right now and is very weak.....that's all they could offer with him refusing the hospital.

Good Luck to you on this...
Paula

It's pretty typical for the WBC to drop. In my early post Tx phase I had low RBC as well so I had to wonder just what the heck was flowing in my veins. This can cause fatigue and poor autoimmune response. There are some medications to help with this (like Procrit), but time is the best healer. It is also typical for the WBC to never return to normal levels.

The immune system will be compromised for a long time so great care must be taken to avoid sick persons (especially children) and aseptic techniques when going to public places. To this day I still carry waterless hand cleaner in the vehicles and use it everytime I have to touch a shopping cart, door handle, gas pump, and any type of public digital keypad.

Paula,

I wish I could snap my fingers and all would be right. None of us want to be faced with yours and his options and I have no idea what choices I would make so lets pray for the best.

My WBC also dropped and I also had some other wacky numbers in there too...But they said it all fell under the circumstances of what I was going through. I became dehydrated and spent my last 9 or 10 txs in the Hospital. So, be very careful the next few weeks. I'm now (well tomorrow) will be two weeks post tx and I feel a lot better. It's still not easy but it's getting better. I'm also still on liquids...some taste is coming back but it's flagrant at best. I was drinking soups and other things, then just said the heck with it...I mix it up between ensure, VHC and boost...I also drink fiber and Juven to help out. Forget about anything that doesn't help...try to go for the biggest bang. See if your Doctor can put in a script for the VHC--it has to be ordered through the Pharmacy. You can get VHC on Amazon for about 40 bucks....560 calories per can...that's like drinking 2 1/2 Ensures or 2 boosts...Good luck and stay tough.

Well, I have just gotten out of the hospital again. This time I feel so much better. I was way past going and they had put a pic tube in my arm. Then they gave me what they call meat and potatoes in the pic line. For a few days I hardly knew right from left but I am a lot better since I have been getting good treatment. They intended on my going home with the pic tube left in and home health care would monitor me but medicare wouldn't cover the cost of the liquids they call the meat and potatoes. I just have to be real careful and get down the Ensure or Ensure types of drinks so I don't get in that shape again. They said they would put in a peg tube but my white blood cell could was so low that they didn't want to risk it right now. Please forgive me if I said anythin stupid as that is exactly how I was. Completely not knowing for sure what I was saying or doing. lol Thanks for your responce, Angel

Angel

Sorry you are having a rough time. It really stinks being admitted to the hospital. Ive had to be there now 4 times not counting the operations Ive had to have for this awful cancer. Hope you feel better soon.