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Blood test

georgie73
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Hi nurses, 

I'm so sorry to bother, but I spoke to my doc this morning and I'm a little confused...

I had a blood test last week due to having a lump on my neck that's been there for a few months (hard/rubbery, no pain), and them wanting to double check things. He called me this morning to confirm the results were 'borderline' and I have to have another test in 3-4 weeks so they have something to compare it with, though he didn't seem very worried which is great.

My question is: the result was .85 when he said they would it expect it to be 1 - I know he said it was related to the white cells but used another term for it, and I he said it so quickly I didn't have a chance to write it down. Would you have any idea what marker/thing this would have been? It looks like the standard white count would be a much higher number.

Many thanks in advance.

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    Sorry, I actually think it is the lymphocytes. Would you know if these go up and down, naturally? Many thanks.

  • Hello and thanks for your post

    If it was your lymphocytes ( part of the white blood cell count) that your doctor was referring to then the normal range is usually between 1 to 4. Yours is slightly below the normal range. This might be normal for you but your doctor just wants to repeat the test in 3 to 4 weeks to compare them.

    Lymphocytes tend to fluctuate but if they are on the higher side then this might mean an infection is present.

    Try not to worry. Your doctor is not concerned and it's standard practice to repeat the blood test as very often they tend to come within the normal range again.

    I hope this helps.

    Kind regards,

    Celene

  • Offline in reply to georgie73

    Hello, I had a blood test about 5 years ago which showed I had low lymphocytes, they were at .76. I stupidly never went back because I was too scared and had no symptoms. Recently I've had a fair few symptoms though and now thinking back to the lymphocytes it does worry me. I do suffer with health anxiety though. Did you get an explanation for yours in the end?

  • Offline in reply to ghg123

    Hi there, no, I had another test a couple of weeks later and all was fine. Scan came back abnormal but that turned out to be fine too. It sounds like it's normal that the levels fluctuate, and that some people have naturally lower levels (a bit like blood pressure).

    Tbh I would be suprised if you've had lymphoma or any kind of related illness for 5 years and not become seriously ill by now.

  • Offline in reply to georgie73

    Hello,

     

    yes that's what I was thinking too, but my health anxiety convinces me otherwise haha. I'm sure my current symptoms are very likely because I'm not following a balanced diet at all and not exercising, so I'm definitely not taking the best care of my body.

  • Offline in reply to ghg123

    Hi and thanks for the post

    When blood tests show  a raised or low reading, it's usually repeated as in many cases it will revert back to normal. There are many different explanations for low lymphocytes , with some causes including infection, inflammatory processes or sometimes due to erratic eating.

    If there had been a significant problem, there may well have been over the last 5 years other symptoms by now which would have prompted earlier visits to the GP.

    Health anxiety can have a big effect on the quality of your life, so when you talk through your current symptoms with the GP, do mention it, so some help may be offered to help with this.

    All the best

    Wanda

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