Your WBC white blood cell count helps you to fight off infection and is common for it to get even dangerously low during treatment. As long as you're seeing and talking with your Doctor he can decide how low is too low. Keep your chin up and stay away from anyone that is sick.

It's actually expected that our WBCs will go down during treatment. My WBCs hung around 2 and at the end of treatment were just below 2. I didn't need my meds reduced and I didn't need the rescue meds to boost the WBCs back up.

As far as your doc's suggestion to reduce your riba, riba has NOTHING to do with your WBCs going low. Riba will make your red blood cells go low (also expected with treatment) but it's the interferon that makes the WBCs go low. So, if your doc actually asked about lowering your riba because of low white blood cell count, he doesn't know what he's doing.

What is your WBC level at this point?

By the way, if your WBCs get "too low" then your doc might reduce your interferon (NOT RIBA) or he might add an injection called Neupogen which is to raise the WBCs without having to reduce your treatment meds.

I don't know if there is a standard number for "too low" that doctors use but my lowest was 1.9 and there were no changes made in my treatment.

Wow, KaryMelly and Jack
That's really scary if he told you that and she is correct with her data.
And, it sounds like she knows what she is talking about. Yikes.

I can also confirm that Jack. My wbc are low (2) and the doc was monitoring it weekly. They had me do my shot the day before the labs to make sure it didnt drop too low - it didnt. Riba doesnt effect the wbc count. I was also told to avoid too many germs and make sure I wash my hands a lot.

Hi, mine are low as well and being checked each week, My doc goes by the ANC, absolute nuetrophil count of your WBC. My WBC ranges between 1.49 and up, nuetrophil .8, will need neupogen if lowers to .75.....................

its not the pills that you take thats lowers your w.b.c its the shot. the shot lowers your w.b.c and your platelets the pills lowers your r.b.c all three will go down while your on tx.kenny

Definitely, as ncRobin said, everyone on treatment should avoid sick people and wash, wash, wash those hands frequently. I even avoided the grocery store during the peak shopping hours and I was a fanatic about washing my hands as soon as I got home from anywhere that I had been.

My Hepatologist told me that they were actually looking at my Neutrophils a very specific part of your WBCs.The stated normal range for human blood counts varies between laboratories, but a neutrophil count of 2.5-7.5 x 109/L is a standard normal range. I had to get more than a few Neupogen injections during my TX. I stayed away from everyone when I knew I was screwed with my immune system.Wash your hands when ever you get home, I even kept the anti bacterial crap in the bottle that you can rub on your hands in my car.....

my neutrophils have dropped to 0.7, so consequently the doc has reduced my riba by 200mg/day down from 1200mg/daily.
Having more bloods next week to keep watch. Already got an infection in my sinuses and on antibiotics. I have friends who were put on Neupogen - they say that that is another set of sides to adjust to

Billr50: Is your hemoglobin also low? What I'm wondering is why your doc would lower your riba because of low neutrophils because it's not the riba that lowers the neutrophils or WBCs. It's the interferon that does that.

If your hemoglobin or RBCs are also low, then that would explain why your doc reduced your riba because riba lowers the hemoglobine and RBCs. Interferon lowers the WBCs and/or neutrophils.

Thanks everyone... I've been sick a bit (I guess that's a bit of an understatement in HCV circles)... I mean sick besides HCV. And I think that's what has the witch doctor pounding his drum. I couldn't concentrate, so I pretty much forgot all the WBC numbers etc.. They were firing numbers & acronyms all over the place. I vaguely remember that he said my liver gets 24 miles to the gallon (highway) but I forget the rest. We'll push through...

its crazy jack. those numbers dont tell me much either. i get a different count each time i count my nads. they have to weaken your immune system so your body wont fight the meds. yet you overall come out with an enhanced immunity system regardless of tx outcome. its all like sci-fi, rocket surgery or something.

during treatment my wbc's went way low so had to take neupogen to boost them up. another injection. at first it was 3 times a week, then two, then finally the last three months just once a week.

if you do get put on neupogen to boost them up make sure they do weekly blood tests to monitor how you're doing.

my doctor did not want to reduce any my medication cause he said that my chances of clearing the virus would go down. (but i think they reduce the interferon for the wbc count anyway, not the riba?)

hope this helps some. hang in there! treatment sure wasn't easy for me. i guess for some people it is but for me it was like a war. was sick every single day for a year. hugs, q

Well said Quasar. Good info.