Q:  Blood Platelets & WBC have Both Decreased

Hi Dr Phelps,

I have a history of bipolar 1 disorder and started epival 4 weeks ago. My level is 800 micromole/l. My platelets have decreased from 220 to 115 and my wbc has gone from 7.2 to 4.1. Is this something that usually levels out?

Thank you,
Liz
 

Dear Liz --

The decrease in your white blood cell count has not reached the point where great concern is warranted, based on the numbers you have provided here. Having another look to see that these numbers are indeed leveling out and climbing back up would seem warranted. The drop in your platelets, which as you know are associated with forming blood clots and thus preventing continued bleeding from even minor injuries, is large enough to raise some eyebrows, but if you are not having bleeding problems, I suppose one might wait and get another lab tests to see what had happened. I have not had patients with such a drop.

Dr. Phelps