Elevated Eosinophils

[Bmom]

Hi all! First time posting here as I was an anxiety zone member prior to the site closing.

I'll cut to the chase - haven't felt well for a few months now, fatigue, heart palps, racing heart, sore muscles, losing hair. thought it was my thyroid acting wonky again - I saw two different doctors, one said Hashimoto's, the other said she thinks Grave's. She put me on methimazole and I took it for a week and a half but after discussing with her, we decided I would stop taking it as it was making me extremely itchy and I wanted further testing to diagnose Graves before I continued to take a medication for it. I wasn't itchy before taking it and it's now been a week and a half since I discontinued it and I'm still itchy.


SO this week I went ahead and did the lab work she had ordered - full thyroid panel, ferritin, autoimmune panel, CBC.

AND yesterday I broke the cardinal rule of health anxiety, probably second to googling, I went and picked up my lab work from the hospital I had the blood drawn, because I wanted my results by the weekend. My doctor had not even received them yet. ALL results were normal except my eosinophils - hey were SO high!! My count was 21 (normal 0-7) and absolute count was 1400 (normal not over 500.) I am literally FREAKING out right now and I can't call my doctor or ask anything since it's the weekend!!

I keep thinking now that I'm so fatigued and run down because I have lymphoma or leukemia, I have a mild dry cough at night sometimes since the pneumonia, and this itchiness I didn't have until the methimazole I'm blaming in cancer. I just had bloodwork done in January and February and all was normal (for pregnancy and then miscarriage.)


My logical side says it's from the Methimazole since I had the itching, but the anxiety side of me says lymphoma or leukemia.

Y'all, I can't even be present with my two young boys this weekend because this is ALL I can think about, and my husband just doesn't want to hear it anymore. He's been through this with me for 3 years now and thinks nothing it wrong with me except anxiety.

I have had numerous CBCs, chest X-ray in October for pneumonia, ct and MRI of abdomen two years ago, all normal.

I'm so tired of being scared, anxious and tired. If anyone has any thoughts I would desperately love to hear them!!!

---------- Post added at 17:21 ---------- Previous post was at 15:32 ----------

Anyone? I'm really in a bit of a panic over here. ��

[neuroticcat]

I can't tell your anything about your blood work . I can only tell you that anxiety can make you feel really tired. You're mentally exhausted. Leukemia is not the only reason why someone is tired.

[Bmom]

Thank you for taking the time to reply - I guess I would just like to hear from others who have maybe been through something similar or have some more insight.

I've been on the verge of a panic attack all weekend because logic does not rule our anxiety-ridden brains. Just having a really hard time with being back in this dark place.

[Allochka]

Oh, elevated eosinophils! Sounds soooo familiar! I had them during my pregnancy, I had even greater numbers than you. Freaked out as well and visited very good hematologist. He told me that as long as my other CBC numbers were fine, it was not due to hematological disorder (like lymphoma or leukemia). He completely ruled it out without any other tests based on my other results. Your other results are fine too, so you can't have lymphoma/leukemia.
My terrible eosinophilia was caused by medication I was taking for sustaining pregnancy. Lots of drugs can cause smth like allergic reaction which causes eosinophils to rise. I bet your are caused by this methimazole. You can check couple of months after stopping medication - your eosinophils will be fine. BTW, itching is caused by increased eosinophils. These are not two separate sympthoms, this is all one reaction to this drug you've used.
Younare fine!

---------- Post added at 19:49 ---------- Previous post was at 19:46 ----------

BTW, how high was your ferritin? Everything lower than 40 is still considered within limits by most labs, but hematologists believe that it should be regarded as deficit already. If you had lower than 40 - you could try iron supplements and see if your problems get better.

[Bmom]

Allochka - Thank you SO much for your reply!!! It has greatly comforted me!!! My ferritin is actually only 31 (was 24 about 6 weeks ago) so I'm thinking that might be playing a great role in why I don't feel so well. I went to Whole Foods today and bought some chelated iron tabs and will begin taking those and having my ferritin checked on a more regular basis.

I still have a bit of a wheezy cough which worries me in regard to the eosinophilia. I read something on dr google thag said if it affects your organs, it usually means it leukemia or lymphoma so now I'm worried the eosinophilia is affecting my lungs!!! Did you have any sort of coughing symptoms when you were dealing with this? Did they do anything to treat your eosinophilia?

I felt so much better mentally this morning and then when this cough started again, I just got bummed again. I will say that since I had pneumonia 7 months ago, my lungs seems to get irritated from time to time.

[Allochka]

Bmon, you don't have leukemia or lymphoma for sure! You just can't have them based on your bloodwork! Elevated eosinophils are for completely different reason. Your cough has nothing to do with organ damage.
I do have cough from time to time, mine is caused by acid reflux. There are so many benign reasons for a cough!
Nope, my eosinophilia wasn't treated, because nobody (my GP, hematologist and my gynecologist (I was pregnant then)) was concerned :-) I had severe eosinophilia for at least 4 months, it went away after stopping my medication and did absolutely no harm for me.
Just an advise about taking iron - it should be taken 1 hour before meal or 2 hours after, and don't mix it with tea or coffee. Taking Vit C will help iron absorbtion. I know these things because I'm in the process of treating my iron deficiency :-)
You are fine, the medicine you were taking is to blame for eosinophils. Please remember that CBC parameters should be evaluated in complex, all together. Just elevated eosinophils don't mean leukemia or lymphoma as long as the rest is fine.

[worriermama]

Hi, your post sounds so familiar to me! My sister has been through something very similar this past winter. Fatigue, weakness, run down, racing heart, some hypo AND hyperthyroid symptoms, etc. She had a ton of tests done. High eos was one of her only abnormal results. Also borderline low (low-normal) iron. We are now thinking she may have POTS which is annoying but NOT scary! She's been trying to rest up and manage her stress (had a very stressful year), and has been feeling a good bit better.

I don't think you have anything to worry about. It sounds like you have the same thing going on as my sis, and you just need some time to rest up and wait for your body to re-equilibrate.

[Bmom]

Allochka,
Do you remember how long it took after stopping your medication for the itching to stop? It's been nearly 3 weeks since I quit the methimazole (1 week since the bloodwork showed elevated eosinophils) and I'm still experiencing itching!! One day I'll be fine and the next day I'll be itchy for a few hours!! My doctor wrote me back today and said she agrees with me that it's likely due to a reaction to the meds and we'll check again in two weeks to see if they have gone down. And of course I'm worried they won't have! I'm so tired of this!😩

[Allochka]

Hi,
Sorry for delay with reply.
If your bloodwork still shows elevated eosinophils - no wonder you are itching.
Surprisingly I had no itching at all when I had my eosinophil problem, I don't know why. And my numbers were higher than yours, I just checked.
I retested 2 months after quiting medicafion. After 2 months eosinophils were fine.
It is also probable that your blood count is OK already, but you still itch. It can be caused by anxiety or iron deficiency (generLised itching is a well-known symptom)
How do you feel now?