Lymphocyte counts

[pballer76]

I have been on Tecfidera Since the end of October. Before I started my absolute lymphocyte count was 1.91. In December it was .35. In March it was .75. 6/23 it was .52. My neuro's low number is .50.
At my last appointment before the 6/23 blood draw they discussed Lemtrada if my lymph's drop below .50. I haven't been sick (cold) since January. Is it normal for lymphocyte counts to jump around? I never miss a dose of Tec.

[VikingKitty]

My neuro said that lymphocyte levels can fluctuate. How he came about mentioning that to me was because I was concerned that mine seem to keep going down hill. He said not to be concerned until they get down to 500....mine were at 960 the last time I had a blood draw a few months ago. I'm getting off the Tec and going back on Copaxone because of the Tec side effects anyway. I'll be interested to see if my lymphocytes come back up in a few month.

[bbelaine]

My absolute lymphocytes went down to 0.7, which was okay with my neuro, but I had pneumonia twice during the summer so I was taken off Tecfidera. I've been off it for three months now (just started Copaxone) and I've been feeling pretty good. My lymph count was up to 1.5 after 6 weeks, but the best part was the sore muscles (maybe spasticity) that I've been dealing with for two years have gone. Getting in and out of bed or a chair is the way it used to be before, no more wiggling around to get up. I had a really dry mouth and a constantly running nose with the Tec, and they've both gone back to normal. I lost about ten pounds while taking Tec, and that's started to change, five pounds up now. Don't know if the Tec did the weight loss but I just ate what I wanted for a long time and now I'm paying more attention.

[carriefromMI]

Yes lymphocyte counts jump. They especially change if your body is fighting infections. Also each lab has their own normal range based on their equipment and means of testing so it's not necessarily a one fits all number. My lab says 0.7 is the low side of normal where as some labs say 1.0. My count has slowly gone down the last few years on tec. Lowest was 0.7. I was instructed to go off it 1 week before a scheduled surgery and then back on 3 weeks post surgery. It was back up to 1.3 1 and then 2 months post surgery and after restarting tec.