Seroquel & Low white blood cell count.

[kteen16]

Alright, so I noticed I was losing wieght and I look alot thinner then I used to be soo my mom booked a doctors appoitment to check out everything.
Now, see I have posted a earlier post on here about my wierd fear of food and I thought that was why I was losing wieght.
Turns out I was right.
My doctor is saying that my anxiety and depression are way worse then before. So he ran blood tests just to rule out anything (such as; parasites, tapeworms, ect) and I got the results on Wedsnday and everything came back amazing. Much better than I expected, even my vitamins and sugars were all normal even though I do not eat the required amount of vitamins.
My doctor says that the anxiety about food is causing me too lose wieght, and my anxiety and depression isnt doing anything good for me right now. So he recommended Seroquel. A add on to my anti depressant Lexapro.
Now im very scared for this. Im always afraid to take new medications, even antibiotics. So I took the information home and have been reading about it. He says I cant say no, but I cant say yes. We have to do something to help me get out of bed in the morning and eat normally, so I bascially have no choice.

Soo my question is, is anybody on Seroquel with their anti depressants? How are the side effects? Does it work?
Also when my blood work came back my white blood cell count was low (WBC) The normal range is 4.0 - 11.0 and my level was 3.9.
My doctor said this was caused by stress.
But im still worried.

Please input would be nice. Thank you :)

[nursegirl6572]

This post is over 2 years old, and kteen, to my knowledge, has not been on the site for quite a long time.  She had soime extensive issues that went way beyond this.

You're correct that Seroquel can cause a low WBC, but if you read closely, the OP's WBC's were actually within the normal range according to many labs.  She had much bigger issues going on, and IF indeed she had a low WBC at some point, it was far more likely due to her eating problems and malnourishment.  Seroquel being the culprit would have been low on her list of likely causes.

I'm glad your situation worked out for you, though!  You may want to just glance at the dates when you are posting, while your contribution is great, I hate to see people address a member that isn't around any longer.  I'd rather see you contribute to a current thread.  Thanka again!!

[zeba220]

I was on seroquel until last month-- it can CAUSE a low white blood cell count.  My count went dangerously low and my doctor thankfully took me off of it.  I am so glad that he had me do routine blood checks and knew what to look for.  I'd check with your doctor about trying a medication with similar effects that doesn't cause white blood cell count to go down.  Good luck:)

[kteen16]

So you think the medication is something I should do?
Im thinking it might be for the better, but the fear of a new medication is slowly taking over.
But thank you soooooooooooo much for the input, I reallly needed it.

[kteen16]

I completley agree with you. This fear is slowly taking over my life. If you have not read my past blog about my fear of food, it is that I fear I will vomit or have diarehaa if I eat something big. Like a meal, so I will just eat like...toast and that would be it for the day. It has gotten much better though. I am actually not in therapy right now, and I do agree I need it 100% right now. There is none available currently so Im relying on my doctor for the time being which is helping.
Thanks for your input.

[nursegirl6572]

First iof all, your WBC's are not "low", they are normal.  Every lab has slightly varying values, so at one lab, it would be slightly below the range of normal, whereas with another, it would fall WITHIN the normal range. Your count is fine...nothing to worry about.

I suggest that if you consider the med (which I personally think is necessary at this juncture for you)...that you try not to "over-think" everything....don't research the med to death, all you will do is serve to scare yourself.

Bottom line, is your irrational food phobias are not only controlling your life emotionally, but with the weight loss, it could very possibly affect your health as well.  You should be more concerned about THAT then trying a new medication.

I also feel (if you aren't already)...that you need aggressive therapy.  You have to learn how to "undo" your thought processes that keep you so scared of food and eating.  Eating is essential not only to sustain life...but also important for one's peception of "well being".  You may not be malnourished at this point...but if you continue down this road, it will happen, and you simply don't want that to be the case.

You've suffered with this long enough..time to dive in an get some serious help!  If you feel that you aren't quite ready to try a med....maybe ask about any inpatient treatment programs are out there in your area. There are some great ones that incorporate starting a new med regimen, along with vital therapy, support groups,all different kinds of coping techniques.  Basically just a more aggressive way to "jump start" your recovery.  I think you'd be amazed at the progress you'd make...and you're young enough that you could do it without it greatly affecting your daily life.

Wishing you the best...please let us know how you're doing!

[mammo]

You have a decision to make which will improve not only your quality of life, but your health!
You need to fight back, and it sounds like medication is needed at this point. You are basically fighting for your life if you're not eating, and this needs to be turned around.  Many of us would be lost without our medication as it has given many of us our lives back.
I assume you're in therapy over this fear?  If not this is truly needed and will help a lot as well.  But right now YOU need to get better, and YOU need to be strong and do what it takes to get better.  I know this fear is strong, but you are stronger and can do this.

[Paxiled]

Of course you can say no.  You're the boss, your doc works for you.  And if you're working with a regular doc and not a psychiatrist on these kinds of meds, you're asking for trouble.  Of course, a psychiatrist could give you trouble, too, but there you go.