Natural Help for WBC?

[ConcernedDaughter_613]

My mom has RA Rheumatoid Arthritis and has been diagnosed for about 2 years. Last Sept had a low WBC. By Oct she was told not to go anywhere unless absolutely necessary and then she needed to wear a mask.  Her WBC continued to drop and then her neutrophil count started to drop.  They have done a bone marrow biopsy and a liver biopsy.  She has now been diagnosed with Felty's Syndrome and Hep C.  She really wants to find a natural alternative to all of the medications.  Can anyone suggest something natural to help raise her counts?

[ConcernedDaughter_613]

Sorry I should have specified that she is seeing an Rheumatologist and is having blood work done weekly.  The Hep C diagnoses came after the Felty's syndrome diagnoses. No idea of when she contracted it. Felty's syndrome is a rare complication of RA. Felty's syndrome is characterized by an abnormally enlarged spleen (splenomegaly) and abnormally low levels of certain white blood cells (neutropenia). As a result of neutropenia, affected individuals are increasingly susceptible to certain infections.

Thank you all for the suggestions.  I will have her take the ideas to her doctors and see what they think.    

[pooh55811]

I do not know of any natural remedies to increase white blood counts.

I can understand your mother's wish to avoid meds and take natural remedies. My mother suffered from crippling rheumatoid arthritis for over 25 years and would have been overjoyed to find something that would help er besides the medications. (My mother had only RA and not Felty's Syndrome and not Hep C.)

However, your mother has 2 very serious diseases, Felty's Syndrome and Hepatitis C. If she is not already seeing a qualified rheumatologist she should be, preferably at a large medical center in a metropolitan area. He/she should be made aware that your mother has Hepatitis C if he/she does not already know this. She should also be seeing a qualified hepatologist (at the same large medical center) who is familiar with Hepatitis C, its complications and its treatment. these two specialists should be collaborating on treatment.

You say your mother was diagnosed with Hep C 2 years ago, but you do not say how long she may have had it. (10 years, 20 years, 30 years?)
There is some indication that Hep C can sometimes be implicated in some autoimmune diseases/syndromes and some other disorders, such as systemic vasculitis. I am just saying that the two disorders (Hep C and Felty's syndrome) could be related and/or the Hep C could potentially be enhancing the RA and the rest of the Felty's Syndrome. In addition, the Felty's Syndrome could be enhancing her Hep C and liver problems. That is why she needs to be under the care of a qualified rheumatologist and a qualified hepatologist and they need to collaborate on her care.

Here are some links to a couple of good articles. Some are detailed but they do give a lot of information.

http://www.webmd.com/hepatitis/connection-between-hepatitis-c-autoimmune-disorders

http://ard.bmj.com/content/63/2/123.full

[stef2011]

i get my wb counts from 5.0 to almost 10 by lyposomal vitamin c 5g a day but not sure this apply to anyone
i get them from livonlabs, they are expensive so i just use one bag a day but i tried since 6gr and made blood tests to see difference and wbc and platlets got higher wit 5-6 gr.also all lympho, neutrophils, monocites rised

there are also reports of melatonin increasing wbc and avoid to use it if on lymphoma diseases, i take it to sleep but never checked if it can rise wbc

i guess you can just like i did, check baseline, take 5g lypo c for a week and then recheck.injection vit c is also the same as lyposomal vit c, i get it cheaper at pharmacy but injections are annoying

[flcyclist]

Neupogen is often given to HCV patients during trt to increase the wbc.  As far as "natural" suggestion, I'd offer the following link.  You can also search for other ideas.  Of course, your mom's doctor should be good source of information for natural alternatives.  

http://www.livestrong.com/article/17407-increase-white-blood-cells/

[orphanedhawk]

I've tried to find something dietary or otherwise for raising wbc and never could find anything, the topic has arisen here before.
If you do discover something, please post it here. I'd like to know about it.

I don't know anything about Felty's syndrome.

There is nothing that will free your mom of hep C without using meds.

I went to a herbalist who could suggest herbs and supplements to help with symptoms but there is nothing 'natural' that will get rid of hep C.
This may sound harsh but depending on the condition of your mother's liver, the alternative to treatment may be death.
Hep C is now the leading cause of liver transplants within the US.
If her liver is healthy, she could be one of many who die with hep C and not because of it.