with cronic leukemias how long can someone have symptoms before they know something is wrong?

[donna1205]

i have had joint pain for years, however the last 2months have been very bad. i am experecing low grade fevers, extreme tiredness,blurry vision for over a year and bleeding gums once within the last 6months, not much of an appetite and now headaches for the last 2weeks.  my cbc has been fine except for a slight elevation in 3 of rbc. i went to a hematologist who basically laughed at me and said it may be emotional... i am going for a second opinon because he in my opinion was a jerk.  i had a sister who died of leukemia and two uncles, grandmother and one aunt who died of lympomia. any comments or suggestions is greatly appreciated.  thank you so much.

[donna1205]

are you still here?  i would like to hear your comments.. they just told me my iron is at 15 and want me to start pills 3xp/day.  what is going on here?  can this be leu/lym even with the normal wbc??  i have a light red rash on torso and back.  my low fever and slight puffiness in neck seems to come and go... oh and i also have a burning sensation in  the vaginal area right before i urinate. i am trying to eat alot of tomatoes, blueberries and want to get cordycep mushroom pills but i heard there is one kind of cronic leukemia it's not recommeded for.  please advise.

[donna1205]

hi

i was just informed my b-12 is borderline low.  i am starting shots as the hemotologist reccommended.  what if any connection to leukemia could this have?  i had one episode of night sweats in the neck area since last week. he felt something under my left arm and wants me to have a sonogram and pet scan.  if this is some kind of leukemia or lymphoma will the pet scan show it?? thanks again.  donna

[donna1205]

thank you very much.  i hope you're right.  god bless

[PaulMD]

Hi.

Symptoms of leukemia before clinical detection can range from as short as 1 month to as long as 2 or 3 years.  The first test to evaluate a possible chronic leukemia patient is to determine the peripheral blood count (CBC).  If your initial CBC is normal (the RBC elevation I think is not significant), then this makes the diagnosis somewhat unlikely.  Further tests would include bone marrow examination and ultrasound of the abdomen to see if you have other enlarged organs consistent with chronic leukemias (like liver or spleen enlargement).

I believe that the consideration of leukemia is not that strong, and I suggest that you look into other causes that can mimic these symptoms such as chronic bacterial infections (TB), sarcoidosis, or autoimmune diseases (lupus, sjorgren's, myositis, etc).

Regards.