Leukopeni un point

​It's a roller coaster, a fucking corticosteoroid roller coaster!
An unanswered call from the rheumatologist, the same day I had taken blood tests, left an eery warning in the back of my head. When the nurse called me back today I was hoping to hear that everything looked fine. But no. The white blood cell count has dropped since the tests June, which may indicate disease activity. It's the exact opposite of how I feel, I feel great, but the blood tests and the doctor says otherwise. So they need to take some more blood tests, so called "TDM", therapeutic drug monitoring. Meaning they want to see the level of medication in my blood to see if I have sufficient  effect of Imurel.

Another word for a decrease in the number of white blood cells is leukopenia. Leukopenia does not necessarily cause symptoms, but with fewer white blood cells, you are more prone to infections. The condition can be due to antibodies attacking and destroying the white blood cells, but can also be a side effect of, for example, immunosuppressive drugs such as Imurel. Leukopenia gives 1 "point" on the SLEDAI score. So if all other tests are normal and neither mouth sores nor rashes have worsened then I hope and believe I'm still below 6 (mild activity). It must have been under 6 for at least 6 months before I try to get pregnant. In my head I'm still planning a trip to Denmark this fall. So fingers crossed I don't have to change medicination, since Imurel is the one that can be used during pregnancy.

So now I'm back at 10mg of prednisolone for 2 weeks, before I taper back down again. So far, I have not been too bothered by side effects, and 10mg is not a very high dose, I think. What's more annoying is that it seems to affect my mood, for better and for worse. Especially when the dosage is adjusted. PMS? Great, let's amp it up a few notches. Storm in a teacup ahead. Guess that's why these little white pills have been nicknamed «Devil´s tictac» ..

Sources:
www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/320299#causes
lupuscanada.org/resources/fact-sheets/blood-disorders-in-lupus/