So as the title says my WBC’s are low. Dr is still trying to figure out what is going on. I did have a bad tooth infection that needed a root canal. Which I took a 7 day course of 300 mg Clindamycin. Then had the root canal. Seems to have worked and the tooth feels so much better. Now I had to go get blood checked again as per Dr’s orders as she wants to keep an eye on my WBC count, she said this has to be monthly as she has to keep an eye on the WBC count. I will post a screenshot of the blood work done over an extended period of time.
The WBC count is the furthest on the bottom. I’m a little concerned as I started looking up stuff on of course Google. Is this something to be concerned about or is this normal after having an infection, as in a tooth infection? I don’t feel sick.
I sleep about 5-6 hours on average. I can’t sleep any longer than that, I just wake up and feel fine. My entire adult life I have only been able to sleep 5-6 hours. I can do all of my workouts and finish them just fine. I’m not tired throughout my day, or I should say night as I work a swing shift 5pm - 4am(ish) sometimes later.
My diet kind of sucks as I am always struggling to eat clean. I eat clean all week and then blow it on the weekends. My weight throughout this year has been fluctuating between 176lbs-166lbs. Though I have been mostly in the 170lb range for the most part. Checking My Fitness Pal since I started back in October 2018 I was 170lbs, Today I am still 170lbs. When I started cycling back in March 2019 I was 176lbs.
I stopped my workouts completely as of now as I’m not sure of what is causing this, and my Dr is still trying to figure this out as well. She just want’s me to keep taking monthly blood test.
Does anyone have any concrete proof the hard training would affect my WBC count? I know it’s hard work, but I was able to perform the workouts and was getting stronger as my FTP went from 134 to 171 where I am currently. I had very little to no training before Trainer Road, I kind of just road my bike. I’d hate to loose the small fitness gains I’ve made.
I want to keep working out but I do have a concern. I’m not sure if working out will negatively affect the WBC count. I don’t know what to think at this point. 
Not sure how helpful this is as an n=1 experience but I’ve had a low WBC count (hovers around 3) for as long as I can remember. Every doctor that has seen my bloodwork has commented on it but it has been normal for me. It pre-dates me being particularly active (although I don’t have access to those test results any more for comparison).
In my case this has been a consistent long term trend so I’m not sure how well it’d apply to your situation. I don’t get sick abnormally often (less than average, if my co-workers are any gauge, really).
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It is a known fact that WBC are lower in ELITE endurance athlete. It seems to be an adaptative response.
But as per your story and your result you might as well stop using your My Fitness Pal as it’s use correlates to the downward trend.
Did your doctor specifically tell you to stop training? If not I would continue as the benifits probably far over compensate the downside.
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Thank you for the reply. I would not consider myself an Elite endurance athlete. Though I have made huge improvements in my overall health. Going from 229lbs over the last few years down to 170lbs has improved my overall health, the cycling improved my cardiovascular system immensely.
My Dr did say to keep doing what I’m doing as I was very healthy. I guess the part of her asking me to have my blood tested on a monthly basis as to keep an eye on the WBC was concerning to me.
The adaptive response is one thing I did not know about. Thank you for bringing this up. It actually brings a bit more info I could share with my Dr.
Internet forums are not notorious for providing accurate medical advice.
I would leave it to your Doctor to assess and not give too much weight to the info you find online.
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I had the same issue. I gave blood for my physical the day after a hot hilly 75 mile ride and my white blood count was low. Doctor sent me to the Cancer center to get looked at. The count was back in the low end of the acceptable range by the time of the follow up. Three years latter the count is still at the low end of the range. I just do not give blood for my physical the day after a hard ride.
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The Dr is keeping an eye on the WBC and wants me to keep testing on a monthly basis. She advised I keep doing what I’m doing as she states that I am very healthy. The monitoring of the WBC count is a precaution as she noticed the change. I have looked at the changes and the drop in the levels coincides when I started cycling longer distances and more often. Either way, I was a bit concerned with the results. I will continue with my training and keep improving my fitness.
