Elevated WBC in CBC

[nhelen79]

hi all,
i had a CBC in Feb/2018. everything was fine.
i'm finding out that i'm pregnant about 4-5 weeks. last Sat when i went to ER for a fast heart rate issue, they took some blood work and in CBC, WBC is 12.9. Normal is 11.

My doctor sent me for a retest. currently i'm dealing with a wet cough (produced green mucus and congestion) for a week already. she assures me that the elevated # might indicate that I need antibiotic for this cough/cold thing.

I'm still worried. is WBC around 13 just elevated and nothing indicates major issues like cancer right?

can't get my mind off this until i get the rest result tomorrow. she said she will call me. if it increases she will prescribe me antibiotic.

thanks all.

[Fishmanpa]

nothing indicates major issues like cancer right?

Wrong! It indicates "a wet cough (produced green mucus and congestion) for a week already. she assures me that the elevated # might indicate that I need antibiotic for this cough/cold thing."

Positive thoughts

[nhelen79]

thanks fishmanpa. i'm afraid of looking at any test results.

[nhelen79]

i retook CBC yesterday and WBC went up to 13.1 My doctor prescribed antibiotic finally.
I hope after this, it will go down. I'm so scared of CBC blood test all the time.

[nhelen79]

I'm done with my antibiotic today. I don't have the wet cough or sore throat anymore. However, i still have some dry cough and feel a little bit congested in the nose/throat.

How long will it take for the antibiotic to take affect and clear the infection? i dont' want to take the cbc test again too early and if it doesn't go down, i will be in a full panic mode. Next week is my vacation already. My doctor thinks it's okay to wait for 2 more weeks and retest after i come back. However, i'm afraid if i wait for too long, what if i catch a cold by the time i get back, the WBC will be elevated. I'm feeling so stuck.

[Cab9792]

Totally not cancer. The only kind of cancer a high wbc count would indicate is leukemia and it has to be severely high. Like 100.00 plus. I work at a doctors office and see labs a lot. I even had a 12.5 wbc count not too long ago and wasn’t even sick but it went down 2 weeks later. I saw a girl last week with a count of 28.0 and she just had a kidney infection. Like I said it has to be really high to be worrisome !

[nhelen79]

thank you so much. she gave me antibiotic because it went from 12.9 to 13.1 and i was showing signs of some sort of infection (green mucus, excessive coughing, sorethroat for a week).

so it's okay to wait for 2 weeks after antibotic right? if i catch a cold, that won't affect my blood test?

she's just being extra careful but this adds to my anxiety more.

[Cab9792]

I definitely wouldn’t test too soon cause it could take a few days even after infection is cleared for it to go down. I would wait 2 weeks - 1 month before checking again. I think I waited a month. Ps... don’t freak if anything is ever slightly over. Especially just one or two points. Like I said I work in a doctors office and whenever one thing on a lab is abnormal.. the labs show up in red.. and let’s jsut say I see red labs all day. I was would say 90% of the labs I see on a daily basis have atleast one or two abnormalities. Nothing is ever perfect.. in fact I go “oh wow” when I see perfect labs! Lol. You are fine! Please don’t worry.

[nhelen79]

I waited two week after antibiotic. my WBC went down from 13.1 to 12.3 (better but still elevated). my GP wants me to retest in a few weeks.

I've been reading around that normal range for pregnant can go up to 13, but the GP keeps saying it shall not be more than 10 (normal range for non-pregnant). i'm 8 weeks.

i will have my obgyn appt in 2 weeks. I'll ask for 2nd opinion. I'm feeling fine.

I'm not sure how i shall feel. my CBC is always good until i get pregnant.



I definitely wouldn’t test too soon cause it could take a few days even after infection is cleared for it to go down. I would wait 2 weeks - 1 month before checking again. I think I waited a month. Ps... don’t freak if anything is ever slightly over. Especially just one or two points. Like I said I work in a doctors office and whenever one thing on a lab is abnormal.. the labs show up in red.. and let’s jsut say I see red labs all day. I was would say 90% of the labs I see on a daily basis have atleast one or two abnormalities. Nothing is ever perfect.. in fact I go “oh wow” when I see perfect labs! Lol. You are fine! Please don’t worry.