Hi, I was banded 3 years ago and for some unknown reason (not sure if its band related or not), my WBC count has been high for the past month (or that's how long we know of anyway). Normal is 4,000-10,000 and mine was 14,400 on August 13th; 12,000 on August 18th and 13,700 on September 10th. I have no obvious signs of infection....no fever, no sinus/upper respiratory issues, no uti (dr did a urinalysis) and I don't feel sick. My dr is wanting me to see a hematologist. I'm kinda freaking out but also wondering if this is even high enough to warrant going to a hematologist. Just wondering if anyone else has had this experience. Could my body be rejecting the band?

Did you any other lab results besides the white count and the urinalysis? If your doc order a differential along with the white count, you can usually tell by the kinds of cells that you have, what the possibilities are. Your white count is a little high, but it may not mean anything at all. Did you have a white count prior to your surgery? Some people just run higher than others.

Don't be afraid of going to a hematologist. A hematologist will have a much clearer picture of what's going on, and more than likely you'll leave happy. The worst part of any abnormal lab result is worrying about the horrible things it could be. The good news is that you don't feel sick. That is the best possible "lab result".

Cindy

Hi Cindy, my white count has always been at the high end of normal but never over 10,400. It usually ran around 9000-10000 or so. It is the lymphocytes that are high. She also did a C reactive protein (which measures inflammation) and it was high....around 10 I think. I'm told normal is around 3 or less. She also did a SED rate which also measures inflammation it was at the high end of normal. Thanks for the reassurance. I keep telling myself that even if it is something horrible, we have probably caught it really early since I'm not having symptoms and its only slightly elevated at this point.

The fact that the lymphs are high and not the neutrophils, usually means that it's not a bacterial infection. Lymphs tend to indicate viral, but that's just a generalization. The same thing with the C-Reactive Protein and the sed rate. Both of them mean that there is something inflammatory going on, but it's pretty minor, if you're only at the high end of normal. Many people who aren't sick are walking around with high C-reactive Proteins. The combination of results, I think, merits the trip to the hematologist. I still doubt that it will be anything at all, it all seems very non-specific. I hope you can schedule an appt. soon. I hate sitting around and waiting on these things. It just makes you crazy.

Cindy