Hello doctor, I had a right sided sore throat and sinus drainage on and off for the last two months. It was chalked up to allergies, but no allergy pill completely took the sore throat away. My doctor put me on a Medrol (pak) 5/3 before two days, and my last dose was 5/8. I also have been weaning off Lexapro 10 mg, and yesterday I had a lot of dizziness and racing heart. I ended up going to the ER, and they did a CBC. The physical assistant said all lab reports looked great, but in the reports my WBC was 11.88 and their reference range was 4.5 to 13. Is this too high? It concerns me. In my last CBC before three months WBC was 8.5 and their ranges were 3.5 to 10.5. So it seems my WBC would be high or out of range now. Please advice.
Hello, Welcome to the icliniq.com. Your total WBC (white blood cell) count is only mildly elevated, and it is not raised to an alarming level. You have been prescribed a steroid course for sore throat. It is a strong anti-inflammatory drug if no improvement until yet than throat swab can be done for culture to find any bacteria if present that causes sore throat. For that antibiotic course can be prescribed. You can do salt water gargles and take Vitamin C 500 mg BD (twice daily) for a week. You are also using Citalopram for depression. So stress-induced anxiety also can be responsible for dizziness and increased heartbeat as a result of a panic attack. For a total WBC count, no need to worry as per my opinion. I hope I have answered your question and it will help you in the approach of your case. Let me know if I can assist you further.