I have been fighting a stiff neck and pressure in my head for the last 4 weeks. On 8/11 my white count was 16,300. On 8/18 it was 13,600. My spine specialist wanted to rule out meningitis, so last night I had a spinal tap (clear)cbc, chest x-ray, urinalsis, and a blood culture x2. Spinal fluid was clear, chest x-ray was clear, I do have a urinary tract infection, but the thing that concerns me is my white count is now 21,000. They sent me home from the ER, saying they don't know why my neck is stiff and there is pressure in my head, gave me an antibiotic and pain killers and sent me on my way. Has anyone had symptoms like this, if so, what was the cause. I am concerned about possible leukemia.
Beth

It could be that the spinal tap itself has caused your white cell count to rise. This is a possibility.

Also, in cases of leukemia, the white cell count is more likely to be low rather than high.

The raised white cell count obviously means that there is still some bacterial infection somewhere in your body and they just have to locate where it is.

Good luck

Thanks for such a quick response. You have eased my mind. I lost my grandson last Oct. to Hepatoblastoma. Zack was 5 weeks shy of his 3rd birthday. I was really nervous with the possiblity of meningitis as Zack's baby brother is only a year old and could be facing the same cancer as his brother. The last thing he needed to deal with was meningitis.
Our family has no good luck, and after looking into leukemia, I was worried. I see my dr. on Tues. Hopefully they will have news.
Thanks again,
Beth