White blood cell count test.

about a week after my bite (pretty sure it was a tick) I went to a walk-in clinic with my concerns about Lyme.

They wouldn't test for Lyme but did a blood test to see if my body was fighting a virus or a bacteria.

They said the test came back negative for any signs of infections. Would Lyme cause a simple test like that to at least show the body fighting infection?

Thanks!

One week after a bite is probably too soon to see a big change in white cell counts from Lyme...the body doesn't make enough Lyme antibodies to show up on a test until at least a month after the bite, and I would imagine it would take at least 2-3 weeks before the white cell count would be outside the normal range. However, if they did not look at absolute counts (not just percents) of each type of white blood cell, then subtle differences that may not show up in a total white cell count may have gone unnoticed. I'd encourage you to get a copy of the actual test results so you can discuss what they actually show with your doctor. And sometimes doctors ignore it when a lab value is only slightly out of range, when in actuality it may be significant in particular settings.

I hope this helps - good luck,

I'm not sure what causes it, but my WBC actually dips below normal from time to time. It never stays that way very long, and it always comes back up on its own.