CRP and ESR

[Queencara78]

Hi all I had been feeling unwell for about 4 days and knew I needed antibiotics but put off seeing my GP until after I had my planned appointment for extensive blood tests including ANA and ENA because I didnt want the meds affecting the tests.

The bloods were done on Wednesday morning and on Thursday I was called to my surgery to see a Dr because there was very high levels of infection and/or inflammation in my blood. Took a swab of my throat as have a few pus spots, but Dr said she didnt think it was enough to explain the level of infection so sent swab for culture study and started me on 2000mg of penicillin per day for 10 days. Can anyone help with advice if they have experienced this before please, and could these levels both be attributed solely to infection or as I am being monitored for suspected CTD could it be both things causing these high levels?

[Hidden]

It really depends what your normal levels are and how high your CRP and ESR are. Mine are always high but sometimes soar.

It’s a good idea to get printed copies of your bloods or look online if your practice allows. This makes it easier to monitor yourself as you get to see your own baseline and trends. If you have tonsillitis or any infection it can make both blood markers soar so they may be unreliable just now.

[1sam in reply to Hidden]

Totally agree with you knowing your baseline is a must to monitor yourself.

Both CRP and ESR are inflammation markers either caused by infection or not, they are not very specific in that sense, mine are always high because of lupus .... your GP/Dr would correlate those levels with other tests (red and white cells in blood) and swabs.

Hope you get better soon!

[Barnclown]

I agree with twitchytoes.

Will only add, because your GP is perplexed & you may be interested:

Do you have a history of recurring &/or persistent infections? If you do, i’d urge you to make a list of these infections + any lab results relating to them + what antibiotics helped.

Also, has anyone checked your blood immunoglobulin levels especially IgG, IgA, IgM? If your immunoglobulins are below normal reference range, this can go some way to explaining recurring &/or persistent infections.

It’s relatively unusual, but some connective tissue disorder patients have immune dysfunction of 2 sorts: autoimmunity & immunodeficiency. Eg i have both infant onset systemic lupus and the Common Variable Immunodeficiency hypogammaglobulineamia (low igG,A,M). So i am on both immunosuppression meds and daily antibiotics all the time, and my lead clinics are rheumatology + immunology

Am guessing immunoglobulin tests will be run in this extensive set of tests you’re due to have soon. And if you do make that infections list, take it along to your next clinic appt when you discuss the blood test results

Hope you’ll let us know how you get on

Take care 🍀🍀🍀🍀 coco

PS i think you’re hypermobile...because i have Hypermobile Ehlers Danlos Syndrome + am diagnosed with the usual lupus comorbidities (raynauds + erythromelalgia, sjogrens, small vessel vasculitis) and i have a memory you do too

[Queencara78 in reply to Barnclown]

Hi Barnclown, yes I am hypermobile with Raynauds phenomenon and a questionable Fibromyalgia! I had been ANA negative in bloods from 2015 and suddenly from Sept 2016 ANA positive 1/160 Nucleolar pattern but nothing specific for diagnosis. I have to wait 4 weeks before they can run ANA- dsDNA, Anti-cardiolipin antibodies and ENA tests so maybe this time something else will show up. I cant see how for over a year ANA is always negative in 3 separate blood tests and then always ANA positive! The last test was run June 2017 with the 1/160 nucleolar pattern again. Why would this change if nothing was manifesting?

[Barnclown in reply to Queencara78]

Good question...interpreting blood results is best done with expert help from specialist doctors....but, for what it’s worth: my doctors have told me that my immunoglobulin levels might help us understand the sort of question you’re asking....for instance, i am 64 and was diagnosed with infant onset lupus in the earl 1950s when testing & treating SLE was still very badic. Apparently, my antibodies were never tested until 2011 when blood tests had already proven i was immunglobulin deficient. From 2011 inwards, all my SLE blood antibodies tests have been negative, and my medics think this is due to my low immunoglobulins (we need immunoglobulins in order to be able to create antibodies)

I hope something in that is useful to you. Sorry i can’t be more help...take care 😘🍀