Highly Raised ESR and dreadful joint pain

[Foodman500]

Hi everyone,

I hope that you are all safe and well.

I'm shielding at the moment like many of you will be.

I'm having bloods every two weeks because of methotrexate. For the last six weeks my ESR has been double and now triple the normal range.

My joints are incredibly painful and I'm struggling to manage daily life.

I wonder whether anyone can help me suggestions of pain management, or having similar experiences of such a raised ESR and what action was taken medically. I'm concerned about having such high inflammation levels.

I already have damage to my hips.

Thanks so much

Stay safe

Stay home

Amy

[Hidden]

Hi there. I’m guessing you are still fairly new to methotrexate if you’re having bloods tested 2 weekly? In which case it usually takes between 6-10 weeks for it to kick in so you are probably flaring and it just hasn’t started working yet. The ESR is not a hugely reliable measure of inflammation and 3x normal range is what? About 30? I have a different, more reliable measure done now but if yours is normally around 0-10 then you probably are flaring a bit. However my own ESR/ PV has almost always been very high - usually over 60 - and when it was at 30 my rheumatologist shrugged and said he didn’t count an ESR of 30 or under as more than slightly elevated.

But that’s me - you’re you. So we each have our own individual baseline and after a while you get to know your own normal. However 30 isn’t particularly high at all in average terms and so please don’t worry that the methotrexate isn’t working yet on the painful joints -you probably just need give it longer to take effect.

[Hamptons]

I had increased joint pain on methotrexate, to the point I was struggling to walk. It can cause joint pain. I stopped taking it after an allergic reaction and Joint pain decreased. Answer as always is speak to a dr, as we are all different and our treatment is personal to us. I hope that you can sort it though.