HIGH ESR & CRP LEVELS....

[gallini]

Does anybody who has high levels of ESR know before they have there bloods taken?? I seem to know, as i feel like my body is like lead, and everything is an effort to do, i feel nausea, and quite ill, just wanting to go to bed, and turn off the world.. When the results come its esr up again.. even though iam on 25 ml methetrexate, and humaira. Does anyone know how high you levels have to be to be dangerous. ?? Mine has been 76. that worried me. But when i talk to my RN she just says, " O you mite have had a infection, or where stressed etc.. and we can all have high esr at times... Not that you have RA, and its part of the package... They annoy me when they talk like there is nothing wrong with you.........

[Hidden]

Hi Gallini - there have been lots of people querying the inflammation markers on here lately including me.

Mine have never been especially high - 60 max - but then they only take them every 3 or 4 months at my request more recently so could have been higher in between. But when I got a 40 reading a few weeks ago my GP did say that this would not be a high reading if I'd had a virus or something but was a bit high given that I hadn't so must put it down to recent flare. I saw her again last Monday and she said that the most recent on is 36. I told her I feel ill and tired a lot even though not in that much pain really - just an all over ache and stiffness like I'm fighting something off?

She said that's because I'd had a flare probably and now I've just moved up a dose of MTX hopefully my next test will be lower. I am not feeling quite so tired now and not having to rush to my bed every few hours and lie down as I was for the past few weeks so it will be interesting to know if it's come down still further. Of course RA is systemic and has that fluey, achy thing going on with chronic fatigue as it says if you google it on every site. So I think the ESR probably reflects that too but GPs don't seem keen to acknowledge the feeling rotten side of RA and tend to just assume you feel tired because you've had a flare up and it's knocked your system I find? Perhaps they think it's all in our head and don't want to encourage mention of the depression and tiredness aspect of the disease in case we become hypochondriacs?! TT

[helixhelix]

Hi there,

The ESR test is supposed to show levels of inflammation, so it makes sense that you feel a bit rubbish when your levels are high as that'll be because of the inflammation. In many ways it's odder that we can often feel awful but the blood test don't show anything.

I wouldn't get too concerned about a specific number tho' as I think what's more important is whether the level is higher than your last test, or lower. I've heard of people with levels way over 100. The other thing to think about is that this test isn't like ones that are counting for example the number of bacteria. All it does is measure the number of millimeters your red blood cells sink down a special test tube in a certain amount of time - so quite easy to measure which is why it's used as it's a cheap test! But I think that also means that it can be influenced by other things.

[cherry2]

Hi, im sure you are right that you 'can feel inflamed' , i said this to the consultant and he agreed and that lots of patients say that.

What is your CRP- thats the one I go on?

How often are you having bloods taken and is it a steady rise in levels - thats what mine were like before Cimzia, and when i looked back the only time my CRP reduced was when i had steroid injections.

When my CRP was 60 i had such obviously inflamed hot useless joints and ended up being admitted for rest, hydrotherapy and steroid injections into several joints.

You do also have to ask whether you feel 'ill' or have any signs of an infection- chest and urinary being the most common. Have you had your urine dipped- a urine infection can sometimes present by nausea rather than the obvious hurting or frequency when having a wee. I would drop a urine to your gp's and get nurse to check it.

hope that helpful, now rest, rest, rest, x

[Hidden]

Hi Gallini,

I recently had that feeling, and then it was confirmed by my ESR being twice as high as the previous one, 58 days ago. I felt extra tired, weary, no good ambition, had to push myself to get something done every day. But most noticeable was that I felt like I was radiating heat several times through the day and night.! Take off the sweater, put it back on, throw off the covers, fall asleep, pull them back up, etc all night long!

THEN--Realized it was near the time for the monthly injection of Simponi, so did that. No more problem. I phoned my Rheumy to have his nurse ask him if I could take the Simponi a week earlier next time. He said he'd rather I didn't do that. OK. He's a cool guy, very knowledgeable so will trust his judgement.

Here's another factor that enters into the ESR result: Anemia! MTX and some other anti-inflammatory agents can cause the Red Cell count to decrease, and over time, the lighter load of Red Cells will fall through the plasma at a faster rate than normal. Not that the anemia gets too low and needs transfusions, but could be a factor. So again, it is a TREND in the rise or fall of rbcs the dr. looks at, and why he doesn't get too excited about one result.

My Rheumy often tells me not to read too much into one result of ESR,, but mine was 76 that day! I said, "yeah right, what else could it mean??" We tend to have a rather jovial exchange sometimes. He doesn't do CRPs as they do not reflect a long term situation, plus some people have cardiac CRP elevations which would not be reflective of the RA.

Hope this helps. Loret xx