I am new here.What is an ESR and CRP reading?

[Baileyw06]

I was diagnosed in April With PMR.The site has been great in giving me a lot of information I didn't get from my Doctor.He did listen when he decreased The Prednisone too fast and too much.I knew enough from all of you to challenge him and it worked!😊

[PMRpro Ambassador]

I assume you are asking as well as commenting.

ESR is Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate - a sample of whole blood is put into a tall thin tube and they measure how far the red blood settle to the bottom in an hour. Various things affect the speed at which they settle but one is the presence of proteins on the surface of the red blood cells. The liver makes proteins in response to inflammation going on in the body - and that makes them fall to the bottom faster. So a raised ESR is a sign of inflammation - of some sort, even a cold will raise the reading.

CRP is one of the proteins, C-reactive protein. If it is raised it is also a sign of inflammation and it contributes to the raised ESR.

In some people the liver doesn't produce the extra proteins - and the readings don't rise. But they can rise for all sorts of reasons, they are called non-specific tests.

[kathleen18 in reply to PMRpro]

Thanks! I didn't know about these things and was wondering too. The doctors don't tell you much. Just had another blood test and am awaiting result.

[piglette in reply to kathleen18]

Hi Kathleen, I always ask for a printout of my blood test results which I find really useful over time to see how things are going.

[kathleen18 in reply to piglette]

Good idea, trouble is I don't understand any of it!

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to kathleen18]

Someone here can explain usually. Especially for the simpler stuff.

[piglette in reply to kathleen18]

Hi Kathleen, probably the two important tests are ESR and CRP which measure the inflammation. CRP should be around 0-5 and ESR less than around 30. The ranges are normally printed out along with the actual results. If they are outside the range my lab has an asterisk next to the item and prints in italics. My GP also puts comments against the results too.

[jinasc]

Take a look at this website and read up as much as possible and you can also download most of it, if you want too.

Click on the map on the homepage and see if there is a support group near you - if so join - knowledge is power.

pmr-gca-northeast.org.uk

You can also send an email to [e-mail], subject heading 'reduction plans' and they will both be sent to you free of charge.

[Baileyw06 in reply to jinasc]

Thanks for the information,I will get that information before I go to the Doctor on Thursday.I am at 15 mg per day and have been there for a month doing well.I think I shouldn't go down more than 1 1/2 and do it for a month before reducing further.

[Patience_1]

Hello Baileyw06, and welcome.

I completely agree with sambucca - the more knowledge we have about our condition, the better. Often the medics are less than well informed; or are hung up on some theoretical notion of how to deal with reductions which takes little account of the effects on the patient. Or maybe are just not very good at communication! I've certainly felt much better able to question and argue since reading up on research and developments - and most of all checking out the wealth of information available on this forum. Good luck!