Good morning. I'm sure this is nothing to be too concerned about but as it's the first time in 2 years that my CRP is up I wanted to ask for advice. I have blood tests every 2 months. To date my CRP has always been <0.2. My ESR has been between 4 and 5. When I had my results yesterday my CRP was 0.80. I didn't check them while I was at the rheumatologist as he just handed the blood test results to me and said "excellent" otherwise I would have queried it with him. I haven't been ill and I feel quite well apart from the few aches and pains which I associate with getting older (79). For the last 2 months I have been on a slow taper, 7.5mg and 6.25mg on alternate days which seems to have worked well. As an aside, I can only get 5mg tablets here in Cyprus so I have to use a pill cutter and cut one tablet into quarters. I was diagnosed in August 2020, went on 15mg of prednisolone, then reduced to 7.5mg by October 2020. I'm wondering if this current situation is just a blip, or has the tapering affected my CRP level? Would appreciate any comments. Thanks and hope you enjoy your day........
CRP 0.80 (reference value 0-0.5mg/dL): Good morning... - PMRGCAuk
CRP 0.80 (reference value 0-0.5mg/dL)
I have ESR and CRP blood tests a couple of times a year. They aren’t really used to inform my tapering because Pred interferes with the results. I always go on how I feel. I imagine if they were massively raised they would act on it. Isn’t 0.80 less than your usual levels? Forgive me if I have misunderstood.
Hi Sheffield Jane, you've given me pause for thought! It was highlighted (emboldened) on the print out so I thought it must be because it's higher than the norm, but I suppose it could be lower than the norm. I'll wait until my next two months are up, have my 2 monthly blood tests, and then talk to my rheumy. I feel a bit daft now......thank you for taking the time to reply. x
It is good to question everything. Maybe the highlighting just indicated change. It is a tiny bit higher, I am the daft one.
inflammation markers can be raised by many things, not just your PMR/GCA so could be just a blip. As you say you have had aches and pains, so it may be no more than that, but are you sure they are age related and not your illness?
As you have them done regularly you will know if it is an anomaly next time tested. The change may be due to less Pred but do keep on eye on your aches….and obviously discuss with doctor if your readings increase next time..
Thank you DorsetLady, good advice as always. As mentioned to Sheffield Jane, I'll wait until my next 2 months are up, have the blood tests and when I get the results passed to me I will remember to check them while I'm with the rheumatologist. Thanks again....
My CRP varies enormously and can vary between 3.0 and over 10.00 (30 - 100 in UK speak). I assume if I feel OK I needn’t worry, although I would like to know why it is so high all the time. My doctor says it is just me!
Thanks piglette, that's reassuring. It was probably just a blip, but this illness can tend to make one a bit over sensitive at times and worry, perhaps unnecessarily, about results that are out of the norm. If it happens next time I'll bring it up with the rheumy.
As your rheumatologist said “Excellent” he is presumably happy with your results. I always ask for a copy so I know what is going in!
I'm always handed a copy, it's about 3 pages long with a variety of blood test results, but I don't think to check it when I'm in his office, only when I get home. Next time, I'll be more on the ball! Thanks
I have to ask for a copy, so it is always after the fact anyway.
CRP and ESR are both very non-specific tests and all sorts of things will raise them. If you have no PMR/GCA symptoms alongside a raised value, the correct thing to do is have it checked a week or two later to see if there is a trend. If you get frequent checks you may notice them creeping up a little bot over time despite no symptoms. That is a warning that something may be going on and to be watchful. Possibly stop tapering for a while to see if it settles down - but without symptoms is never really a reason to increase the dose.
Thanks PMRpro. I'll take your comments on board. Very good advice. Thank you as always.....
Good morning. After your reply yesterday I did a spread sheet of my ESR and CRP levels since starting prednisolone in August 2020. Up until March this year my CRP was a steady <0.02, then it started to creep up. In May it was 0.1, in July it was 0.45, in September it was 0.80. It was from July that I started the tapering on alternate days 7.5mg/6.25mg. I'm wondering if I should go back to 7.5mg every day until my next blood test in November. If it drops back, at least I'll know what's probably affecting it. If it doesn't then perhaps I'll need a further examination. Does this sound sensible? Bearing in mind that it's not a race and I have time on my side - well, hopefully!
What was the September level? 0.08 or 0.8? To me it looks as if you are skating on the borderline - if it were me I'd at least stop reducing and possibly go back thou alternating 7.5 and 6.25 is a big change and one of the slowed tapers with a 7.5 to 7mg drop might serve you better,
Sorry, it was 0.80, just changed it. I'll go back to 7.5mg until the next blood test. I just wish I could get the 1mg tablets here. I have a pill cutter but it's not always exact and 5mg is difficult to cut to a very small dose. Thanks for your reply....
Exactness doesn't matter at all - just needs to be less than the previous dose. Also slowing a slowed taper down by repeating steps several times helps - I worked out DSNS at a time when enteric coated pred only came in 5mg and 2.5mg doses so 2.5mg at a time was needed as you can't cut them and some people cannot tolerate ANY plain pred.
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