Thought I was doing well. Down to 2mg of prednisolone daily and not really any pain as such. Sometimes just a bit stiff when I move my head but mainly only on the right side and lots of cracking in the neck so thought it was more mechanical.Just had my annual review and first of all the nurse announces my blood tests are fine, then when I asked her about my ESR she suddenly announced that there was an abnormal result and the doctor wanted a repeat test in a month. She didn't really say which specific test was abnormal just said one throws the others out. She said liver and kidney fine, ESR 17 and CRP borderline. I didn't think the ESR was too bad to be honest as I thought it was 21 for a female over 50. Maybe our labs have different measures. Not sure why she had just asked for repeat in a month though. Seeing my Rheumatologist on 23rd May and repeat bloods on the same day. Should I stick to the 2mg or increase? If so for how long etc. I don't want the dripping tap to fill up the bucket again?
Abnormal blood result: Thought I was doing well... - PMRGCAuk
Abnormal blood result
Silly woman - not you!! I hate people who do that - leaving a patient all hot and bothered wondering what's going on. That ESR is fine - unless it has been much lower in the past and it is raised for you.
If you haven't any symptoms I wouldn't worry about it, I would be calling and asking WHICH is out of line. But that is me!
Yes, I am going to call the doctor not the nurse. I was told I couldn't today as it was emergencies only but can call tomorrow but hey, I am on a spa day with friends so will defo call next week, expect Tuesday will be impossible though following a bank holiday.I suspect that it might be my full blood count which scares me a bit as never had a problem before.
My ESR has been has high as 65 and as low as 11 previously. I am under a tremendous amount of stress at the moment and constantly having really nasty arguments with mum calling me all sorts of names. One such argument on the morning my bloods were taken and that was a disastrous appointment as the nurse couldn't really get much blood from me and she did say there might not be enough! I also had a bacon butty earlier that morning and my cholesterol was increased to 5!
Cholesterol of 5 sounds reasonable to me!!!! DL says she found that ESR would go up when stressed.
And I'd have rung today and told them it WAS an emergency as you were worried out of your mind ...
Certainly did! But no GCA flare with it…
Should have done, my doctors are not very obliging unfortunately. Yes, I had a particularly bad time with mum that morning, I had to take her to the doctor with me as her review was first and we argued all the way there. Then the nurse ran out of time and didn't do mine. Struggled to get the blood from me and left it at that! Was expecting to have more collected when I went back for the remainder of my review.
Thanks, I will worry and call. Don't really think I can do it tomorrow unless I take my phone into the pool, guaranteed the phone would ring when it's most inconvenient!
ESR sound fine to me -and really you want to know number for CRP -not just a comment.
Agree with PMRpro if you feel okay in yourself -stay put, but obviously if things get any worse you may need to rethink…
And check which one is “abnormal “
I suspect the FBC. Had pain in my thoracic area but suffered from that for years on and off so can't see it being related that. Don't sleep well and wake up anxious and jittery but put that down to the problems I am having at home. Other than that eating ok and weight same as last year. Have some muscle weakness in my arms and my muscles seem to have shrunk!
Probably a sign of stress from home situation -and adrenals may account for anxiety etc as well.
Enjoy your spa day 😊
I did, the best medicine ever ❤️
Good -pleased to hear it!
I’m now in the habit of asking for a print out of my blood results. It’s easier to keep track and if I want I ask to speak to a doctor. I can only remember one time, in my 7 years with PMR, that they have called me and that was in the early days when my liver function tests were through the roof.
Sometimes there’s nothing much there and you can monitor your own levels! If you feel well that’s the best sign.
Hope the spa day has helped relax you. 😉
Thanks, yes, the day was wonderful, funny how you forget aches and pains when you are enjoying yourself ☺️
Distraction therapy😊 Should be prescribed on the NHS…
ahhh … I see a flaw there 🤔.. 😂🤣
You can see all your results on the NHS app or on whichever online service your surgery offers. Ours has Evergreen Life. I never trust what receptionists say anymore when you ring for results, as I have previously been told 'all normal' then a few days later been called in to see the GP because one of the results was abnormal. The online results will say if anything is abnormal; the lab have to flag it up.
Hi Broseley, unfortunately our GP surgery don't support the online portal and I can't get access through this route 🥺
Everyone in the UK can see their results on the NHS app. This was made available late last year.
It's just our surgery that don't give access I must check why
Not all surgeries provide access but it’s worth pursuing with your particular surgery.
Checked again last night, no access from my surgery. Going to ask when I next manage to get through to them
Check this link. I think it's law now that you're entitled to see your records. nhs.uk/nhs-app/about-the-nh...
Not us Scottish folk! Our government hasn’t managed to get a centralised app up and running and according to my GP it’s several years away yet. We’ll just keep having to hang on the telephone! Very frustrating as it would make so much sense and things like cancelling a GP appointment the other week took 15 minutes hanging on the phone….I was 23rd in the queue.
England doesn't have a single centralised app either as far as I can see - there are several that more or less provide the info but all seem different. Maybe Scotland is just being realistic? England spent millions on the IT but it doesn't work
very frustrating the money that has been wasted on IT systems across the country!
Took the "cheap" approach initially and ended up spending more on useless patches than if they'd got decent advice originally and done it once.
The NHS app enables everyone to access their records, according to nhs.uk/nhs-app/about-the-nh...
Snap! When i tried to make an appointment for the same reason i gave up...twice!Both my esr and crp were slightly raised but the day after the blood was taken i developed a nasty cold so put the increase down to that. I'm now at 1.5mg and have no pmr symptoms, just older -age aches and stiffness especially after attacking the garden.
Hi it depends on your pain tolerance. I was unaware of the dripping tap analogue and it makes a lot of sense. I’m still on 10 through my mistake of thinking I was ok , dripping tap was not even considered. But slowly reducing from 25 Mg . I’m doing good again but will reduce extra slowly . So I’d say if you know you need more and you are not in control of your pain then upping the dose will at least stop the tap from becoming more turned on. But at what dose is your choice. I hit mine hard because my tap had become a tsunami… and alls I remember is come off really slowly slowly thanks to help from here as well. Maybe ring the nurse at the specialist centre … best of care to you …
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