Inflammatory factors

[Annodomini]

I had the results of the latest blood test yesterday. The ESR was OK but the CRP had gone up again. On holiday I had gone up to 7mg of pred and have since gone down again to 6 which seems to be comfortable, Is CRP a reliable indicator?

[Pipistrelle]

The short answer is: to some degree as it indicates inflammation, and it is better than ESR, but CRP can fluctuate for many different reasons. I have found my rate can go up a bit and down a bit but overall you want the general trend to be down. On the other hand, the older we get, the more other reasons there can be for elevated inflammatory markers and some people may never be at 0... I find I often have some problems after flights (for holidays or work). Slightly increasing prednisalone sometimes, and I've learned it's best not traveling close to an attempted drop (or rather not dropping close to a trip!) or dropping while away.