Standard blood tests

[yorkshiregirl44]

Could someone tell me if inflamation would always show up in standard blood tests. I feel sure i have some inflamatory condition but as yet my bloods have been negative.

Thanks

[PMRpro]

It depends what you mean by "standard blood tests". ESR (erythrocyte sedimentation rate) and CRP (a protein) are usually raised in inflammation but they are also raised in a wide variety of other situations - including a viral infection and pregnancy. Also, they are raised in a lot of different illnesses - so they only provide an indication there is something wrong which you already know because you are feeling ill anyway. In some people they either do not increase or take a long time to increase, lagging behind the actual problem. A friend of mine has been telling her rheumy for months she is having a flare of her rheumatoid arthritis but the bloods were normal. A few weeks ago he had to admit, OK, they're going up, I believe you now.

This is one of the major problems with some illnesses, especially autoimmune ones, where there are no specific tests and it often means a long journey to find out what is wrong.

[yorkshiregirl44 in reply to PMRpro]

Ues i meant the blood tests you mentioned.My doctor says they have come back negative, i neealways the samed to check with her again to find out if they are always the same of if they have increased ay all.

[SwgS]

My ESR/CRP are always in normal limits,even though it is obvious I am flaring.Some of us are like that.

[yorkshiregirl44 in reply to SwgS]

How did you get a diagnosis when your bloods were normal. Sorry for my ignorance but i really dont know much about this condition.

[Paulat]

No. Mine are ok and I have urticarial vasculitus and it Is affecting a lot of areas of my body and organs my bloods always been ok. Just by change a dermatologist carried out a biopsy that I got diagnosed.

[yorkshiregirl44 in reply to Paulat]

What i am finding out us that bloods can be normal but there can still be inflamation present. I thinh i need a good specialist to work with me.

[PMRpro]

You may have to try another GP for another view if yours is insistent that the fact your bloods don't show anything means there is nothing wrong but you still feel ill. My original GP worked on "the bloods are normal", one of his partners recognised the clinical picture - she'd had a previous patient, he hadn't. It is your right to a second opinion.

Everybody else - who do you usually see for your vasculitis? By trandition, mine is generally under a rheumatologist but some of them don't seem to get the finer points of vasculitis!

[yorkshiregirl44 in reply to PMRpro]

I dont see anyone as i dont have a diagnosis, i know theres some inflamation but dont know where its coming from. Got gp appt monday so will try again or ask to see see someone private.

[PMRpro in reply to yorkshiregirl44]

That's what I'm saying: most GPs are not able to make a diagnosis of something relatively rare or obscure like a vasculitis. Their job is to refer you to "a (wo)man who can" and you shouldn't need to go privately for that. Your GP needs to contact a medical specialist at your local hospital and ask for their opinion and who he should send you to. You may even start with the local hospital and they will send you to a specialist centre when they have a vague idea which direction it is going in. It will be a medical specialist - but then it will be someone with an interest in a specific field. But it WON'T be a GP!

[cruznlcsw]

Hi, I know how you feel! I have had problems since I was in my thirties. I am now 66. I just found out I have Sjogren's, and the test for it is a biopsy of my inner lip. I also test positive to vasculitis with the P-ANCA. This test is rare, and not tested for very much. I test negative to ANA and SED rate except once and a while it will be positive. So find a doctor that will LISTEN to you. Blessings!