CRP question

Posted , 14 users are following.

My internist checks my CRP (and other bloodwork) for the annual physical.

I had some tendonitis in my mousing arm before I had PMR symptoms in May 2013. CRP 2.4.

During the worst of PMR prior to diagnosis, the CRP was 15.4. The rheumy at the time misdiagnosed it as being Fibromyalgia and put me on 700 mg Gabapentin. I also was going to acupuncture regularly. About a month later the CRP was down to 3.2. I was still having pain and realized that my symptoms really did not match those of Fibromyalgia and I found a new Rheumy December 2013. She told me it was PMR (symptoms were stiff hips/groin, inability to get out of bed, sleep, climb stairs, able to lift arms, inability to turn neck, etc.) and put me on 20 mg of Prednisone and the result was amazing: pain gone in a few days, flexibility back except for a frozen shoulder, which eventually resolved with PT and yoga.

Continued with acupuncture and lowered 300 mg Gabapentin at night and tapered Prednisone to 11/10 mg May 2014. CRP measured 0.8 and still pain free.

May 2015, on 5.5 mg Prednisone, 300 mg Gabapentin, less frequent acupuncture: CRP 2.9 and still pain free.

SED rate normal since I started Prednisone.

Question: Since I have no PMR symptoms, why is the CRP elevated? My other bloodwork is normal (except for a slight elevation of LDL, probably from increasing my cheese consumption for Calcium).

Thank you!

Paula

 

1 like, 18 replies

18 Replies

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  • Posted

    I have a question for all of you with PMR? Did you all at least have an elevated CRP? Mine was normal, and yet I feel like "one big ball of tendinitis". I don't know how else to describe the feeling. I'm sorry if you all have mentioned the answer to this in the past. 
    • Posted

      Bert, I had very high ESR and CRP levels at diagnosis.  However, about a quarter of sufferers with PMR never have raised markers regardless of the severity of their pain.
    • Posted

      I have never had raised ESR or CRP. As MrsO says about 20% of people never do show this rise.
  • Posted

    My CRP shot up from 1.2 to 4, (it was originally 12.3 when I was diagnosed with PMR not quite as high as yours!) when I got a cold at the beginning of the year. My PMR symptoms were fine at the time and had not changed, so it is quite possible for your CRP to increase and possibly have nothing to do with the PMR. 
  • Posted

    Paula, CRP normal range is 0-4.9, so your 2.9 reading is within normal range.
    • Posted

      Mrs O, I think Paula is using US measurements ie her CRP is currently 29 in UK speke! 
    • Posted

      Ah thank you ptolemy - stupid of me to forget that not everyone is in the UK!!
    • Posted

      How did you translate the UK measurement to US measurement? Is Australia the same as the US measurement.  My last CRP was 19. It looks like it might be same as US. 

      Thanks

      Kathy

    • Posted

      Well this is news to me - different measures in different countries. I'd like to know the difference too! Off to visit Dr Google again!
    • Posted

      Well, no joy - can someone tell me what the different 'normal' rates are in the US and the UK? And which one is used in Australia??

      This is rediculous!

    • Posted

      The CRP measurement can be in mg / litre in UK or mg / decilitre in US. So the US measurement reads as one tenth of the UK one. Normal CRP measurement is 0-5 mg/litre or 0-0.5 mg/decilitre. Australia measures in mg/litre like UK. 
    • Posted

      Kassie it looks like your CRP was measured as they do in UK, mg/litre not mg/decilitre as in US. It should be 0-5 as normal, so is high. 
    • Posted

      Thanks. Yes, I knew my CRP was high. It was 86 about 4 weeks prior but I did have a virus so it has come down quite significantly. 

      Cheers

    • Posted

      That is good news it has dropped so much in four weeks. Having a virus does not help of course! 
    • Posted

      You can google it - the main difference is whether the units used are per litre or per 100ml and that makes a 10-fold difference - 2.9 and 29 for example. Every laboratory has its own "normal range" too and that is quoted on their report. That is because the tests used are slightly different from lab to lab. There are no 100% defined figures - except a test for which zero is normal and anything above that isn't!

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