ESR and CRP
Posted , 6 users are following.
I have read recently that an ESR rate of 29 is perfectly "normal" for a woman.
I find this rather high. Comments, please!
0 likes, 8 replies
Posted , 6 users are following.
I have read recently that an ESR rate of 29 is perfectly "normal" for a woman.
I find this rather high. Comments, please!
0 likes, 8 replies
We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.
Nefret constance.de
Posted
Should my bloods show a level of 29 I'd probably be hospitalized as my blood inflammation markers are 4 and 2 respectively and throughout all the years with PMR/GCA my levels have never budged from my 'normal'. However, someone sitting next to me would find a level of 29 perfectly acceptable and someone else across the room would be told 'a little on the high side but ok' whereas the next person might be immeditately summoned to his/her doctor for investigation.
The truth of the matter is that the norm is normal to only one person - you. There are calculations which can be done which will show a range of 'normal' parameters but they are based on the blood test results of normal people anyway. Good perhaps as a guidance but not much more.
Around 20% of patients have no inflammation markers anyway. I've always had to go by symptoms alone.
EileenH constance.de
Posted
Normal ranges are worked out by taking the readings obtained for the population as a whole based on thousands of readings from across a representative population - supposedly healthy. Of course, as we age our general level of inflammation in the body tends to increase, and so the ESR will also increase. ESR also rises in response to colds, other viral infections, trauma - and even pregnancy! All things people might not have been aware of when the blood sample was taken. Is that general level of inflammation I mentioned "normal"? In a sense it is - older people just "are so" some would say and unless it is dramatically raised it is accepted. Younger women should have a lower reading - I don't actually know for sure if they do, I've never seen ESR divided up into age groups. As I said, men are a bit different, lower and, according to the NIH in the USA, the general figures using the Westergren method (the original method) are:
Men under 50 years old: less than 15 mm/hr
Men over 50 years old: less than 20 mm/hr
Women under 50 years old: less than 20 mm/hr
Women over 50 years old: less than 30 mm/hr
Mine has never gone above 7, it is mostly 4. Some people just don't develop this inflammatory response and they presumably skewed the results a bit. And of course - you can't say that at 49 and 360 days 20 is the top but at 50 and 5 days 30 is suddenly OK (but some people appear to think so).
What really matters is what YOUR personal normal is - but to know that you would have had to have regular readings taken over years. I think it is pretty fair to say that your normal is probably the lowest reading you can achieve whilst on pred - I don't know how acceptable that is to biochemical medicine or haematology specialists who do the test.
It is a VERY unreliable test and really shouldn't still be in use - but old habits die hard.
charlie44644 constance.de
Posted
ESR and CRP are general tests that show if there is inflammation in the body. There are many causes. They are not specific for a specific illness or problem.
The numbers given in EileenH comments below are accurate in that the "normal" tends to increase with age. A laboratory report should list the normal parameters in that lab, if they are not listed don't be afraid to ask what they are.
Once you go on Prednisone you would like to see a good drop in ESR and CRP in 30 days. That is if you are dealing with only PMR. There could be other inflammatory processes going on in your body that ought to be addressed such as gingivitis that would keep the ESR and CRP modestly elevated.
Average age of someone getting PMR is 70 years. If you are near that age I would think that a ESR of 29 is within the accepted limits.
Charlie44644
Charlie44644
beatrice74480 constance.de
Posted
EileenH beatrice74480
Posted
beatrice74480 EileenH
Posted
EileenH beatrice74480
Posted
https://patient.info/forums/discuss/pmr-gca-and-other-website-addresses-35316
I and a lot of others have used it successfully and it should also work to reduce 1/2mg at a time from 2 providing you start with 1 day new 7 days old dose - possibly even more days between. It's 25% drop each time so is pretty big.
Be very vigilant though - you don't want to joint the band who were fine at 1mg and stopped pred only to develop a flare a couple of months later. Doctors will try to tell you that dose can't be doing anything so just stop - some nurses however have also experienced it being different!
beatrice74480 constance.de
Posted