1. Community
  2. Bones, joints and muscles
  3. Rheumatoid Arthritis

Inflammatory markers still high

Posted , 4 users are following.

elle09679
elle09679

Hi all. I've been injecting methotrexate for months but my esr is 70 and CRP is 30. It doesn't always seem to correlate with pain flares. Is this very abnormal? Thanks

1 like, 6 replies

6 Replies

  • lyn1951
    lyn1951 elle09679

    Posted

    Yes afraid thats in the high range, mine is ESR 45, and CRP 17.5, thats as low as mine have been in years.

    How much MTX are you on, they may have to lift your dosage.

    I am on 35mg weekly, thats a pretty high dosage. as well as Leflunomide, can only tolerate 10mg, was on 20mg leflunomide, but blood pressure high as in real trouble high, and had to come off 20mg.

    This combination only from specialist, and blood tests every month to make sure my liver is coping with this extreme dosage, as well as full body CAT Scan every two years to watch for sinister implications.

    I also take 6 x 1000mg fish oil capsules daily, they do help, noticed when I don't take them I feel more achey, joints more swollen, and generally more rusty, again advised by specialist to take fish oil.

  • Rowbirdie
    Rowbirdie elle09679

    Posted

    Yes crp seems high, but was there another reason like fighting off a cold?- or some kind of infection or allergic reaction?is it consistently high or does it ho up and down?

    my crp levels don't always match my joint pain, but in general they do . 

    • elle09679
      elle09679 Rowbirdie

      Posted

      Thanks for reply. My CRP is always above 20 and the ESR is always above 50. My RA is not very stable in that I have lots of time where the pain is not too bad and then with flares every few weeks that only last a couple of days each.

      Also anti ccp was 40 which is much lower than other posts I've seen. Do you know if that is a significant level?

      Thank you

  • Light
    Light elle09679

    Posted

    High ESR could  be due to any infection in the body, not just your RA. If you gave a cold or something like that, your blooods will register a high marker.

    Don't worry too much about your ESR, leave the worrying of that to your doctor. Just take care of your pain levels and flares.

    Who suggested the "full body CAT Scan every two years"? My rheumy has never offered me this...

    • lyn1951
      lyn1951 Light

      Posted

      Rheumotologist's locum, asked on Monday, where were my CAT scan results, she was flicking pages in my file, and looked at me for answers that I couldn't give her, never had CAT Scan done before.

      Oh she says you should have that done straight away, and orders up the CAT Scan then and there.

      I also had to see GP for prescription for Blood Pressure, and ran the CAT Scan idea past him as well, and he also confirmed about every two years is a very good idea especailly while you are on such a high dose of immunine suppressing drugs. His words not mine.

       

    • Light
      Light lyn1951

      Posted

      Hmmm.... worth investigating.

      I've had RA for 10 years and only ever had a Cat scan at the start.

      Know exactly what they hope not to find??

Back to top

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

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.