ESR AND CRP count?

sylvi Volunteer

30 Apr 2012

Wendy, esr is on page 9 and crp is on page 2 of tags.. Hope this helps. sylvi.xx

beachbabe

30 Apr 2012

Hi sylvi
thanks for replying - i know i am silly but i dont know how to use the "tags" and find these pages - could you tell me how to ! thanks x

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sylvi Volunteer

30 Apr 2012

You see the tags at the side of this page,press more tags and then you can go over them,mat the bottom of the page there are numbers just press no. 2 and one of them is there, ditto with the other one. sylvi.xx

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sylvi Volunteer

30 Apr 2012

Ps your not silly....

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beachbabe

30 Apr 2012

ok thanks for that sylvi x will look in a sec as just going up to have shower now as really really tired and just want to get all ready so i can go to bed whenever i feel like it x been down at mo as waiting to start rutuximab and feel all over the place x x x

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sylvi Volunteer

30 Apr 2012

I know the feeling as i'm off mtx and i am very fatique and achy. Happily the depression is not too bad, but i did have a cry last night as i ached so much.I will be switching of my laptop shortly and when i've bathed i will stay upstairs. Just to add insult to injury, i tried to bring some herbs indorrs as they were soaking wet and i caught my arm and trapped my finger. My arm has a lot of bloods splats on it and the knuckle is sore. Keep your chin up mate it will get better.
love sylvi.xx

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beachbabe

30 Apr 2012

lol sylvi x x x nice to know you there x x x x

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Beth58

30 Apr 2012

Hi Wendy, here a site I use quite often to read up on things I don't fully understand. It has a page on ESR and CRP their values and reasons for the test.

www.patient.co.uk/health/Bl...

Beth xx

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beachbabe

30 Apr 2012

HI Beth
thanks for your reply x i have an esr of 14 and crp of 6 and having read your link i am still not sure if this is high. i know something is wrong as i having flare ups all the time but am just waiting to go on rutuimab so am having to put up with it.

Are those counts high?
beachbabe xxxx

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Beth58

30 Apr 2012

Hi Wendy, looking at some other peoples values it does seem relatively low however.....

If I'm honest I don't take to much notice of my blood values, neither does my Rheumatologist, he looks at how I manage to take my coat off and walking in/out of his consulting room. The highest mine has ever been is now at 17 ESR and 19 CRP. You also have to bare in mind some labs have different reporting values, so it depends what the lab classes as an abnormal result for their testing methods.

We also have to remember, our doctors are trained in assessing the lab results along with everything else he uses to monitor/diagnose us. We are simply trying our best to understand these values and accept our conditions.

Also, I have other chronic conditions which probably affect the results. Plus like many others, I have days where I have to use the stair lift to get downstairs and collapse in my recliner or sofa, spending frightened to move it's so painful, yet when my blood is tested, ESR and CRP stay relatively low so it's certainly not a tool I'd rely on.

Beth x

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Beth58

30 Apr 2012

lol
That should be spending the day on the sofa or in the chair, frightened to move due to severe pain. xx

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beachbabe

30 Apr 2012

Beth, thanks for you help in this - i think thats what i have to bear in mind - these are only indicators and not the only thing to determine if ra is active.

how are you now? i remember one of your last blogs was saying you were poorly with your heart and i was really worried ! x are you better now and how are the dogs?
hope you got a walker to help you out with them xxxx

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Beth58

30 Apr 2012

Aww thanks Wendy, I'm managing with the dogs at the minute and have a dog walker lined up for days I can't manage it.. luckily I have a large park just across the main road.

I have been diagnosed with heart failure, I see the cardiologist next month to see what my options for treatment are. I'm struggling a little at the moment, things I'm used to doing for myself like food shopping are now leaving me exhausted and breathless. I feel at times I'm not getting any air in (I know I should probably get myself into hospital for help) but I really don't want to do that until I really have to.

Thank you so much for asking and please don't worry. I will write another blogg when I see the consultant and update everyone. I am so grateful for the support and advice I've had from my virtual friends on this site. xxx

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beachbabe

30 Apr 2012

i wish i was nearer to help you out somehow but want you to know if your dogs need a holiday to give you a rest there is a very nice house here in Eastbourne - by the south downs and the sea ! x x x x x and ..... my golden retriever Honey would love to show them the muddiest puddles !

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Beth58

30 Apr 2012

Sounds wonderful, think I'd leave the dogs here and I'll come down I love jumping in puddles too. lol xxx

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beachbabe

30 Apr 2012

was thinking about you whilst i was in the shower ....no i am not like that ! why dont you get your shopping delivered - i do - it saves so much time and energy, it may be good for you too so that, like me, you have more energy for the dogs and other housey things ! ! x

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Beth58

30 Apr 2012

lol
I normally only buy what I need, if I get a large shop I ask one of the guys to help me to the car or go with a friend and she carries everything. I'm sure in the future I'll have to start using home delivery. x

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beachbabe

30 Apr 2012

ok darling take care x

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cathie

1 May 2012

Ive been thinking about u too beth
Xxx

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Wiliby

1 May 2012

me to Beth xx

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helixhelix

30 Apr 2012

My blood test monitoring book says "normal" ESR is between 1 and 7, and CRP should be less than 6. But normal does vary between people and some are naturally a bit higher or lower. I recall Wiliby had an ESR of less than 1 at times. As to what's reasonable for us, I think there's a huge range but even when I'm at my best my ESR is still around 10. Px

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beachbabe

30 Apr 2012

ok thanks helixhelix x
it just helps to be reminded of these things - i dont have any sort of record book so dont know my past resutls off hand,so thanks again i just wanted to make sure in my mind.
x x x x

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beachbabe

30 Apr 2012

Hi - thanks for your reply x i have an esr of 14 and crp of 6 and having read your link i am still not sure if this is high. i know something is wrong as i having flare ups all the time but am just waiting to go on rutuimab so am having to put up with it. do you think these counts are high ?

beachbabe x

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Phoebe

30 Apr 2012

Hi, my Rh Nurse told me that it's not really the number that matters too much (except of course if it's off the scale) but how the trend goes. So after a few results they can tell if you are improving or not.
Helix... My MTX blood book gives a range of values for most tests, but none for ESR or CRP.

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beachbabe

30 Apr 2012

Hi Phoebe
thanks for your reply - i dont have any sort of record bblood test record book so the only way for me to know past results is to get them all from the docs but am sure the receptionist would love me if i asked them to tell me perhaps all the results for past six months say ! !
I dont always have esr and crp done anyway do you?
x

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rainie68

30 Apr 2012

Hi beachbabe
I always have my CRP taken but have never had the ESR. My CRP (bloods taken two weeks ago) was 33 but this has jumped up and down over the past few months from 12 to 32 then back down to 12 and then back upto 33.
I'm lucky in that I have my methotrexate record book so can see at a glance whats happening although I have to say, when my crp was 32 in January I felt great but when the last bloods were taken I felt really yucky. I was informed at an Arthritis Educational Workshop that the upper limit for normal CRP was 8.
Have also worked out that when my CRP is much higher the nurse always has trouble getting blood from my veins and I then usually end up with some lovely bruises!
I do find it interesting having my bloods results to look at but i do become a bit fretfull about them if the readings change dramatically.

Also, just out of interests, I was reading through my surgeons letters from last year when I had a bacterial infection in an operation wound (appendectomy) and my CRP was 150. No wonder I felt so ill back then!!
Rainie
xx

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helixhelix

30 Apr 2012

Perhaps it's better not to have a monitoring book as I do get a bit obsessional about the results, wanting the trend to be in the right direction, and they rarely relate to how I actually feel! But you can print one out on line if you want to start.....

I'd never made the connection between the actual levels and how hard it is to get blood out of me. A few times the nurse has complained that my blood is too sticky, and has struggled to get her samples - and yes have colourful bruises afterwards! So thanks, I'll now see if that relates to rotten results as well.
Pollyx

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Loret

1 May 2012

Hi Polly! They have a hard time getting my blood sometimes and the tech said to be sure I drink plenty of fluids the day before, as I tend to get dehydrated. Since I have been doing that, my ESR has been higher, but more realistic. It's 46 right now, 6 weeks post-op, so Rheumy was not too concerned yesterday. So, bottomline, drink lots the day before! Lxx

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helixhelix

1 May 2012

ok, so next time I'll have a good few glasses of wine the day before and tell them that a wise American said it was a good idea..... trouble is I can't get excited about drinking lots of water!Px

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Loret

1 May 2012

Wine! Great idea. More realistically, how about tea? Iced tea on the hot day it will be! You can put just about anything in water to drink it!

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helixhelix

1 May 2012

I do drink quite a bit of mint tea....but maybe if it ever get's hot again I'll try it iced as well. Real tea makes me a bit manic after a while. But right now it's cold and wet and miserable and I'd just love a hot toddy! Px

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Loret

2 May 2012

Sounds like a winner! I sat out at my grandaughter's last Softball Home game. It was Senior night, so they introduced the 3 graduating seniors and their parents, I was so proud of them, tears fell as I realized this was just the beginning of the rituals of this month, leading up to June 2, Graduation Day. Got freezing cold as the sun sank slowly in the West, so now I'm turning on my electric mattress pad and getting into bed! Tomorrow will be much warmer!

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TildaT

30 Apr 2012

Yes that's a new one to me thanks Rainie. Today the GP struggled so hard to get blood out of me that she has created a spectacular bruise and had to go for the other arm instead finally. But that was probably because my veins are hard to find rather than me having "no blood" as she kept muttering! My ESR was up at 50 a month ago - she took it today as well but forgot to ask for the results. Like Polly I like to have them but I fear them too. My ESR has never got to below 26 and my CRP has never got to below 12 but then that might just be me. A friend pointed out that it's hard to know what normal is for a person unless they took these markers before the onset of RA? My GPs are always a bit reluctant to tell me what my ESR readings are I've noticed - guess it's in case I get worried. They always stress that I shouldn't read too much into them. TTx

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TildaT

1 May 2012

PS just phoned the GP practice and learned my ESR has come down this month and is now 42! TTx

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Victoria-NRAS NRAS

1 May 2012

Hi beachbabe

A website we often use for info on blood tests is 'lab tests online' but you will find that they rarely give info on test ranges. www.labtestsonline.org.uk/

Their explanation is as follows:

"Reference Ranges
Reference values are dependent on many factors, including patient age, gender, sample population, and test method, and numeric test results can have different meanings in different labs.

For these reasons, you will not find reference ranges for the majority of tests described on this web site. The lab report containing your test results should include the specific reference range for your test(s). Please consult your doctor or the lab that performed the test(s) to obtain the reference range if you do not have the lab report."

As different laboratories can use different scales, and as what's high for one person might be low for another, it is more important to get an idea of whether this is high or low for you as an individual, which is why regularly writing down your test results can be a good way of tracking your condition.

Hope that helps

Victoria
(NRAS Helpline & Information Coordinator)

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tatlim

1 May 2012

My Rheumatologist told me last week anything under 18 was a normal esr, not sure if that helps? x

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posie

3 May 2012

back in dec 2010 my crp was 319.86 was send to A&E was kept in over night i felt fine apart for my usual pains was gaven intravenious antibiotic it came down to 139 next morning and i was send home the dr who seen me in the hospital wasnt too happy with my gp for sending me to A&E never was told why it was so high

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