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what does the community consider a normal SED rate for GCA/PMR?

Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR) | Last Active: Feb 2 9:26am | Replies (28)
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@dadcue

Lots of variables need to be factored into the normal levels for ESR and CRP . Age, gender, race, obesity, general overall health, etc, etc, Yes…even exercise and stress can cause fluctuations in ESR and CRP.

Cortisol is a hormone that regulates inflammation. The HPA axis is the mechanism that controls our inflammatory responses to various things. Prednisone puts a wrench into what used to be a finely tuned mechanism by artificially suppressing our immune system.

An analogy is like taking a Boeing 747 out of autopilot and attempting to land the thing without any experience with flying a plane.

In any case, ESR and CRP are indirect measures of inflammation. They don’t aways reflect actual inflammation or what is causing the inflammation.

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Replies to "Lots of variables need to be factored into the normal levels for ESR and CRP ...."
janetilley | @janetilley | Jan 27 11:39am

My ESP and CRP have been normal from the beginning, causing my internist to hold off prescribing prednisone. For three awful weeks, he was convinced I had RA or fibromyalgia.
Then put me on a fast taper until he was convinced of diagnosis. I understand he was being careful not to start a prednisone regime requiring a long taper but I had trouble convincing him. I told him I was quite sure, that I’d read all the other patients descriptions on Mayo Connect! He scoffed and seemed quite annoyed that I actually got info from another source other than him. He remarked in a visit report that “patient has been on the internet and thinks she has PMR”! Meanwhile he relented after a month and prescribed Pred but still said diagnosis was wrong. I carried on tapering and after 10 months I’m at 3/ 3.5 supplemented with 2- Tylenol arthritis 3x a day. He finally agrees with me and thinks I should be done by April. We’ll see…..
Thanks to you all for this great site. I appreciate all your insights. Xx

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gagapapa | @gagapapa | Jan 31 7:51pm

How about the il 6 test? I get that test about as often as sed rate and CRP.

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