Has anyone has high CRP and what was done about it?

[me23]

I'm 19 weeks pregnant at 17 weeks I had blood tests done because I have ongoing fatigue, headaches, that has meant I am signed off work.

crp was included in the bloods and came back at 34 g/l the reference range is 0-10 g/l. esr came back at 37 which is also high.

However the gp's seem unconcerned and just want to repeat in two weeks time (monday) alhtough they have asdmitted they do not know what this means in pregnancy as they are not obstetricians.

Has anyone has any experience of this? I have been looking up online (i know, i know) and severeal studies indicate high crp lnked to prem labour ans even then the crp was only 3 g/l!

Should the gp be doing more, should I be seeing an obstetrician?

You should definitely be referred to an OB consultant. Do you have an assessment unit at your hospital? If so, I'd ring them for advice - they may just book you into the next antenatal clinic.

Raised CRP is a sign of inflammation, for which there can be many causes, including infections.

Thanks Japhrimel,

I did think I should be but I know crp can be raised in pregnancy though I think 34 is a bit too high!

I'm a student midwife so I feel I should know this however while learning complications of pregnancy in second year CRP specifically was not adressed. I will call MW/DAU and see what they suggest.

I wouldn't worry, my midwife looked CRP up on google in front of me!

Mine was a slightly different case as CRP was being done to check for infection, along with a full blood count as my waters went around twin 1 at 14+5. However, prior to it going up, (when I got an infection) it was around 15-17.

thanks midori so it does seem quite high. I will ask for a msu sample to be sent as I havent had one done so far, where I'm training we send off everyone's urine at booking appt to check for inection regardless of symptoms, so thinking it could be something in urine.

CRP is slightly raised in normal pregnancy due to being in an immunocompromised state. All inflammatory markers are raised, including ESR, d-dimer etc..
Generally not helpful to check these markers unless there is an indication to as causes unecessary concern.
Get a urine dip but if no other symptoms, I'd try not to worry about it.

yes but if reference range is 0-10 34 isn't only slightly raised is it? I Spoke to a midwife friend who said if I was her client she would refer me to obstetrician asap,
plus there was a reason to check for crp and esr as all pregnancy I have been very ill, extreme fatigue, headaches, weakness-aches and pains and have been signed off work all pregnncy due do it.

i know that many women in late PG get a rise in crp, up to 40, but then you're not in late PG. goes someway to help you realise while the MW/obs people might seem a bit slack about it though.

sorry you feel so rotten, but don't panic that the figures are high - there is nothing critical in them but you should push through the GP for a deep panel of infections testing. If that is negative, ask for a review by an immunologist - pregnancy can be quite an immunological event in a variety of ways.

and it is only slightly raised in the grand scheme of thing, mine's been known to go up to 200 and i know they keep measuring after that AND i'm here to type the tale! please don't feel too dark about the actual figures, but please do feel fully validated that they are one of the reasons you feel so dire. I never feel like functioning at anything when my crp is over 30 and my esr over 50. i men, really lie down and stop territory isn't it.

Thankyou merryberry, I just know something is going on but am stumped as to what it is, it is reassuring (thought not nice for you) that levels of 200 were common for you yet not critical.

I just want to feel human again I feel like an very unhealthy old woman right now am unable to function properly at all.

sorry merry berry forgot to say what would a deep panel of infection testing consist of?
I have had anti nuclear antiboides and rheumatoid blood test which were clear.
also HIV hep b clear.

I had slightly high crp levels at about 28 w when I went to MAU with pain at top of my bump. They couldn't find any known cause and suggested taking paracetemol as i could have had some inflammation or been fighting off an infection, which I believe is safe after 18 weeks preg, to see if it helped, with instruction to return if no improvement for new bloods to be taken and a course of antibiotics prescribed if levels continued to rise

sounds like they've already done it me23 - especially the RF factor and the anti nuclear antibodies - they have been looking at your immune system well thoroughly. Talk to GP to check out if they have ruled out pelvic inflammatoin etc?

Also, have you had thyroid auto-antibodies checked? These should be checked for you I think.

The reason i have patchy insight into this is that I've had normal pregnancies, with enormous 'immune storms' after delivery. The first birth triggered auto-immune hypothyroiditis and an 'immune gut' probably coeliac, but I won't eat barley and wheat to prove it in the lab - I get so ill so quickly I can't function. Day after ds2 was born I developed rheumatoid arthritis. I've had it described by both RA and obstectrics consultants as my immune system behaving normally in PG - being damped down so as not to complicate the pregnancy - but then bouncing back with a vengeance and going into overdrive. Maybe yours isn't being as quiet as it should be, hence feeling rotten.

I do think you need to talk things through more with a more specialised doc, though I think it is very hard to find one who specialises in this - I've seen Obs who specialise in endocrinology for the thyroid issue, and RA people who know about how the immune system of RA people behaves around PG. But from what I recall them all saying, normal variations do also exist where you feel awful, simply due to the hormone profile in pregnancy stimulating the immune system to behave uncomfortably.

i hope this helps and my partially informed speculations don't cause you worry. I suspect that the hands-off approach you have been getting from folk is because they may well see your symptoms a fair bit, and no harm comes of it - apart from poor you having to to feel dire for duration of PG :(

gosh merryberry you have been through the mill, how awful having to deal with that with a new baby. I'm really pleased you have commented on this thread it is good to have someone who knows how I'm feeling, sometimes it feels like people think I'm being precious and over exaggerating how ill I feel.
funny you say about thyroid my free t4 levels are abnormal at 9.6 referecnce range 10-24, but tsh has always been normal currently 1.04 so gps just keep retesting and don't seem bothered by this.
After my first abonormal t4 result 5 months ago before pregnancy I had thyroid antibodies checked and they were normal at 29.
Also maybe not relevent my blood results show vitamin d deficient at 61, and b12 seemed low to me at 212 but doctors not worried.

it were bloody grim, indeed. much better after 8 months due to a good drug called humira.

i'm really pleased your TSH is around 1. That's what my endocrinology/obs consultant advised us to aim for all the way through 2nd PG.

It is such a worry for you, but you are right about the knocked down sideways feeling of it all, it is like having flu, everyday. Here's a useful graph for any vocal doubters - CRP in folk with flu

18 months, not 8. I wish:)

Sorry i don't know much about the other results.