If you have Lyme, the elevated CRP would probably be atttributed to that, and it is not the same situation as having inflammation in your blood vessels contributing to heart disease.

With a severe Lyme flare, my CRP was in the 80's!!!!! Nevertheless, I was told repeatedly that this didn't signiify any heart risk, but was due to inflammation from my illness.

I haven't had a heart attack - so I ain't worrying about it.

Just follow up with what your doc wants - and try not to worry. I know it's difficult not to worry, especially if you've got lyme bugs living in the tissue between your ribs & you have constant chest pains. Been there! Still there as a matter of fact!

Hang in there.

Blessings,

I recently underwent nerve conduction studies where they shocked the nerves for diabetic neuropathy. All were normal, but during the shock treatment, the neurologist saw on the machine about the CRP levels were high.

Doc suggested it might be "occult coronary artery disease". Any one else told this? He didn't tell me this, but the copy of his medical notes did!

Lyddie, thanks for the wonderful comments! I learned a lot from your answer.

I know (documented) that if exposed to a pathogen that causes food poisoning, the body will dump cholesterol, fast - even before WBCs rise. This is an immediate, life-threating situation. If digestion goes kapoot...we can't absorb any nutrients. We MUST have a healthy gut.

(Cyclospora is on the increase.)

Why is it dumped? Cholesterol is a fat and a protein...acidic.

CEA...levels to detect cancer... is also a protein...acidic. They normally rise if cancer is present (not always totally accurate though).

CRP...another protein which rises when an infection is threatening.

Looks like our body, when confronted with certain pathogens, starts becoming acidic - elevating certain proteins because

...acids (lots) react with the minerals (little) to produce hydrogen...lots of it.

2 H's combine with 2 O's (most are free radicals) to make H2O2 which is capable of knocking off MOST, but not all - Bb - pathogens (bacterial, viral, fungal and even some spores).

Looks to me like the body may be trying to fight by 1st building up a "reserve" in some instances. Preparing for battle until other factors kick in (enough antibodies)?

Marnie, hmmm, so maybe that would also explain why in my ABG's my ph was off.

From what I understand from reading online, c-reactive protein can be an early indicator of infection and an indication of the level of inflammation. I guess there is a specific CRP test that is indicative of coronary involvement, but mine was just the general one .

I read on PubMed in an abstract
Neurol Neurochir Pol. 2005 January-February;39(1):33-39.

"The serum level of CRP was increased only in 15% of patients and after the treatment CRP concentration returned to a basal level (except one patient in whom CRP was slightly higher than in the control group). No correlation between CRP and IL-18, IL-1beta and sIL-1RII was observed. Conclusions: Our results confirm the involvement of IL-18, IL-1beta and sIL-1RII in the pathogenesis of neuroborreliosis and uselessness of CRP determination in the diagnosis of Lyme meningitis."

So my LLMD might be using this baseline CRP to see my progress and if my treatments are reducing inflammation.

I already knew I had inflammation anyway due to the hypercoagulation abnormalities that have been discovered.

Hmmm, since it is secreted by the liver, could this mean maybe I have a liver problem?? Just thinking out loud. I haven't had any liver labs done since on abx.

quote:

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Originally posted by hwlatin:
Just to let you know If you have United Healthcare, CRP is not an approved test for a Lyme Diagnosis.

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I agree that it shouldn't be used for dx as Lyme is supposed to be a clinical dx. My LLMD dx me clinically and with supporting evidence of a highly + Western Blot through Igx. There was an older study I found (below) that indicated it could be used but I think it is rubbish. Could be good supporting evidence of the inflammation caused by chronic infections though.

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Biomed Environ Sci. 1996 Dec;9(4):424-9. Related Articles, Links

A preliminary study of C-reactive protein in the diagnosis and monitoring of Lyme disease.

Chan SS, Wong YC, Hodgkiss IJ.

Department of Applied Biology, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong.

Concentrations of C-reactive protein (CRP) in the serum of 14 patients suffering from Lyme disease were measured. 86% of these patients were found to have abnormally high concentrations of serum CRP (range 14-158 mg/L). The CRP concentration of a 60-year-old patient abated from 29 mg/L to 13 mg/L after treatment. Results suggest that serum CRP concentration can provide a valuable and accurate means for the clinical diagnosis and monitoring of Lyme disease.

quote:

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Originally posted by Laurie:
This is NOT the same as the CPK level, is it? .......

.....(I did not know it was something that could be detected by an EMG, however - I thought it was bloodwork.)

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Laurie,

You are correct that this is not the same as CPK.

This is way before I knew, much less thought, I had Lyme.

It got all the way up to 44.0, I believe. I think 0-4.4 is normal. So, my CRP has been WAY high.

Since taking antibiotics, it has come down to 25.0!!!! I have since been tested for it but have not been told the newest results....

I was relieved to see it finally coming down after having it climb higher and higher these past two years.

I was told by everyone that it was just inflammation. I have read articles on how the CRP has a connection to heart attacks. My LLMD told me he thought it would start to come back down after I started medication. He was right.

Also, I have read that exercise will bring you CRP down if you are overweight.

Can';t exercise due to all my heal spur pain and my shortness of breath.