C Reactive Protein High? 15.1

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vickygalo
vickygalo Posts: 41 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi everyone,

I am a new mom and gained 80 lbs during pregnancy. It's been very hard to lose with the lack of sleep. I have done 3 rounds of bloodwork in the past 3 weeks or so. Everything is normal (finally) however my C Reactive Protein keeps going up. It went from 13.2, to 14.1 and now yesterdays is 15.1.

Everything I am researching says it can be something serious... or it can be lowered with weight loss and a diet change?

I am just reaching out and wondering if anyone else had a similar experience with their C Reactive Protein. I Have done all the tests for autoimmune and they came back negative.

Thank you all so so much.

Replies

  • Duchy82
    Duchy82 Posts: 560 Member
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    C-reactive protein usually indicates that there is an infection (inflammation) somewhere in the body. I've had mine raised when I had a flare of acne on my back in the past, so there is no need for it to be serious, it can also be raised through coughs and colds, so i wouldnt automatically jump to conclusions just yet.

    I doubt weight loss or diet change will alter this but I am no doctor so I would recommend you speak to your gp
  • vickygalo
    vickygalo Posts: 41 Member
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    Thank you very much. I have been going to him for the month and we have been redoing these blood tests for a while now. The CRP keeps going up. I have no cough, cold or fever. And it just keeps going up. My doctor actually says he has no idea what it is.
    So I am researching it myself and hoping to hear some experiences.
    Thank you!
  • mitch16
    mitch16 Posts: 2,113 Member
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    CRP is an acute phase reactant--it rises in response to inflammation, but it can be pretty non-specific. Talk to the physician (or a nurse in the office) who ordered the tests--obviously there is a reason the tests were ordered and he/she can tell you what they are looking for or trying to rule out.
  • L1zardQueen
    L1zardQueen Posts: 8,754 Member
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    I found this. http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/c-reactive-protein-crp#3
  • CTcutie
    CTcutie Posts: 649 Member
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    Hmmm- I'm not a medical professional:

    But it seems a smige strange to me that a dr would test you weekly for CRP, but are you feeling sick/unwell (other than sleep-deprived!)? (Maybe this is normal for post-partum wellness checks?)

    A little googling: I think a really high CRP value is like 100+ or so after a c-section, (lower for normal delivery) but unless your dr is treating you for an infection or disease, I would just think it's acceptable for it to be a little high after delivery. It's a pretty major deal your body has gone through and might take awhile for that value to go down.

    How long since your baby was born? 3 weeks? I haven't had children, but thinking it takes time for your body & mind to re-adjust after such a major event :-). Congrats & enjoy your baby
  • Duchy82
    Duchy82 Posts: 560 Member
    edited March 2017
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    vickygalo wrote: »
    Thank you very much. I have been going to him for the month and we have been redoing these blood tests for a while now. The CRP keeps going up. I have no cough, cold or fever. And it just keeps going up. My doctor actually says he has no idea what it is.
    So I am researching it myself and hoping to hear some experiences.
    Thank you!

    Well I've just been proven wrong, reading on webmd weight can have an impact on crp so weightloss can help, but having a baby also affects it (I came across some research papers where crp was being measured during pregnancy, labour and postpartum but unfortunately I can't access the whole paper without paying). As you are a new mum, it may just be that and will come down on its own again.

    Edited to add: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9743869 it's not the full article but a decent summary
  • vickygalo
    vickygalo Posts: 41 Member
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    mitch16 wrote: »
    CRP is an acute phase reactant--it rises in response to inflammation, but it can be pretty non-specific. Talk to the physician (or a nurse in the office) who ordered the tests--obviously there is a reason the tests were ordered and he/she can tell you what they are looking for or trying to rule out.

    thank you. i have been speaking to my doctor but he doesn't know. he did the test as part of my annual testing.
  • vickygalo
    vickygalo Posts: 41 Member
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    Duchy82 wrote: »
    vickygalo wrote: »
    Thank you very much. I have been going to him for the month and we have been redoing these blood tests for a while now. The CRP keeps going up. I have no cough, cold or fever. And it just keeps going up. My doctor actually says he has no idea what it is.
    So I am researching it myself and hoping to hear some experiences.
    Thank you!

    Well I've just been proven wrong, reading on webmd weight can have an impact on crp so weightloss can help, but having a baby also affects it (I came across some research papers where crp was being measured during pregnancy, labour and postpartum but unfortunately I can't access the whole paper without paying). As you are a new mum, it may just be that and will come down on its own again.

    Edited to add: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9743869 it's not the full article but a decent summary

    my baby is 9 months old. i wonder if it can still be high from that?
    i did gain a lot of weight though.
  • vickygalo
    vickygalo Posts: 41 Member
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    CTcutie wrote: »
    Hmmm- I'm not a medical professional:

    But it seems a smige strange to me that a dr would test you weekly for CRP, but are you feeling sick/unwell (other than sleep-deprived!)? (Maybe this is normal for post-partum wellness checks?)

    A little googling: I think a really high CRP value is like 100+ or so after a c-section, (lower for normal delivery) but unless your dr is treating you for an infection or disease, I would just think it's acceptable for it to be a little high after delivery. It's a pretty major deal your body has gone through and might take awhile for that value to go down.

    How long since your baby was born? 3 weeks? I haven't had children, but thinking it takes time for your body & mind to re-adjust after such a major event :-). Congrats & enjoy your baby


    I'm sorry i should have been more clear! my baby is 9 months old. i still consider myself a new mom LOL as she doesn't sleep through the night at all haha

    i had a normal delivery but it was 9 months ago. we did this testing as part of my annual. and the crp just keeps creeping up and up. we have been doing it weekly and every week it is up a digit.
  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
    edited March 2017
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    Excess weight is itself inflammatory. Lose the weight and see what happens before worrying about anything else.

    If it helps you to know, I have several autoimmune conditions which would cause my CRP to skyrocket, and the thing that most helped mine to normalize was losing excess weight.

    Mine used to be 25 when I was obese. Now it's normal.
  • vickygalo
    vickygalo Posts: 41 Member
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    GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »
    Excess weight is itself inflammatory. Lose the weight and see what happens before worrying about anything else.

    If it helps you to know, I have several autoimmune conditions which would cause my CRP to skyrocket, and the thing that most helped mine to normalize was losing excess weight.

    Mine used to be 25 when I was obese. Now it's normal.


    thanks so much for sharing your story. would your CRP skyrocket due to the autoimmune issues not being controlled? or was it solely weight? i definitely need to lose the weight but my CRP just keeps climbing and climbing every bloodwork. I am thinking maybe it's something active going on in my body?
  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
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    vickygalo wrote: »
    GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »
    Excess weight is itself inflammatory. Lose the weight and see what happens before worrying about anything else.

    If it helps you to know, I have several autoimmune conditions which would cause my CRP to skyrocket, and the thing that most helped mine to normalize was losing excess weight.

    Mine used to be 25 when I was obese. Now it's normal.


    thanks so much for sharing your story. would your CRP skyrocket due to the autoimmune issues not being controlled? or was it solely weight? i definitely need to lose the weight but my CRP just keeps climbing and climbing every bloodwork. I am thinking maybe it's something active going on in my body?

    This is a good question for which I don't have a definitive answer.

    I did have what we now feel was undiagnosed psoriatic arthritis for approximately 10 years, and the high CRP readings were taken during that time.

    That was the diagnosis that got me to take my weight seriously, because part of managing it involves maintaining a healthy weight to keep pressure off your joints.

    The thing is, that I've since had bloodwork done while I've been flaring and my CRP is still a reasonable level thanks to my weight loss and probably from the NSAID I take. I'm also on a biologic.
  • singingflutelady
    singingflutelady Posts: 8,736 Member
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    When my autoimmune disease (Crohn's) is really bad my crp is sky high but my weight is very low (BMI 16.7)....
  • tiptoethruthetulips
    tiptoethruthetulips Posts: 3,364 Member
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    Are your ESR levels up too?

    Both of my levels were high for years before my auto-immune issue presented symptoms. Levels were so high once that the doctor called me back in to check that I didn't have pneumonia.
  • mitch16
    mitch16 Posts: 2,113 Member
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    vickygalo wrote: »
    mitch16 wrote: »
    CRP is an acute phase reactant--it rises in response to inflammation, but it can be pretty non-specific. Talk to the physician (or a nurse in the office) who ordered the tests--obviously there is a reason the tests were ordered and he/she can tell you what they are looking for or trying to rule out.

    thank you. i have been speaking to my doctor but he doesn't know. he did the test as part of my annual testing.

    Grrrr. My background is in Clinical Laboratory Science--physicians who order a battery of tests without understanding what the tests are for or what they might mean were the bane of my existence. Is there someone within the practice who does understand them (a nurse, a nurse practitioner, another physician)--or could at least tell you whether it's something to worry about?
  • jelleigh
    jelleigh Posts: 743 Member
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    So I'm not a medical professional but if CRP levels are a measurement of inflammation, could your diet (meaning foods you eat - not the form of weight loss you choose) be aggravating it? I only ask this as I know some people who have had long term inflammation because of sensitivities to certain foods that they were eating and didn't know they had a problem with. Programs like Whole 30 (a 30 day elimination diet) cut foods that commonly cause inflammation and help people identify if they have any issues with certain food groups. Not sure if that sort of thing might be helpful (along with whatever other treatment is recommended of course). I figured it wouldn't hurt and was related to the inflammation topic so thought I would mention it (although I don't know if that has any bearing on CRP)
  • StargazingGirl
    StargazingGirl Posts: 31 Member
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    Excess weight can definitely cause a rise.

    Realistically, if you've got a Dr ordering tests...but doesn't 'understand', it's time to start Dr shopping.
    It could simply be the weight, could be something more serious. All you know for sure at this point is you're working with a medical professional that is at best 'uninformed' and at worst 'blatantly incompetent'.

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