C-reactive protein

[Guest guest]

I am caught in a dilemma. I had a severe gash on my left knee a month ago It was

stitched up and I was put on antibiotics(cephloxin) for 2 weeks. I was in

Milwaukee when the time came for the stiches to be removed. I had them taken

out at the ER at a local hospital. I was told to stay on the crutches for a few

days longer.

That night, my left foot began to swell. It continued to swell and cause

extreme pain as we traveled from Milwaukee back to Atlanta. In Indianopolis, I

could stand it no longer! I went to the ER at the University hosp. 2 docs

looked at my foot and declared that I had cellulitis. No tests were done, but I

was given another weeks worth of cefloxin.

2 days later, when I got back to Atlanta, I went directly to my pcp who is an

internist. She looked at the foot and said she didn't believe it was

cellulitis. She did a number of blood tests and also a urine test becaise I was

sure I had a UTI. That was positive so I was given 3 days worth of Cipro and

discontinued the cefloxin. The WBC was in the average range and there didn't

seem to be any indication of infection. Slowly, my foot got back to its normal

size. In the meantime, my left knee began to hurt. So last week I had x-rays

of foot and knee, and additional tests. THe only significant one was the

C-reactive protein at 2.6. When I had a major staph infection which took 4 mos

of vancomycin IV therapy to clear up , my C-RP was 4.

The reason for all this detail is that I was scheduled for extensive cervical

spine surgery last week, but the surgeon cancelled it until we get this problem

solved. He won't reschedule it until I get a clean bill of health on the various

blood tests.

I know that C-RP is a sensitive measure but it doesn't distinguish between

inflammation and infection. I also don't know how significant a 2.6 test is.

If anyone can give me a clue as to where to go from here, I'd be very

appreciative. My pcp is perplexed. I thought it might be my weird arthritis

acting up (palandromic) but I haven't been able to get in touch with my

rheumatologist as of yert (although I have talked to his nurse)

Thanks for any suggestions,

Judy

[Guest guest]

Hi Judith,

You already know that an elevated C-Reactive Protein level means that your

body's inflammatory mechanism is switched on. The important thing to

remember about the CRP level is that any of us with loose, subluxing,

dislocating, damaged joints, gum degeneration, or gum disease, obesity, or

heart disease will have an elevated C-RP level.

This doesn't mean that you have the aforementioned conditions, one could

have an infection, but with a disorder like EDS, who doesn't have joint

problems: hence, if you have a chronic inflamed joint; then the test will

most always show an elevated level.

C-reactive protein

> I am caught in a dilemma. I had a severe gash on my left knee a month ago

It was stitched up and I was put on antibiotics(cephloxin) for 2 weeks. I

was in Milwaukee when the time came for the stiches to be removed. I had

them taken out at the ER at a local hospital. I was told to stay on the

crutches for a few days longer.

>

> That night, my left foot began to swell. It continued to swell and cause

extreme pain as we traveled from Milwaukee back to Atlanta. In

Indianopolis, I could stand it no longer! I went to the ER at the

University hosp. 2 docs looked at my foot and declared that I had

cellulitis. No tests were done, but I was given another weeks worth of

cefloxin.

>

> 2 days later, when I got back to Atlanta, I went directly to my pcp who is

an internist. She looked at the foot and said she didn't believe it was

cellulitis. She did a number of blood tests and also a urine test becaise I

was sure I had a UTI. That was positive so I was given 3 days worth of

Cipro and discontinued the cefloxin. The WBC was in the average range and

there didn't seem to be any indication of infection. Slowly, my foot got

back to its normal size. In the meantime, my left knee began to hurt. So

last week I had x-rays of foot and knee, and additional tests. THe only

significant one was the C-reactive protein at 2.6. When I had a major staph

infection which took 4 mos of vancomycin IV therapy to clear up , my C-RP

was 4.

> The reason for all this detail is that I was scheduled for extensive

cervical spine surgery last week, but the surgeon cancelled it until we get

this problem solved. He won't reschedule it until I get a clean bill of

health on the various blood tests.

>

> I know that C-RP is a sensitive measure but it doesn't distinguish between

inflammation and infection. I also don't know how significant a 2.6 test

is. If anyone can give me a clue as to where to go from here, I'd be very

appreciative. My pcp is perplexed. I thought it might be my weird

arthritis acting up (palandromic) but I haven't been able to get in touch

with my rheumatologist as of yert (although I have talked to his nurse)

> Thanks for any suggestions,

> Judy

>

>

>