Hi guys, I wanted to check in and see if you know anything about the blood tests your doctors do. In fact, do you know anything about the blood tests your specialists may do as well? A specialist might run other tests to find something different from your regular doctor. Today, I wanted to talk to you about an indicator from a blood test that determines how much inflammation your body is experiencing.

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CRP (C-reactive protein) is produced by your liver in response to inflammation. This protein marker will be found on a blood test, and the response shown will be affected by injury, infection, or chronic inflammatory conditions. This is also an indicator of whether the conditions are acute or chronic.

Normal levels of CRP are less than 3.0 mg/L. When the levels are normal, that usually means there is no inflammation in the body, and it is considered normal.

Mild elevation of CRP (3.0-10.0 mg/L) usually indicates low-grade inflammation or infection. This could be due to a minor injury or rheumatoid arthritis, among other things.

Moderate elevation of CRP (10.0-100.0 mg/L) could indicate a more severe infection or inflammatory disease, or it could be due to cardiovascular disease.

High elevation (>100.0 mg/L) is usually due to major trauma or inflammatory diseases like lupus.

So why do doctors use CRP testing? Well, this is to monitor infections and other conditions. Once a patient is diagnosed, they use this test to see how the patient reacts to the treatment. This blood test is one of the most important ones to get done when you think you have chronic inflammation throughout your body. This test can help diagnose where the inflammation may be coming from. I have been getting this blood test done since 2019, and never once have I been in the normal level. I have always been between 13 and 52 mg/L, which means there is something going on in the body with inflammation.

This test was used (along with other tests) to diagnose the arthritis/wear-and-tear in my spine. It was used to diagnose Bertolotti’s syndrome. Now it is being used to monitor the treatment I am receiving (including injections and other treatments), and still, even after everything, it is elevated.

I hope those who are in pain, suffering will go and get their C-reactive protein checked to see if there is something that can be done to stop the pain.

That’s it for now.