Fatigue and Inflammation

According to http://medicine.ucalgary.ca/files/med/InflammationPaperPFDSwainDmello.pdf it is possible for inflammation in specific locations in the body (such as joints as in Rheumatoid Arthritis, the gut in Inflammatory Bowel Disease, etc.) to trigger white blood cells to enter the brain and cause fatigue (and probably also brain fog).

WOW, Razzle, you are the greatest!!! Thank you for posting this!! greetings from dorit.

Keephope, when I first saw LLMD, my sed rate was abnormally low. I learned this means I had hypercoagulation which is common with lyme. My blood was very thick.

I've never understood this, since I was also achy and I thought was a sign of inflammation.

Later I had a C-Reactive protein test which shows inflammation and mine was very low. ie. no inflammation. Still wonder why I ache.

Vitamin D3 is good for reducing inflammation. I think it's helped me.

OK, Keephope, I don't know what some of that stuff means. My PCP ordered a lot of blood tests and I've been trying to understand some of the results before I see him on Monday.

I know he tested me for inflammation, but I don't know which test or result this is on my labs. ON my CBC, my MCV and MCH are both high, but I don't understand what that means --- I'm reading stuff about the size of platelets and stuff I don't understand.

And what is 'sed rate'?

And, are there any certain things that I might want to look at on my lab report that would support lyme diagnosis?

I DO NOT WANT LYME, BUT I DO WANT TO KNOW WHAT IS WRONG!!

Sed Rate refers to the Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate (ESR), which is the rate at which the red blood cells in a test tube of blood fall over 1 hour of time. This test is not run as part of a CBC (Complete Blood Count), it is a test that must be requested separately.

Low ESR means low/no inflammation in the body. ESR can be falsly elevated (mildly so) if one is anemic.

From http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/complete-blood-count-cbc ~

MCV is Mean Corpuscular Volume, or the size of the red blood cells.

MCH is Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin, or the amount of hemoglobin in each red blood cell.

High MCV & MCH can occur in Vitamin B12 deficiency, Folic Acid deficiency, liver disease, medication side-effects, etc. See http://www.drkaslow.com/html/blood_cell_counts.html for more details.

There are no test results that are proven to point specifically to Lyme other than the Lyme tests themselves. However, many with Lyme may find they have low or high total WBC counts (indicating inflammation and/or suppressed immune system), anemia, and/or other abnormalities. And some physicians use the CD-57 test (CD-57 is a type of white blood cell) as additional supporting evidence of Lyme Disease, although not all LLMD's agree with doing so.

I hope this helps - take care,

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-Razzle

It may depend on the lab. I've always seen it referred to as ESR. http://labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/esr/glance.html does not list SED but does list ESR on their list of tests.

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-Razzle

Razzle is right. SED refers to Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate. The blood test measures how quickly red blood cells (erythrocytes), settle in a test tube in one hour. The more red blood cells that fall to the bottom of the test tube in one hour, the higher the sed rate. When inflammation is present in the body, certain proteins cause red blood cells to stick together and fall more quickly to the bottom of the tube.

www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/sedimentation-rate

My white blood cells and sed rate were high.

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2003 symptoms started with very intense panic attacks and anxiety. Also had sound and smell sensitivities. Was in and out of the hospital from 2003-2005. Diagnosed with panic disorder.
2007 found an LLMD and was diagnosed with Lyme. Didn't start treatment.
2008 symptoms came back with a vengence. Muscle pain, joint pain, floaters, stiff neck, rib pain, slow thinking, brain fog, etc...
2009 went back to see LLMD. Diagnosed again with Lyme plus co-infections....Babesia and Bartonella.
Illnesses:-Chronic Lyme Disease,Hashimotos Thyroiditis, Ulcers, Hypoglycemia
Medications:-Biaxin 250mg to start (starting slow and working my way up, Mepron(babesia), Ultram(muscle/joint pain), Thyro Complex 60mg(Thyroid), Probiotics ,Caproyl(intestinal candidas),Psyllium Powder(intestinal cleansing support),Bentonite Magma(absorbent aid for intestinal detoxification)
-Plus a ton of other supplements

Keephope,

Are you talking about your results? Because the results sheet will have SED on it. But, the labs that they send off for blood results will have ESR. Unless it is an older form. Not all forms are the same.

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2003 symptoms started with very intense panic attacks and anxiety. Also had sound and smell sensitivities. Was in and out of the hospital from 2003-2005. Diagnosed with panic disorder.
2007 found an LLMD and was diagnosed with Lyme. Didn't start treatment.
2008 symptoms came back with a vengence. Muscle pain, joint pain, floaters, stiff neck, rib pain, slow thinking, brain fog, etc...
2009 went back to see LLMD. Diagnosed again with Lyme plus co-infections....Babesia and Bartonella.
Illnesses:-Chronic Lyme Disease,Hashimotos Thyroiditis, Ulcers, Hypoglycemia
Medications:-Biaxin 250mg to start (starting slow and working my way up, Mepron(babesia), Ultram(muscle/joint pain), Thyro Complex 60mg(Thyroid), Probiotics ,Caproyl(intestinal candidas),Psyllium Powder(intestinal cleansing support),Bentonite Magma(absorbent aid for intestinal detoxification)
-Plus a ton of other supplements

Razzle - This is EXACTLY what I keep telling my doctors..."I feel 'inflamed' and exhausted." The fatigue/exhaustion was one of my very first symptoms years ago and now it's back with a vengence. And, according to all my ridiculous new test results, everything points to an "ongoing inflammatory process".

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