Out of all my tests, that is the only one that came back abnormal. The upper range was 4.9 and mine came in at 5. Could this indicate my PN is inflammatory and not autoimmune?

All of my lab reference ranges show CRP normal values as between 1-10...so 5 would still be normal for you.

I checked online at several places like Medscape and labtestsonline.com and they say the same...1-10.

Are you sure they are not listing your values for the hs-CRP (high sensitivity CRP) which is to measure the 'risk' of cardiovascular disease?

That's strange. It just says C reactive protein and it got flagged as high. Range is 0-4.9. Maybe it varies by lab?

Labs do vary...that's for sure. Still, such a very minimal elevation out of range (on their scale).

Did you have a SED rate done? If so, did that come back high?

Tunaboy, I had a chat to one of my clinical immunologist colleagues about this.

Her comment was that it is common for CRP measurements to vary between labs. She also commented that retesting of the same person in the same lab is often variable, assuming that there are no underlying changes in infection or inflammation.

Her very general opinion was that probably you have nothing to be stressed about .

I just looked back at my test that was run last fall. It showed a reference range of 0.00 to 0.50. My result was <0.03

If my PN was inflammatory, it would probably be a lot higher. Too bad I have no other test results to prove it's autoimmune

What about SED rate? It's another test for inflammation.

Tests for inflammation are not always perfect, so you can still have inflammation and blood tests not reflect it.

Have they ever tried steroids to see if your symptoms improve? If it is inflammatory based, the symptoms will usually improve with steroids. It's not the best course of action (due to long term side-effects), but it can help determine if it is inflammation.

My sed rate is low at 4.

I tried alka seltzer the other day and it seemed to have reduced the burning. Could have been a placebo.

My doc offered a course of prednisone but im scared to take it.

Actually this got me thinking earlier today, was that my symptoms started after oral surgery. I was given IV steroids (not sure what kind, I am waiting to hear back from my surgeon) during my surgery. My symptoms started approximately a week after.

Then I read the below threads:
http://www.drugs.com/forum/need-talk...thy-29885.html

http://www.drugs.com/answers/prednis...hy-653205.html

Could steroids cause PN?

Hi Tunaboy,

I get numerous autoimmune manifestations, a diagnosed arthritic autoimmune prob, mild psoriasis, uveitis ( both autoimmune), now the most lovely addition of diagnosed SFN. All are highly active and debilitating sometimes at the moment and my crp and ESR keep coming back normal. I think it was already mentioned that bloods don't always have inflammation. I have all this active autoimmunity and bloods show nothing at all. Naproxen does however alleviate the rheumatic pain greatly. That's an anti inflammatory drug. You see how confusing it can be?
I went for a one off corticosteroid shot in the backside after asking for it. It didnt help the neuropathy pain. That doesnt mean the neuropathy is not autoimmune. I understand certain neuropathies will respond if there's inflammation there. If I were you, I would ask for s corticosteroid shot I really would. As others have said it may help you rule things in or out. I hhad no bad effects at all. No mood swings, hunchback or moonface! :-) I think you should really considerate it.