What is a SED RATE? A blood test for ....?

M

Mister-E

New member
When I saw a Gastroenterologist last month, he mentioned that my Sed Rate was up (one of my blood test results). We discussed a lot of other things and I forgot to ask about it.

The only other time a doctor mentioned it was 30+ years ago when I was a teenager with knee pain. I thought it was associated with suspected arthritis.

What does SED stand for, and what does it measure?
 
Funny you should ask! My SED rate is elevated as well. It truly is only an indication of inflammation. It stands for sedimentation rate, I believe. The test tracks how much time it takes for the red blood cells to settle to the bottom of the test tube...I think. I'm sure if you googled it you might get a better response, but I've had an elevated SED rate since April and nobody is worried about, so I'm not going to either!
 
Yup, it's a generic test for inflammation, also known as ESR. The inflammation itself can come from anywhere; any inflammatory disease, stress, colds and flu, surgery, injury or even too much exercise. A few people just run higher than average SED rates and there's nothing wrong at all.

I have a type of inflammatory arthritis and mine runs between 50 and 80. "Normal" is usually 0 - 20, but it depends on the laboratory.
 
Thank you both! I should pay attention, because I read that chronic inflammation is associated with a shorter life expectancy. In my case, I'm guessing it's most likely related to my poor knee alignment, which causes foot, knee and hip pain. Then there's also gingivitus.

If I looked in my file, I might discover that my sed rate has been high a lot over the years. I see also that it's associated with auto-immune disorders. Maybe that explains why doctors keep ordering Lupus tests for me. (The doctors in my group have wasted a lot of money by not bothering to check my chart before ordering tests.)
 
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