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I Had A Physical And They Did Blood Work. My
Question: I had a physical and they did blood work. My esr was elevated at 46. I am 35 year old female. I gave birth on March 29th via c-section. How long does it take for esr to return to normal after pregnancy? Could that be the reason for the elevation. I am worried about cancer. I have no infection or anything.
Brief Answer:
usually 4 weeks after labor
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
the ESR may remain higher than normal for 4 weeks after labor (or c-section). Normally it starts to rise a month after conception and gets to even higher levels as the fetus develops. In the 3rd trimester values as high as 70 or 80 are possible. 46 is not alarmingly high and we don't know (or do we?) how high your ESR was a month before the last test. If it tends to return to normality then you shouldn't worry. If it's still high or does not improve or if you've got symptoms then perhaps you should ask your primary care doctor to check what's wrong.
Keep in mind that the ESR is not a specific test and does not diagnose anything. It's just an alarm that something MAY be going wrong. It can be something as simple as an inflammed tooth for example. Since you've just given birth to your baby the most likely explanation for the ESR is pregnancy. Try another test a week after the last one and let your doctor see how it goes. It will probably be lower than 46...
I hope I've answered your query. Please let me know if you need further assistance.
Kind Regards,
Dr Panagiotis Zografakis
Internal Medicine Specialist
usually 4 weeks after labor
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
the ESR may remain higher than normal for 4 weeks after labor (or c-section). Normally it starts to rise a month after conception and gets to even higher levels as the fetus develops. In the 3rd trimester values as high as 70 or 80 are possible. 46 is not alarmingly high and we don't know (or do we?) how high your ESR was a month before the last test. If it tends to return to normality then you shouldn't worry. If it's still high or does not improve or if you've got symptoms then perhaps you should ask your primary care doctor to check what's wrong.
Keep in mind that the ESR is not a specific test and does not diagnose anything. It's just an alarm that something MAY be going wrong. It can be something as simple as an inflammed tooth for example. Since you've just given birth to your baby the most likely explanation for the ESR is pregnancy. Try another test a week after the last one and let your doctor see how it goes. It will probably be lower than 46...
I hope I've answered your query. Please let me know if you need further assistance.
Kind Regards,
Dr Panagiotis Zografakis
Internal Medicine Specialist
Note: For more detailed guidance, please consult an Internal Medicine Specialist, with your latest reports. Click here..
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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