What Causes Slightly Elevated ESR Levels?

Posted on Mon, 1 Dec 2014

Question: My bloods show slightly elevated esr and cholesterol.i have had 2episodes of blood in urine in the last year. I feel extremely tired/lethargic all of the time and feel very bloated even though I have completely changed my diet and eat only raw ingredients, no carbs. I'm mid degree but am starting to feel very sluggish mentally and sometimes struggle for very basic words. I have also just recently started to experience heart flutters, like my heart skips a beat which momentarily takes my breath away ( I can only describe it like, the feeling you get when you go over a hump in the road and you get butterflies in your stomach). I'm starting to feel like a hypochondriac as nothing seems related?

Answered by Dr. Jyothi B L (2 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Anemia & hypothyroidism require evaluation

Detailed Answer:
Hi,
Thanks for asking.

I am Dr. Jyothi BL and I will be answering your query.

Based on your query, my opinion is as follows:

1. Slightly elevated ESR possibly indicates mild inflammation. It could be secondary to elevated cholesterol.

2. Good to know you have changed your diet, this should help in improving cholesterol. Additionally weight reduction and aerobic exercises is known to be very helpful in improving good lipid.

3. Mental sluggishness, fatigue - extreme lethargy could commonly be due to

a. Abnormal sleeping pattern - Regular sleep of 8-9 hours required at night to get a full proper rest.
b. Stress
c. Anemia - Hemogram should show any abnormalities
d. Hypothyroidism - A thyroid profile should show if T3, T4 is low or TSH is high.

4. Cardiac complaint appears to be supraventricular tachycardia. It is a normal finding and is very commonly seen.

5. Medications, specifically taken for depression, anxiety or others could be having adverse effects.

6. Pap smear is a routine test to rule out any early cervical cancer. It is a screening test done for all females above 30 every five years.

7. eGFR should be normal, unless you have a chronic disease like hypertension or diabetes mellitus - uncontrolled.

8. Blood in urine was probably due to infection of urinary tract. Occasionally, not be worried about.

9. If more details are available, if you can attach the laboratory report and any other clinical symptoms you have, I will be able to help you further.

Hope it helps.
Any further queries, happy to help again.

Dr. Jyothi BL

Note: For further queries related to coronary artery disease and prevention, click here.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Bhagyalaxmi Nalaparaju