confused high C4

[red raven]

Hello everyone, haven't posted in a while. I have been to tired to do much of any thing. I recently had some lab work done and my anemia is stable.
CBC 10. But my C4 was elevated and my sed rate was 70. I was told that I might be more of a sjogren's patient than lupus. My elevated c4 should I be worried? I read so much about lupus that now I have to learn about sjogren's along with a connective tissue disease. I am just so tired physically and no desire to do anything. I've stop complaining to my family and the doctor. I just do what I can and that is that. I am on depression meds too. I want to work again but I am afraid of having to take days off. Why add that stress. Sorry to go on and on.

[Lily]

(((((((red raven))))))))

I'm sorry you are feeling so tired and awful :hugbetter: Have you had any infections lately and what does your doc say about your high C4 level? Often the C4 is low in Lupus and can be temporarily raised with infection, are they going to test you again? I would say as long as it is not consistently testing high then there is probably not a great deal to worry about. But go on how you feel more than any blood test, if you are concerned see the doctor.

Sending hugs, you sound like you are having a tough time right now and I hope things improve for you :)

love
Lily

[wheeliefab]

Hello :)
your ESR is high and probably indicates inflammation or possibly some kind of bacterial infection.
I'm not sure exactly why your C4 would be elevated as it's often low in people with Lupus, perhaps your Dr ment elevated as in "it's going back to normal levels" if you have previously had low C4 rather than elevated as in "higher than normal range". Or I suppose it could indicate that treatment you are on/ your health condition is affecting your immune/inflammatory response(& subsequently have affected your complement levels).

I guess your Dr will do repeat blood tests at some stage and keep an eye on what your blood test results are doing. Doctors will often explain results for you if you ask "what does that mean?, what was the result number/units?" so don't be affraid to ask. I personally think that they don't volunteer this info as a precaution to stop people worrying too much about abnormal results, instead of realising that we worry more when we have not had a proper explaination

Here is some basic info on ESR, C4 and other complement tests that I got from the arthritis.about web site:-
Measures of inflammation -In general both ESR and CRP measure the increase in inflammatory generated proteins.
CRP is a direct measurement of C-reactive protein.
ESR indirectly measures many proteins associated with inflammation

Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate (ESR)
A blood sample is taken and put in a tube that contains a chemical to stop the blood from clotting. The tube is left to stand upright. The red blood cells (erythrocytes) gradually fall to the bottom of the tube (as a 'sediment'). The clear liquid plasma is left at the top. The ESR measures the rate at which the red blood cells separate from the plasma and fall to the bottom of a test tube. The rate is measured in millimetres per hour (mm/hr). This is easy to measure as there will be a number of millimetres of clear liquid at the top of the red blood after one hour.

If certain proteins cover red cells, these will stick to each other and cause the red cells to fall more quickly. So, a high ESR indicates that you have some inflammation, somewhere in the body.

C Reactive Protein (CRP)
This is sometimes called an 'acute phase protein'. This means that the level of CRP increases when you have certain diseases which cause inflammation. CRP can be measured in a blood sample.

What conditions affect the ESR & CRP level?

The ESR and CRP level are raised many inflammatory conditions. For example:
Certain infections (mainly bacterial infections)
Abscesses
Certain types of arthritis
Various other muscular and connective tissue disorders
Tissue injury and burns
Cancers
Crohn's disease
Rejection of an organ transplant
Heart attack

Complement tests
Complement activity is also measured to monitor how severe a disease is or to determine if treatment is working.

Complement activity (CH50, CH100, terminal complement component, or individual complement proteins e.g. C3 or C4 levels) is measured to determine if complement is involved in the development of a number of diseases.
For example, patients with active lupus erythematosus may have lower-than-normal levels of C3 and C4, and the levels of these complement components may be monitored to gauge disease activity.

Complement activity varies throughout the body. For example, in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, complement activity in the blood may be normal or higher-than-normal, but much lower-than-normal in the joint fluid.

Normal Results
Total hemolytic complement level: 41 to 90 hemolytic units
C1 esterase inhibitor level: 16 to 33 mg/dl (160 to 330 mg/L)
C3 levels:
males: 88 to 252 mg/dl (880 to 2520 mg/L)
females: 88 to 206 mg/dl (880 to 2060 mg/L)
C4 levels:
males: 12 to 72 mg/dl (120 to 720 mg/L)
females: 13 to 75 mg/dl (130 to 750 mg/L)
Note: mg/dl = milligrams per deciliter.

(This test may also be reported as mg/L = milligrams per liter.)

What Abnormal Results Mean
Increased complement activity may be seen in: Rheumatoid arthritis; Ulcerative colitis; and in some types of Cancer
Decreased complement activity may be seen in: Systemic lupus erythematosus aswell as in Lupus nephritis; Hereditary angioedema; Cirrhosis; Glomerulonephritis; Hepatitis: Malnutrition: Kidney transplant rejection

I hope this has been helpfull. Good luck in getting "as well as you can be". I know it's not easy but try to stay positive and try to think of things other than how ill you feel

[acard]

Wheeliefab,
That was very informative- thank you.
Becca:)

[sheila t]

Thanks from me also, for the information. My C4 is always low around 3 :eek:

Sheila xox

[Raglet]

yup, I'm another who has low C4 (and C3 come to that) with my lupus.

In my fairly limited understanding of it high compliments are found with infection.

Sjogrens can be a nasty disease too, and have many similar problems as lupus. Whichever you turn out to have, remember that you are still welcome here - lots of us have sjogrens too (like me)

cheers

raglet