Powered By
Have inflammation with such a low sed rate?
@A MyLupusTeam Member 💜 You can absolutely have inflammation even if your sed rate (ESR) is low.
The sed rate is just one general inflammation marker. It measures overall systemic inflammation in the blood, but it does not catch everything — especially not localized or nerve-specific inflammation.
With lupus:
• You can have nerve inflammation (neuropathy)
• You can have joint pain, muscle pain, or organ involvement
• You can be in a flare
… and your sed rate can still look “normal” or low.
Why?
Because neuropathy and some lupus activity can be:
• Localized (not widespread in the bloodstream)
• Immune-mediated without raising ESR much
• Better reflected by other markers (CRP, complement levels, anti-dsDNA, etc.)
So a low sed rate does not mean:
❌ No inflammation
❌ No flare
❌ No nerve involvement
It just means that particular test isn’t showing high systemic inflammation at that moment.
Lupus doesn’t always follow textbook lab patterns — symptoms and clinical picture matter just as much as numbers.
Can you have inflammation with a low sed rate while experiencing neuropathy symptoms?
Yes, it's possible to have inflammation and neuropathy symptoms even with a low sed rate. Lupus can affect your nervous system and cause peripheral neuropathy regardless of what traditional inflammation markers show.
Peripheral neuropathy in Show Full Answer
I have neuropathy regardless of my sed rate. Sometimes the sed rate is good but the peripheral neuropathy is always there, doing its thing! And aggravating the heck out of me. 🙁
It would be very unusual to have an organ flare with normal inflammatory markers, but it is possible to have fatigue, joint/muscle/nerve symptoms, Frankie.
Good to know
Join
Your Privacy Choices
