Is there such a thing as "fever prone???"

V

vballchick14

New member
I am curious as to whether anyone has ever been told by a doctor that they are "fever prone?"

I am on a weight loss program through my doctor's office. Every two weeks, I go in and get weighed, and they also take my BP, pulse, and temp. A friend who is on the same program said they never take her temp at the weigh-ins.

Last time I was in, I decided to ask why the temperature part is necessary--it doesn't seem to have much to do with losing weight. The nurse responded that my doctor wrote in my record that I am "fever prone."

When she came in (every other visit she likes to look at my chart, listen to my chest, etc.), I asked her about this. She said that the first time I came to the office, my temp was 100.4 and that is considered a fever, so it got "flagged." And ever since then my temp has averaged very close to 100. Like 99.8 or something like that. I have had 15 readings (out of 38 total) between 100.0 and 100.5. Another 18 were between 99.5 and 100.0. The highest was 101.9, probably when I had the flu. The lowest was 98.5.

So, she said that she wants to monitor it regularly because it is abnormal to be over 100 so often. Is this true? I thought fever was defined as over 101 or something like that? Should I really be concerned? Are there any known causes?
 
I believe a fever is anything 100 or over. When I worked in child care we had to send a child home if they're temp. got to 100 or more. Everyone's temperature is different and what is normal for one person isn't normal for another. If that is normal for you then that is fine but just like blood pressure, it is something that would need to be monitored. It could be your normal temperature or it could be something like hormones.
 
I think your doc is doing the right thing by monitoring it. Don't feel bad. It is more and more common these days for complete vitals (WT, BP, pulse, temp) to be taken every time you go to the doc's office, regardless of what the visit is for. In fact, I used to go to a NP who wanted vitals taken each time, and I never minded it. Fortunately, it should only take about 10 seconds to get your temp, so it's really not a big deal.

Has she ever checked your white blood cell count? Fever often signals that your body is fighting off an infection, in which case the WBC count is usually elevated. There could be other causes (and possibly no cause at all), but I'd start there. Is your BP and pulse normal? I'd be more concerned about this if they are elevated, as well.
 
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