Low Grade Fevers....Help

E

Ebby

New member
Anyone getting low grade fevers and nothing getting a diagnosis? I have been getting 99 to 100 fevers for 2 months now. They usually occur in the morning and and go away within the hour. I usually don't feel sick when I have them. But sometimes I do. I have back problems at L4-5 and S1 and a lot of arthritis. I have been tested for everything and had every test done that they can think of. I am waiting for another appointment for another MRI and they are running blood cultures now. Does this sound familiar to anyone? One of my doctors told me that the readings are nothing to worry about but I hardly ever get fevers. My normal temp is usually around 96. I have been to specialists but with no conclusions. If anyone can relate to this, please respond.
Thank you, Linda
 
I have the exact same problems. Like you, I've been tested for various conditions that have all proven to be negative. Do you have any other symptoms with the fevers and do they only occur in the morning? It could be caused by your arthritis or your body simply overheating at night. Lumbar problems wouldn't generally cause fevers as fevers are generally caused by some sort of infection first and foremost but other things such as thyroid, sweat glands and other functions can also induce fevers.

Good luck
 
Hey again,

The reason your doctors aren't concerned is, you're right, 99 or 100 is not considered a fever. A lot of people say what you do, i.e. x degrees Fahrenheit is not a fever by defintion but it is a "fever for me". Well, I can see what you're saying, and I can imagine how you feel, but until you get over 38.3C or around 101 or 102F you can't call that a fever because, physiologically (and many studies have been done on this) normal physiologic processes can take your temperature to 100, but no normal physiologic process will ever take it over 100. One thing that is important is that women who are menstruating will have a normal rise in their body temperature when they are ovulating, and that might be what you're seeing in the variations in your body temp up to 100. Just remember that while there are certain differences among different people's bodies, temperature regulation (just like pH regulation of the blood) is VERY tightly controlled and the parameters of fever don't change for different people.

I'm sure, however, that the symptoms you are feeling are real, but if your body temperature associated with the symptoms is maximum 100F, you can't attribute them to a fever, because that's not what you have.

Many of the conditions I've mentioned will have CLUES in the bloodwork, but you have to specifically ask for those tests--they're not done on routine panels. Also, there is nothing you can do (short of a liver or bone marrow biopsy on yourself) which will delineate your symptoms further.

There is one question I have for you though: when you started having those symptoms you describe, you have mentioned yourself they don't always correlate with your body temperature. With the knowledge that normal body temperature fluctuates, and the fact that your "high normal" body temperature don't correlate with your symptoms, what is it that makes you think the two are related? (Please don't interpret this as an insult or anything. I just want to get an idea of how you're perceiving your situation).
 
Thx for the reply kissa. No I don't have any other symptoms with the fevers and they do occur in the morning and early afternoon. It's really odd and baffling now. I had my SED rate checked and along with everything else it came back normal. One doctor seems to think I might have a slight bone infection from back but another doctor told me I would be much sicker if that were the case. Had thyroid checked also and many examinations by my doctors. No swollen nodes or anything. Are your fevers low grade also and any diagnose yet? Getting a little scared now as I don't want to live every day with a fever. They also tested me for lupus and fibro. Any other ideas are surely welcome. Linda
 
Thanks for sharing all your knowledge. It has been 8 days since the blood cultures have been taken and if something were seriously wrong, I would think I would have heard by now. Right now temp is where mine always is, 97.0. I will just keep on checking it twice a day and not worry about it for now. I really need to concentrate on my back. If by chance I am sick with something, I'm sure it will come out from hiding and my body will let me know. Thanks again. Linda
 
Hi Linda,

What you are describing is something called a "fever of unknown origin". It is defined as a fever which has lasted at least three weeks whose cause is unknown after intensive outpatient or inpatient testing. It is a frustrating diagnosis for many people, because in up to 20% of people the cause is never found...but here's the thing: you WANT to be in that 20% where the cause is never found because they tend to have the best prognosis. In other words, some of the causes of these fevers are pretty nasty.

The three most common things to cause a fever of unknown origin are: bacterial endocarditis (i.e. an infection of a heart valve), extrapulmonary tuberculosis and an intra-abdominal abscess. After doing a battery of initial blood testing including a liver, kidney, thyroid and heart panel, they will do specific testing to try to rule out the top three diagnoses. Initial testing will also always include an HIV, Hep B and Hep C testing. The above three things are infectious causes, but other NON-infectious things including autoimmune disorders and cancer can also cause fevers. As such, they will also do a bunch of special blood testing to look for things like lupus, rheumatoid arthritis etc. as well as imaging of your chest and abdomen (usually a CT scan). Once all that is complete and there STILL is no diagnosis, testing for weird pathogens such as Brucella or Coxiella (Q-fever) take place. In cases where the fever continues and there is the thought of either liver or bone marrow involvement, a liver and/or bone marrow biopsy may be done.

Finally, if all of that is done and nothing is found (common in this condition) the patient can usually be reassured that s/he will be fine, and generally the fevers tend to resolve within 3-6 months.

1. Have you been tested for the stuff I mentioned above?
2. Are you ever around farm animals?
3. Have you recently been out of the country, and specifically India or SE Asia?
4. What is your ancestry? Anyone from the Mediterranean sea area?
5. Where there ANY abnormalities found on your bloodwork at all?
 
Hey Linda, glad things are well so far. You still haven't answered my question though. You are taking your temperature twice a day: don't you feel that's causing you more anxiety than necessary if it's not related to your symptoms in the first place?
 
No, it isn't causing me anxiety. I don't think about it every moment of the every day. In fact sometimes I forget to take it. Like this morning, I woke up and was in a lot of pain from my back. I couldn't sleep any more. So when I got out of bed, I took my temp and it was 97.3 which is my perfect temp. But as the morning is wearing on, my back pain now shifted to my hips and is really bad today. I feel very sad because it is a perfect day here in Jersey. Well anyway just took it again and it was 99.0. I'm wondering if pain has anything to do with it. I am very glad the cultures were ok so I will just move forward and exercise this morning to try to rid the pain.
I also have IBS and it has been acting up this week. Maybe that's a reason. Just don't know any more. I will keep an eye on things and hope it just goes away forever:) Linda
 
Hi cgranulomatis, thanks for your reply. I have heard of fever of unknown origin but my doctors don't seem concerned. They are taking the necessary blood work and I hope they will continue afterwards. Do you consider these readings a fever? Most people don't but I do. I know my body. The answer to those questions are yes to the 1st one and the rest is no. Is there anything else I can look for myself? Don't most of those diseases you mentioned show up in blood work? Thank you for all that info although some is scary.
 
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