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I had my last chemo (carbo/taxol) September 24. I still am running low grade fevers almost every night. They go anywhere from 99 to 99.7. What's up with this? Should I be concerned? Or is this just part of the "change" that I might be starting? I get hot flashes almost every night and sometimes during the day.
Blessings,
Barb
Cancer Tylenol Ibuprofen Fever Morphine Multiple myeloma Menopause Norco Pain Tarceva Heart attack Avelox Stress
Barb, please call your doctor and tell them, it could be the change, maybe an autoimunne problem. Please get it checked out. Karen
Dear Barb,
I have told this on a few other sites, I think it is a good sign, I know I might sound out of my whacked out mind but... I had low grade fevers as soon as I started chemo and radiation too. I know that cancer hits us all, and the ones who keep it such as us, the reason for it is our own immune system just mysteriously stops working, well nobody seemed to know why I was having these fevers, I have noticed it does happen in some of us, not all of us, and it is not real common. But I think it means GREAT!!!! The immune system, as mysteriously as it shut itself down has started itself right back up again, which means it is helping the chemo kill the cancer cells, as it should have done all along. So for this reason, I think it is a good sign,. I am in a remission now 3 years and 8 months, and also had these fevers, low grade, some did go up to 101.5. I would take ibuprofen, and then alternate with Tylenol for 24 hours only. I would only take it if your doctor tells you too. I do think it is a good sign.
I did not take any fever reducers if my temperature was not real high, for instance low grade like 99.1 and up to about 100.5, I did not take any thing. I felt it was best for my own body to defend itself, and kill those cancer cells. The body gets a temperature whenever it is healing itself, it will rise because it is busy working hard making more, and more abundant white blood cells to be available to fight and kill the invading bacteria, virus or cancer cells entering your body. Makes sense to me to think this way.
God bless Sandy
Barb,
A blood test could determine if you are going through the change. I would not be surprised if the chemo triggered it. I was 43 when I went through it and it was triggered by birth control. LOL
If you are going through the change it could also be the new normal temperature for you.
Either way it needs to be checked out and you should bring it to the attention of your Onc and/or Gyne.
Good Luck & God Bless,
Linda
I would call the doctor and mention it them, just want to be on the safe side.
Thank you everyone for your comments. I will be making an apt with my gyn soon (think I am due in Feb). Just realized how many apts I need to make now that I am done with chem and had my first post treatment scans.
Sandy-I think I agree with you. I know that a fever is our bodies way of fighting off infection and I like the positive feel of the way you explained it. Thanks,
Blessings,
Barb
Barb I agree with Sandy and you about immune response.A long time ago they thought take tylenol at the 1st sign of fever.But by the time I went to nursing school,the DRs were trying to teach people wait till 100 or 101 to give the immune system time to work.But I also agree as sandy and all mention check with your DR too.Hope you start feeling chipper.You are so strong with what you've been through that I hope you get time to play.AndiB
Starting in early Sept. I started having low grade fevers too. 99.0-99.9 and occasional 100.2 intermittently. Oh, and I had night/morning sweats too.... My doc gave me various reasons like tumor fever, yet I am supposedly NED, so I did not buy that, I know my body better than that.
Sandy (cuddles), made an interesting point too, but I was not 100% convinced - I developed an intermittent cough too. In my upper lungs. Or on occasion if I took a deep sigh it would feel weird made me cough. This went on all of Sept.
Then after my infusion (alimta/avastin) and a lot of stress on Oct. 2 (my brother was Dx with stage 3 Multiple Myeloma) and I was leaving his hospital room feeling so sad, I developed terrible upper cervical spine pain/spasms that night. As the evening went on it got worse and then the lung pain started so bad I could hardly breath so I was taken to the ER. There they IV'd me, started a morphine drip and began tests for a possible heart attack. Lung xray perfect. EKG perfect. Then they needed to rule out a blood clot. A CT with contrast was ordered, (no time for scanxiety-morphine high helped too) and that was perfect. No clots. Yea! But after 8hrs there nothing definitive was diagnosed so i was sent home in the same condition. Now its Tuesday (taken to ER Monday night) and I was out of it on pain meds called norco. My back got better but not the lung pain and breathing. I could only sleep/rest sitting up, no side to side either.
I broke out in a high fever. 101.7+. Oncologost ordered a super antibiotic, avelox, one a day for 7 days. All I could do was lay in bed-sit up in bed- and sleep. I had all the symptoms, vomiting, feeling miserable, no appetite, could hardly drink water. Was taken in on TH for hydration and a blood culture. (that came back neg) By Sunday I felt myslef again. No fever, and no fever since. The low grade fever is gone.
The lung pain (its been 2 weeks now) is completely gone and I think I was harboring something but my immune system fought it and when I got so stressed bam, It got the better of me. My blood work never showed an infection in all of Sept. or at the ER. So I am saying pay attention to your body. Maybe a round of antibiotics is the answer.
The ER trip still baffles me by the way. Anyway, I have not heard of a low grade fever in peri menapause.
I hope this helps.
kat
When I was diagonsed earlier this year, I had been running a low grade fever since November...cough..pain on the right side....heaviness in the chest....slight pain when I took a deep breath. My fever was a constant 99.9 - 100.1. It would spike up after my chemo to around 102...sometimes has high as 104. I too would only take Tylenol when it got to 101. I made a few trips to the ER when it went over 101 but all was well. As my treatments went on, the cough went away...the pain on my right side went away...the fluid started to decrease and the heaviness went away. I've been on Tarceva since July, and have not had a fever since. I was in menopause before I started chemo, and the night sweats and hot flashes were not fun. They went away while I was on chemo, but have come back; not as intense as before. Some of us just get these low grade fevers associated with the cancer; not too common, but it happens. I know my Onc always wanted to know when it got to 101 because you just never know.
I just finished catching up on all my "regular" Dr appts. It was quite an ordeal for me; just so sick of seeing Doctors! But all is well, so I am done with my Gyno for a year...and my mamo....YEA!!!!
Hang in there and keep positive thoughts and a big smile on your face...
Analee
As I said in the beginning my thoughts on this are if you look at longevity in a pateint, how long have all of you been around since you were diagnosed? Well we should kind of do a little poll on this and just see what comes of it. I know for me I had a few different infections, but why would our bodies turn on our immune system again? I really wonder if it got turned on to wipe out cancr cells. Many times no doctor ever finds out what was wrong at all. I got through my ordeal without antibiotics, some of you needed them. But what was it? Why can they not give us a diagnosis of what was causing fevers? . My doctor said, " well, it is an inflammatoru response!" This was his answer. I think my answer is much better. I tend to like to think my cancer has not come back, because my immune system for some unknown reason again, has turned back on again. Which means, no wonder I have been in such a long remission. Check it out with yourselves here, are you in remissions? And if so, how long have you been in a remissson? Maybe, just maybe we can think to ourselves it is our own body just working naturally to kill off the invading tumor cells. I like to think so.
God bless, just thankful everyone is still here and alive.
Sandy
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