fevers headache and high esr??

[kingleanne901]

hi

can anyone give me a bit of a heads up as i am visiting the doctors this evening and he tend to parm me of with jargon.  

my son has always suffered with high fevers and headaches somtimes as high as 40.3 (104.7)

in the past he has been admitted to hospital for a week and been given a very stong dose of iv antibiotics,  and everytime he is ill i am told its probably viral but never a solid diagnosis.

over the past three weeks he has suffered on and off, he has had two courses of antibiotics 1st for throat infection then chest infection. he seemed better and went back to school the out of nowhere one afternoon he had a very high fever and headahce again.  so we went to see an out of hours doctor who didnt feel right about the situation.  he said after this amount of time and all the antibiotics he was confussed why he still had a fever when on examination there was no sign of infection even urine was fine.  he then wrote to my doctor sugesting further investigation.  

my doctor didnt seem to pleased that we went to an out of hours gp and not him (even though he was closed)  and eventually agreed to investigate further even though by this time his temp was fine and generlly looked well.  

he has had a blood test and a chest x ray and the bloods have come back today with a high esr rate so we have been called in.  

can anyone indicate what this means along with the symtoms i have described??  the chest x ray hasnt come back yet as was only done a few days ago

am i just a paranoide mother or is something not quite right

[Hoppyhop]

Did you find an answer?my daughter has the same xx

[kristenm567]

Did you ever find an answer?  My daughter has the same symptoms.  High ESR, fever, belly and headache for a month.

[kingleanne901]

We Have our appointment on the 22nd march so any advice on any tests to ask for would really be appreciated.

He hasnt been too bad the last week no really high temps but still complains of headahces and tummy aches also looks very pale.

[specialmom]

I hope they figure it out.  I think you'll do better with specialists because they at times can be  more willing to 'dig in' and figure it all  out.  But I'd be concerned as well.  It is so hard to see our kids suffer and 'miss out' when they are sick!

[kingleanne901]

thank you

I have had so many sleepless nights and have now got to the point of not knowing if i am overreacting or not its driving me crazy.  It is just horrible seeing him when he is unwell as he looks so ill but then can wake up the next day absolutly fine it is just such an emotional rollercoster so all concerned.

I have looked at periodic fever syndrome and there are alot of symtoms that are familier.  

I would really appreciate it

[specialmom]

Google periodic fever syndrome.  Take a look and see what you think.  The cleveland clinic has good information on it (a well respected institution.)

I would be concerned about an autoimmune disorder as well.  In our country, a rheumatoligist does a lot of work with autoimmune disorders and diagnosing.  There has been a huge upswing of autoimmune issues with children.  I know of two that are in the same grade in my sons school that are currently in studies at our university hospital.  

I'll see if I can think of any tests that you can request.  Not knowing how to help our kids can be very frustrating.  

[kingleanne901]

hi thanks for your posts,

I went to see the doctors last night and was also told that his crp was also high, and he seemed quiet happy to leave it as that saying he obviously has an infection but it will pass, untill i made him look back at blood tests over the previous few years all showing similar results but no investigation has ever gone further than a blood test.  And after me expressing my concerns that this has gone on for a number of years and i am always told dont worry it will pass.(yes it does but always comes back) in the end he said he will refer me to a peditritian.  but he said he has seen specialists in the past and they never found anything (but again i told him they never done any investigations other than bloods and they have always shown levels of infection either by high wbc or esr or crp)

They did check his tonsils and only once in the last 6 years has he actually had inflamed tonsils so I dont think they are the reason.  everytime he has a bought of illness the only real symtom is high fever really bad headache (very much like a migrane) and occasional stomache pain.  upon examinations this ears nose throat chest and urin are always clear.

at the moment he does seem better his fever has gone but still looks washed out and still complaining and headache and stomach pain.

my main concern is that when I eventually get to see a peadietric doctor my son will be well and I will be told the same old thing and thats it again untill next time.  I really want to push for more tests as the headaches and fevers are really scary at times. plus i want to rule out autoimume.  the trouble is unless the doctors see how bad he gets, and only see him well they dont seem to concerned, but when the doctors see him ill they always seem alarmed, and being the overstretched nhs you never see the same doctor twice.  and even if you do they dont remember you.

can anyone suggest what tests to push for as i really dont know what to ask for but just really feel it needs looking into properly this time.  i also have two younger children who very rearly get ill. just none of it makes sense to me??

[margypops]

usually performed to 1. Find out if inflammation is present 2. check progress of a disease3. See how well a treatment is working. they would want to know how much inflammation is in his body ..is also used for detecting autoimmune disorders, forms of arthritis and TB ..Did they check his tonsils I know my dd had similar symptoms with high fever sore throats and glands it was her tonsils she was getting regular infections, they removed them and she was well ..I can see your concern, you are not paranoid you are a caring mom, good Luck let us know the results  

[specialmom]

Hm.  I've read that esr can be high simply because of chronic high fevers but also could indicate things like an autoimmune disorder.  There is a syndrome called "periodic fever syndrome" that I'd google if I were you just to read about.  

Is your child generally feeling well today?  

Hopefully further investigation for your child will help get answers if he is not!  good luck