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Low grade fever for over a month & chills


Over a month ago I developed a sinus infection, congestion fever. Took a zpak, felt good while on it. The day I stopped I started to feel crummy and the fever came back. Went back to the dr after 10 days and I tried levaquin 500mg for three days, on the third day I really lost my appetite, and was shaking/shivering with chills. So the next day the dr switched to clindamycin 300mg and prednisone. I started to feel a little better 2 days in, but any time I would do anything (laundry, dishes) my fever would pop back up to 99.9 (I normally run below 98.5). I Was a healthy 32 yr old mom of 2 kids under 4years of age. I've basically been unable to do anything (cook, take the kids to school, go to work..) the fact that I'm still having chills/whole body shivering freaks me out. All of my blood work has come back normal, I even had a lumbar puncture that was negative. I just want to know what's causing me to have an elevated temp, causing all this fatigue and chills! Drs all think it's viral. But almost a 2 month long virus is doing this to me? And I've been resting all this time! Hopefully someone else has gone through this?
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Avatar universal
Oh, and also they should do:

Purified Protein Derivative(PPD) skin test
Chest X-Ray
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Hello Constantfevermom,

Based off of your responses, it is very difficult to tell what the cause is. For a Fever of Unknown Origin, such as yours, infections are typically the most common cause, but are still only seen one third of the time. And because you didn't respond to the antibiotic, this makes an infection less likely. And it is known that the longer the fever goes on, the chance of an infection being the cause decreases. So this makes infection even more unlikely to be the cause. But still should not be ruled out.

It should also be known that around 15% of FUO cases remain with an unknown cause. And typically, in these cases, the prognosis rate is very good, and issues typically resolve on their own. But with that said, your doctor/s should have done a bunch of more tests than they did. So my advice would be to go to your local Hospital. And I'm only saying this because they will be able to give you all the proper testing you would need, not because you have something serious. But in cases like this, it is necessary to do extensive amounts of tests just to be sure. Just doing some blood work might not always cut it. And you should be kept in there overnight so that they have time to do all the testing.

The tests that should first be done are:

Blood count(which I imagine is the test you have done)
Liver function test
Erythrocyte sedimentation rate
Urinalysis
Basic cultures(these include blood culture which you may have done, and a urine culture)

And a lumbar puncture was not necessary to do yet. It may or may not have been needed but only after the initial testing. If you have received your lab test results, then you may post them, and I'd be more than happy to take a look a try to help.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Hello ConstantFevermom,

I'd like to ask you several questions in order to help find a possible cause.

1. Travel history? None

2. What is your Occupation? Work in a retail pharmacy

3. Family medical history?(Please list every known condition of family member) both parents are healthy but now that they are about 60 they have developed higher chokesterol and sugar levels

4. What, if any, animals have you been around? Just my dog. We apparently have had some rats get into the attic this past week though

5. What's your diet like? It was pretty good, healthy, I tried to buy organic, I would mostly cook at home and we rarely go out to eat.

6. Is the fever constant every moment of every day or intermittent? Initially it would be brought on by when I would do things (laundry, drive kids to school) now I'm just constantly warm

7. Any localized pain? No

8. Any discomfort in any part of the body? Not really anywhere, there's some slight post nasal drip that has been kinda bugging me throughout but the ent said he did not see anything wrong or infected

9. If so, where is the discomfort?

10. Any unintentional weight loss? yes, but it's probably because I have no appetite

11. Any loss of appetite? YES

12. Any night sweats? Not too frequently. I'm just hot/palms sweaty all the time

13. Any headaches? Some times, in the first few week yes, but now that it's like week 5 I don't have many headaches

14. Any muscle pain? No, just the intermittent chills/shivering from my whole body shaking

15. Any joint pain? No

16. Any rashes? No

17. Any diarrhea? Some but this is a more recent development over the last week. I'll keep an eye on it though

18. Have you noticed any "oily" feces? No

19. Any abdominal discomfort? kinda, but it's probably from nerves, no appetite.

20. Past and/or current medical history?(Please list any condition you have had or still have) NONE

21. Do you have an HIV infection? NO

22. Do you have Diabetes? NO

23. Any use of immunosuppressant's? NO

24. Any known structural heart disorders? NO

25. Any known urinary tract abnormalities? NO

26. History, if any, of surgeries or operations? NO

27. History, if any, of device insertions?(eg. IV lines, pacemakers, etc.) NO

28. All past and present medications? just the antibiotics, prednisone, and now we are trying s medrol dose pak

29. Illicit drug use, if any, within the past year? NO

30. Any injection drug use? NO

31. Any high-risk sexual practices?(eg. multiple partners, unprotected sex etc.) NO

32. Tobacco use? NO

33. Alcohol history? NO

34. Do you have cachexia?(This is known as muscle loss, fatigue, weakness, loss of weight and appetite) YES

35. Do you have jaundice?(This is known as yellowish skin, or sometimes just yellow eyes)  NO

36. Do you look pale? YES, but maybe from fatigue low appetite

37. Any localized skin redness that disappears while being pressed on? NO

38. Any noticeable rashes? NO

39. Any cicada bites on fingertips or toes?(These are red nodules or lumps that are painful to the touch, and are warm.) NO

40. Any bleeding-type of painless macules on palms or soles of hands or feet?(Macules are flat, and can be any color. eg. freckles, flat moles, patches, etc.) NO

41. Any lesions under the nails that may look bloody? NO

42. Are your teeth painful to the touch? NO

43. Any noticeable swollen lymph nodes?(Most commonly around the neck, and armpits)  NO

I'm just so tired of the intermittent chills/shaking, fever that just won't break. Labs are all normal, I just don't know where to go next except wait for more symptoms to arise and keep checking blood each week. I've had the flu before for like 2 weeks, but 5 going on 6 weeks is absolutely nuts. I feel so helpless, and weak , and so alone since I can't do anything. Thanks for your interest. I guess I mostly needed a place to complain because my entire family is worried sick each time I tell them I still have the fever and I'm shivering more frequently. :(
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Hello ConstantFevermom,

I'd like to ask you several questions in order to help find a possible cause.

1. Travel history?

2. What is your Occupation?

3. Family medical history?(Please list every known condition of family member)

4. What, if any, animals have you been around?

5. What's your diet like?

6. Is the fever constant every moment of every day or intermittent?

7. Any localized pain?

8. Any discomfort in any part of the body?

9. If so, where is the discomfort?

10. Any unintentional weight loss?

11. Any loss of appetite?

12. Any night sweats?

13. Any headaches?

14. Any muscle pain?

15. Any joint pain?

16. Any rashes?

17. Any diarrhea?

18. Have you noticed any "oily" feces?

19. Any abdominal discomfort?

20. Past and/or current medical history?(Please list any condition you have had or still have)

21. Do you have an HIV infection?

22. Do you have Diabetes?

23. Any use of immunosuppressant's?

24. Any known structural heart disorders?

25. Any known urinary tract abnormalities?

26. History, if any, of surgeries or operations?

27. History, if any, of device insertions?(eg. IV lines, pacemakers, etc.)

28. All past and present medications?

29. Illicit drug use, if any, within the past year?

30. Any injection drug use?

31. Any high-risk sexual practices?(eg. multiple partners, unprotected sex etc.)

32. Tobacco use?

33. Alcohol history?

34. Do you have cachexia?(This is known as muscle loss, fatigue, weakness, loss of weight and appetite)

35. Do you have jaundice?(This is known as yellowish skin, or sometimes just yellow eyes)

36. Do you look pale?

37. Any localized skin redness that disappears while being pressed on?

38. Any noticeable rashes?

39. Any cicada bites on fingertips or toes?(These are red nodules or lumps that are painful to the touch, and are warm.)

40. Any bleeding-type of painless macules on palms or soles of hands or feet?(Macules are flat, and can be any color. eg. freckles, flat moles, patches, etc.)

41. Any lesions under the nails that may look bloody?

42. Are your teeth painful to the touch?

43. Any noticeable swollen lymph nodes?(Most commonly around the neck, and armpits)

I know there's a lot of questions, but fever's with an unknown origin, such as your chronic fever, or any type of abnormal fever usually require a lot of questioning or examining because it is a very common symptom of many conditions, and is also a very common side effect of many drugs.


Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Margy, how long did you have this fatigue, fever, and chills for?
Helpful - 0
535822 tn?1443976780
I have had similar this year I am feeling better now but I felt it was a virus going round that was recurring, then I checked out CFS as the symptoms are similar .I still do not know but it seems to be getting better,
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