I felt run down and have had a fever since Christmas. Fever wasn't super high, just enough to feel, 99-101F (I usually run a bit cold, 97ish), daily, very tired, and so I wrote it off as a holiday-stress cold, gave it a few days to clear up, tried to rest and drink lots of water. It didn't. Figured it had become a sinus infection, realized I was extra tired, kinda winded trying to do simple things, and I am very prone to those having chronic allergies since childhood, so I went to the local stat clinic. I was given a steroid, some antibiotics, which usually takes care of it for me. Nope. 7 days later, still feel the same.
Did a walk in with my GP - trying to do all this around working full time means it was almost a full month from the onset of symptoms, about Christmas, to getting in to my GP. Feeling like I could not breathe well, plus some aches in my chest had me figure I'd picked up some strain of pneumonia, even though no cough or phlegm was present. A little post nasal drip, but as an allergy sufferer living in South Texas, this is a daily thing.
They see that my throat is red, not sore but red, ears infected, lymph nodes swollen, and tell me to get some bloodwork and a chest x-ray.
I told them my father in law has COPD, and often ends up with pneumonia, but often does not fully finish his antibiotics - he can't leave the house for his injections in poor weather, is immobile, and his wife can't help him, and no one does house calls. They live pretty far away so we can only go visit when there's time to stay a few nights to make it worth the drive. We saw them at Thanksgiving AND at Christmas, and he said he was sick both times. So, he "might" be harboring some resistant strain of who knows what and being the person with allergies and a history of getting pneumonia, sinus infections and bronchitis, I thought I might be more susceptible than my husband.
I felt so horrible I actually passed out during the blood draw. My x-ray came back "lungs okay". My bloodwork came back great, save showing I had been exposed at some point in my life to pneumonia... duh. I've had it about 4-5 times, once as an infant. So, inconclusive. Fever is still here, going into the 2nd month of it, chest pain comes and goes, breathing is just strained at times, even sitting still right now. It's not a sharp pain. It feels like an ache from long over use, like I've been doing 100 pushups, or moving heavy furniture. I've not. I've been lying on the couch, lying in bed, or struggling to sit up and be productive at work.
Tested for tuberculosis. Negative. Chest Cat Scan - "airways and lungs unremarkable." Everything was unremarkable save they found a 5mm nodule in the lower right lung I now need to watch to be sure it's not growing. New, more intensive blood work is in progress - I almost passed out but was ready for it this time and warned the techs. They kept me conscious.
X-rays and cat scans should have caught pneumonia, pleurisy, structural lung issues, yes? My blood counts are well within normal ranges. I can't even tell if they register an infection. I've been on 5 antibiotics since January 12 and maybe seen a temporary dent in the fever for about half a day, staying under 99.6F, but it still heads right up to sit at 100F. I have been resting. I can't do much else, I have no energy. My house is a wreck, I can't keep up with cleaning. I am missing work through appointments and just being unable to make it. I have no idea what this can be, now, and waiting till the end of the week for what might be more inconclusive blood work is kinda scaring me. I can't walk or move too much or I get winded and tired. I'm not in great shape, but walking 3-8 miles a day is not usually out of my ability. Now it is. Ideas? Things I can ask my GP?