I am consulting with a GP, but I am not getting answers and I am looking for help and input on where to turn next.
Age: 27, F, healthy weight.
Duration of complaint: ~4 weeks
Current medications (if any): Oral contraceptives, valacyclovir for cold sore prevention
Before Christmas, I developed what I thought was the flu. I had flown to visit family, assumed I caught it on the plane. I had a fever and felt VERY fatigued, with upper respiratory symptoms, was bedridden. I was finally starting to feel better when I experienced a "double sickening" over NYE, and went to the doctor on Jan 2nd. Got a z pack for what was a sinus infection. That helped pretty quickly and after a few days, I was getting ready to go back to work.
One evening, (maybe 2 days after finishing the z pack) I got hit with some pretty intense GI symptoms and my fever came back. I went back to the doctor, who figured it was probably a separate virus from what I had before. Seemed reasonable, was told to keep up fluids and wait it out. A week later, I was still having diarrhea so she ordered a stool culture (along with a c diff test and parasites) and put me on a 3 day course of cipro in case it was bacterial diarrhea. All were negative. My stools have (mostly) returned to normal.
But what's concerning me and my GP is that I still have this low grade fever, and it makes me feel so horrible and tired. I am struggling to eat because my appetite is non-existent. I'm managing 1000-1200 cals per day, but have lost over 10 pounds due to the limited diet. The fever makes me feel horrible even though it's not that high (100-100.2 F), and often goes away in the evening. I am exhausted. I cannot work and rarely leave the house except for all these doctor appointments and testing.
LFT tests are normal. CBC was normal. Kidney and pancreas normal. Electrolyte panel normal. At my recent visit yesterday, she ordered another LFT, thyroid, an EBV panel (I've already had mono and don't think this is the issue), and an ANA test.
I'm frustrated, sick of being sick, and I'm not sure what the next steps will be if all these tests come back normal. What could explain this persistent fever and fatigue for so long? What is next for me when all this blood work (likely) comes back normal? I'd like to see a specialist, but I don't even know what kind to see? I'm struggling mentally and not sleeping well.