Should I be concerned?

[shathaway0811]

Hey everyone, 

Hopefully everything is going well for y'all. Over the past couple months or so I've had relatively frequent spells where I've felt a bit feverish (achy, tired, just generally kind of a "sick" feeling, if that makes sense) and when I've taken my temperature during those times it's run 99.6-99.7. I've also taken my temp as a point of comparison when I've felt totally fine, and it's a normal 98.6, which tells me that 1. it's not in my head that I'm feeling that way because it's reflected in a documented temp increase and 2. that something is going on... 

I have an appointment in 3 weeks with a cardiologist at MUSC who specializes in autonomic dysfunction and I'm definitely going to bring this up to him and record how frequently these low-grade temps are occurring. Has anyone experienced this before? Has it turned out to be related to dysautonomia or have people found they've had other issues? My primary symptoms other than HR and BP abnormalities are major GI issues (severe bloating, almost constant nausea, abnormal bowel movements, etc.) and I have noticed a correlation in when I'm having these low-grade temps and when I'm feeling really crappy stomach-wise. Just wondered if anyone else has had these issues... 

Also, in terms of physician visits, I've been and am going to continue recording all my noticeable symptoms and BP/HR fluctuations so that the cardiologist will have something to reference in addition to my medical records. Have others done this and found it was well-received? 

Hopefully the doc will have some insight!

Sarah 

[Guest]

Hmmm, I never thought to check my temp when I'm feeling sick (in the way you described).  I'm going to start keeping an eye on it. 

Please update us after you see the cardiologist.  I'm really interested in hearing what s/he has to say.  

[Lily]

If I remember correctly, body temperature is controlled by the ANS.  So dysautonomia could cause temperature fluctuations. 

[Guest ANCY]

I get temperature fluctuations like that especially around my cycle. My neurologist believes mine is more because of whatever underlying autoimmune thing I have going on and not so much dysautonomia, although it can cause temperature regulation problems. 

I also have constant GI issues so never can truly connect them to one specific trigger.

Bringing in home logs has been received differently by my various drs. My cardiologist is very appreciative of them while one of my other drs kind of frowns on spending time monitoring illness. I usually just bring then and decide in the appointment wether I think the dr will respond.

Hope your appointment goes well and you feel better soon!

[outofadream]

Hi shathaway, I think I’ve been experiencing almost exactly what you’re describing here…for about a year now, been getting recurring low grade temperatures in that range that come with tiredness, weakness, aching all over, etc too.

Unfortunately, I’m afraid I’m still in the process of tracking them down too, so I don’t have any definite answers. I’m curious though, have you ever tried taking any fever  reducing medication (ibuprofen, acetaminophen) for them? I might be wrong about this, but my understanding is that true fevers will often respond to those meds, but temperature regulation issues don’t necessarily? Certainly nothing I’ve taken seems to make my temperature go down, so I’ve strongly suspected it might be dysautonomia related in my case at least.

I also found that I often get spikes just after being on my feet…I’ll get something like 99.7 just after being up, and then half an hour after sitting back down, it’ll be back down to around 98.6 again. And like Ancy mentioned, mine definitely track with my cycle too. Even if I’m lying in bed doing nothing, those temps and symptoms will also show up anywhere between 3-10 days before my period, and last pretty much all day every day until it shows up.

I do hope the cardiologist can give you some answers!  Those symptoms are pretty uncomfortable and I've found they really slow me at least down at times,  so I hope he has some insight and suggestions that help.

[yogini]

Low grade fevers aren't unusual for POTS - I remember it coming up a few times on the forum before.  There are many different reasons - some people have co-conditions and others don't. If you're having stomach problems it may be helpful to keep track of what you're eating how much and when you're eating.  You may also want to search ld posts for read stomach related issues - as these are common.  There is helpful discussion on getting a diagnosis and different dietary changes you can try.  Many of us also find that eating smaller meals is helpful, to avoid post prandial hypotension

I would ask your doctor about whether it makes sense to take medicine for a low grade fever.  I never did.

[Guest KiminOrlando]

And we meet again... yes, this happens to me. I never told Dr. Glenn because I was focused on more important issues and we just haven't gotten this far down the list. I didn't want to overwhelm him. I chalked it up to autonomic too because it controls body temp. What I noticed about me was that when I get sick with something like the flu and run a legit fever, it runs higher than a person without autonomic problems. Then instead of my temp going back to 98.6, it goes to something like 97.2 for about a week. It is like it can't get regulated again for about a week and I can barely walk. Eventually, I get back to 'normal' which is random temps from 99.4 to 99.9. I was even sent to an infectious disease doctor by my primary to ensure there wasn't some kind of latent infection because I am on immune suppressants for Mixed Connective Tissue Disease. 

If you get a more concrete answer to this, I sure would like to know. I may be at a point with Dr. Glenn where I can add this to the mix without confusing everything. When I first came to him it was like a triage situation-- treat the most important things first to make life more bearable. The fevers were like problem number 87.