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Last night I spiked a fever. I didn't know about it, I was in bed, shivering, and thinking it was just cold but when Wes came to bed he touched my arm and jerked back and said I was burning up. Then I realized, hey, yeah I do feel like I have a fever. We checked it and it was 100. I went to sleep, hoping it would be better.
So, today, I'm not running a fever but I still feel terrible, headache, achy, tired and run down. That's not that unusual for the week of chemo, but I had chemo last week, and this week I'm usually starting to feel better. So I took some ibuprofen.
(this next part might be yucky, if you're sensitve to people talking about blood or sneezing or noses then skip the next paragraph)
Well, about an hour after I took the ibuprofen, I had to sneeze. Like a good girl, I lowered my head toward my chest and covered my mouth with my hand. Interesting. I can now say that while your hand does block a lot, it certainly doesn't block everything. I had to change shirts because there was a fine mist of blood all over my top. My nose bleeds usually after chemo, no biggie, the nurses just told me to call if I ever had trouble stopping it. Well it took a while to get it stopped, but it is now.
Thing is, I was doing some reading on Lance Armstrong's website ChemoCare, trying to see what advice they had there about fevers, when I found something interesting - if you have low blood platelets, which I do, it says not to take ibuprofen, because ibuprofen interferes with blood clotting.
I never knew that. Now I wonder if I messed up by taking the ibuprofen for my feverish symptoms. I guess you guys are going to tell me to call the doctor's office. I hate to do it unless there's a real big problem though because those nurses are so busy taking calls from people all day, I hear them when I'm there for chemo and they're probably going to want me to come in and take a CBC.
Yeah, I know I need to call anyway.
Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001
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Yes, you do. We love you Belle. You don't have to have the feeling you're disturbing people when you need help, because, well, you need it. Posts: 3526 | Registered: Oct 2001
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Oh, poor honey! Call them up and tell them about the fever and let them know that you had one ibuprofen. I mean, it is already taken, and you can't untake the pill, but I think that you will feel reassured to hear from the doctor that you'll be OK.
I'd feel better hearing that from someone that I knew and trusted (like my doctor), rather than false assurances (or hysterical alarm!) from some stranger I never met (like me).
Go ahead and call. You know you should. And feel better, honey.
Posts: 10397 | Registered: Jun 2005
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Of course, as I look over the information the office gave me about chemo, it says not to take ibuprofen. See, if I'd paid more attention to what my doctor said in the first place...
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They need to know about the fever and the blood anyway. But I doubt the ibuprofen messed things up that much, Belle.
Posts: 1014 | Registered: Jul 2005
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As Theaca said, they weren't worried about the ibuprofen. I have no fever now, they want me to take my temp regularly, keep track of it and call them if it returns.
Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001
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Yeah, right, Tante. Like they don't hang up and say to each other "Geez what a baby. Gets a fever and little nosebleed and thinks she has to call us."
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Now this is weird - the exact same thing with the fever happened last night. A little before bedtime I started feeling bad, charted my temp and over the next two hours it rose two degrees. According to my thermometer, my temp started out low - 97.8, but it rose to 99.8. I don't know if the thermometer is wrong, or if my temp was just really low, but either way it rose two degrees in two hours. I know body temp changes during the day but I thought it got lower as you got closer to sleeping.
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Well, in general temps are higher at night and and are lowest in the morning after sleep. I know when I have fever it is ALWAYS between 8PM to midnight. You should let the office know it returned.
Posts: 1014 | Registered: Jul 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Belle: they want me to take my temp regularly, keep track of it and call them if it returns.
Duh! Call, you little dope! They're WAITING to hear from you.
And some Tylenol should make you feel better. Oh. And chicken soup.
My mother-in-law was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, and went through chemotherapy and surgury, will excellent results. In addition, one of her nutty macrobiotic-type sons told her that she should eat 10 raw almonds every day, and drink a mixture of fresh juices that he would deliver to her house every day.
When her CA125 (measure of cancer activity) results came out normal, she was so happy, and called the whole family. The macrobiotic son crowed "See! The almonds worked!" Posts: 10397 | Registered: Jun 2005
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Belle, This isn't the time to worry about what the doctors and nurses think. Chemo supresses your immune system so you are very susceptable to infections. The fever could be nothing or could be the first signs of an infection. Because your immune system is suspressed, an infection could get wildly out of control very fast. That's why the doctors office told you to take your temperature regularly and call them if anything happens.
Generally, doctors don't consider it truly a fever until your temp. is at 102 or higher but there is alot of individual variation. When my MIL had cancer, she was delirious before her temp. ever got that high. Be careful, and don't hesitate to call the doctor if the problem persists. You have cancer for gosh sake, you are not imagining being ill.
Posts: 12591 | Registered: Jan 2000
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Well, tonight darned if it didn't do it again. About eight in the evening, my fever started going up. That's just too weird. I'll call in the morning.
Otherwise, I felt wonderful today. I mean, wonderful. Only until eight did I start feeling crappy, and when I checked my temp it was rising again.
Rabbit, I know you're right. There's still that ingrained part of me that doesn't want to be the pest, you know the one where everybody groans when they find out it's "her" on the phone again.
It's not the right attitude to have, and I know it and I'm always the first to tell anyone else to call right away, but I have a tougher time practicing what I preach.
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