permanent temperature

Hi! I am writing to you again because I am totally confused and tired of all the things that happened to me recently.
Are there any people with thal major who have permanent temperature above the norm? I have been having this problem for a month and I do not know how to cope with it. Every time I measure my temperature it is between 37 and 37.5 C. I did some blood tests, even check my thyroid gland.. everything turned to be ok.. but unfortunately I keep that awful permanent temperature.
I am sick and tired of all these thoughts what problems I could have with my health. My doctor says it is not so frightening and she thinks it may be due to thalassemia major, but it was unsual for me.. So, if anybody has similar problems, please write to me.. I need your help

Rozitka,

I don't think that a temperature of 37 is high, it is well with in the normal range.  Do you have other related symptoms that may indicate that you have an infection?  Also, what are your ferritin levels?  If your ferritin levels are high and you have a fever then you should be concerned - but usually a fever is considered temp above 38.  Also Rozitka, do you still have your spleen or has it been removed? 

Perhaps these answers will help us guide you better.  I hope that we help alleviate your worries.

Sharmin

Rozitka

Some doctors consider the temperature up to 37.5 is normal.

But if this was not your ''normal'',may be you haveto check whether you are having dehydration or not as it could be a possibility and usually dehydration can rise this half grade.

Also if you are using exjade, sometimes it can cause a slight fever at the begining of administration.

If non of the above, you can examine your body for viruses though they usually cause a fever of more than 38 celcius

manal

well
     i have an experiance with my son Abdulwahab before we made for him a BMT when he sleep in his bed some times i found out alot of wet in his pilow i was confused but with alot of quistions and alot of reserch i think there is a relation between the high temperature and the bone marrow (when i said high temp. i dosn't mean above 38 no but like what Rozi said) in the thalassmic PpL the bone marrow try to give the body what he need from the blood and also the BM try to expand so it work very hard and that give the body a lot of energy that cause the temperature a bove normal and i notice that when his HGB go below 8 of course there is another opinion but that what i got from the Dr's and from my experiance ... now the boy almost 4 years from BMT i found out he start to be normal even his head shape and his body shape also no more wet in his pilow only if he is sick and have high temperature ....
      hop i answer your question but don't debend on it i replay my order to you and pls go and make all the blood check also some cultures .....
                                                khalifa
                                           state of kuwait               

Thank you kindly for that information Khalifa.  I am so glad that your son is getting healthier - god bless - I hope that each day is better than the last for him.  I wasn't aware that there is a relation between thal major and temperature, as I haven't noticed it in my son so far.  But as you have mentioned it may be related to the bone marrow working hard.   It is very important to determine whether ferritin levels are high though because high iron levels can breed infection.

Yes sharmin that true ( you let me remember what i forgot ) i used to give my son encluding the desferal alot of black tea that help to reduce the iron also with a lot of water that not containing sudiom or too much salt all that to encrease the folium of urin because as you know the iron go always with urin  and the tea make alot of help to let any body drink it he feel he have full blader.. also when i took my son for BMT in 2002 i found out there is fibroses in his lever grade 2 ( it's 1, 2, and 3 ) after we came back home with BMT rejection i found out his feretin level is 6000 so i just gave him desferal and as i said alot of water and black tea when we go back for the second BMT Dr Paola told me his fibroses almost nothing what you did for him ? and as i told you i told her she was very happy because the low feretin and no fibroses help alot for BMT ....
                                 khalifa
                           state of kuwait

I wasn't aware that there is a relation between thal major and temperature

Sharmin, every red blood cell that is exposed to hemolysis releases an amount of heat (energy) as a result of such process, that is why most thals are always feeling hot and can not stand heavy clothes. My son is a big example of dressing like Tarazan

manal

Khalifa,

I will be sure to do that for my son too - thank you for your wonderful advice

Manal, 

My son is a big example of dressing like Tarazan

  How cute!!  I just adore Ahmad, please give him a biiiiig hug for me 

And yes, you are very right about dehydration causing temperature to increase!  Even more important when taking exjade.

Sharmin

Thanks dear

manal

Some background notes for everyone first. Rozitka uses Ferriprox. The problem with the low grade fever has persisted for most of the month of April. Previous testing this month did not show any sign of neutropenia.

Rozitka,

The low fever would not be of much concern, except you have told me that during this period, you have not been feeling well. Does the doctor have any explanation for why you don't feel well? Did the doctor offer antibiotics? If not, perhaps you should ask to be given a course of antibiotics to see if indeed, you have a mild infection that is causing the fever. I think you should also ask to have a physical examination of your appendix to make sure it is not inflamed at all. Because you have been taking Ferriprox for awhile and there has been no sign of a low white blood cell count, I think that the fever is more likely caused by an infection and not a med or being thal. It should be very easy for your doctor to exam you to make sure your appendix is not the problem, and because this can be so serious, it should be checked if it hasn't already. My appendix almost killed me so I know how important this can be.

First of all, i wanted to say thank you to Rozitka for bringing this topic up. I kept forgetting to post this issue for such a long time.

I have noticed my tempreature is slightly higher especially during hot days and when i am sleeping. I just cant sleep without having the fan on even on a rainy day because i would sweat a lot and my body feels hot too.. I would sweat even in an airconditioned room! 

when i was in the hospital ward, the nurses would come and check our tempreatures. they would come in odd times and in my case, they had to wake me up to check it. and it will be slightly higher like 37.5C. Of course they would be making a big deal over it because they will not transfuse if i had fever and i have a tough time explaining that it is normal for me to have a higher reading and worse when i'm asleep. that is how i know that my tempreature is higher while i'm sleeping and after that, i wont sleep until after i get my blood. I just tired to argue with the nurses...

I am glad to know that I am not the only one facing this issue. I was being told that the marrow is working hard and that is why i am feeling hot all the time. Does anyone know if this slightly high tempreature can cause something bad in the future?


Nur

Hi again! I want to answe some of the qestions you asked me.
My ferretin level is abou 1200
I use Desferal combined with Ferriprox
I have my spleen kept, which a month ago was being monitored and was ok
And I did my regular blood tests that was ok again and did some additiomnal blood test , regarding CRP- which my doctor explained that was showing if there is an infention. It was also in the norms.

As Andy asked me about antibiotics, I took antibiotic for 6-7 days when this temperature started, but there was no positive result. So, I stopped it.

I should take in mind the advice to check my appendix, in one or two days when I go to my doctor. That is all.. I don't know what else.. Is it possible to be due to my spleen ..
Thank you very much !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi Rozitka,

Your ferritin is pretty good and you are on a great chelation plan.  I would agree with Andy, and that you should have your appendix checked. 

Is your spleen enlarged?  Do you have any problems with your spleen?   

I hope that you feel better soon, and that your doctors are able to diagnose and treat the source of the problem soon.

Do you take supplements and drink adequate amounts of water?

Sharmin

yes, sharmin I do drink a lot of water, even more than the others around me. When I was to monitor my spleen, the doctor said it is pretty much in the norms. I missed to mention that I usually feel hot most of the day and swea quite much, if there is some relation to the temperature. I really hope that it won't turn into sth bad. I will go to have blood in 2 days and will check my appendix and got blood tests again.
The worse thing is that I feel very tired of these problems which reflect on my mentality. I started to fall asleep very difficult and have many nightmares concerning my health and the thalassemia I have. It is awful and think I will need to visit a psychologist.. :< I hate myself being so weak in such situations but it is me ! :<
Thanks again!
Take care!

One other possibility is the gallbladder, so add that to the list of what needs to be checked out.