Fever with flares

[CindyG]

I’ve had fibro for about 5 years. Recently, my flares have intensified. I’m having fever with no other symptoms other than the aches and pain. Anybody else run a low grade temp with flares?

 

[sunkacola]

With any new symptom, and I think it applies strongly in this case, you need to see a doctor to determine if there is another thing going on causing it. If you don't you may be assuming something to your detriment. You could have an infection of some sort that is causing the fever.

Your flares intensifying is a different matter. This can happen with fibro. My best advice is that you change something you are doing, whether it be diet or exercise or sleep habits, or something else. It is entirely possible for anyone, whether or not they have a condition like fibro, to become intolerant of something that they have been able to live with previously. If you do some really good investigation you may find something you can increase or decrease or a supplement to take or who knows what that may take that intensity down. With this condition, you always need to be willing to shift what you are doing as things change.

See my advice post for ways to do some investigation.

My advice for managing fibromyalgia (especially for newcomers)

I am not a doctor or anything, just a person who has lived with fibromyalgia for several years now and has done a lot of research and trial and error experimentation. What follows is just basics. There are a lot of variations. You will find your own versions of everything I say, as this is not a...

www.fibromyalgiaforums.org

 

[cookiebaker]

With any new symptom, and I think it applies strongly in this case, you need to see a doctor to determine if there is another thing going on causing it.

I completely, and whole heartedly agree with this.
there are a lot of things that could be causing your fever, and the only way to know for sure what is causing it is to get checked out.

 

[CindyG]

Thanks for the reply! I’ve already seen my doctor. She ran tests looking for any indicator of cause. Nothing showed. I’m a retired RN with 40+ years of experience. I can usually solve questions about most issues, but this one has me stumped.

 

[CindyG]

Thanks for you input. I responded in more detail above. So far, nobody has responded in the affirmative. The pain is very similar to a fibro flare. So, with things ruled out medically, I thought I’d reach out on forums.

 

[JayCS]

I'm wondering what kind of doc did the tests and how many tests they were. Aside from normal "full" bloods, I'd expect just normal rheum / hormone type?
A centre for rare diseases once did a panel of bloods on me with 11 test tubes turning out 5 pages in very small print, but even in that quite a few of the ones in which I now know I am deficient were missing. They were suggesting Sjögren's and/or Hashimoto's, but both were then excluded thru further testing. So is autoimmune or immune praps something for you to still think about whether or not it's "all been checked"?

Fibro brought me flares of a strong feverish feeling, but my temperature was axillar still about 35,5°C and above.
That made me think about something autoimmune or immune and try cold showering it away until I realized it's tiredness and learnt to sleep better.
The jabs brought on long term immune system overreactions, the MCAS @Cutiegirl asked about this Tuesday here.
This for me is causing long term low grade temperature of 1°C or more higher than my usual.

You're not talking about a feverish feeling nor a "low grade temperature" lower than "normal".
But MCAS does have a low grad temperature like you're saying and can't be tested easily. However a lot of other symptoms which you aren't mentioning.

I don't find it helpful to blame things on fibro, and so wouldn't want to hinder your quest at all, but if the autoimmune hypothesis were true for at least some of us, then I'd expect low grade temperature in those or at least I wouldn't be surprised.
If we search for "fibromyalgia and low grade fevers" there's quite a few anecdotal mentions. Also some studies, e.g. "Psychogenic fever: how psychological stress affects body temperature in the clinical population" by Oka, 2015, and "Fibromyalgia Flares: A Qualitative Analysis" by Vincent et al, 2016. But when you look at the studies these refer to, they are pretty worthless, again a few case studies, often naming CFS rather than FM. The 'psychogenic' one is an easy one for you to check for yourself, the easiest example: "A 26-year-old female nurse with CFS noticed that her Tc became higher (up to 38.5°C) when she felt stressed at work." - they did a stress interview too measuring various bloods and again the temperature increased. Healthline prematurely concludes "Psychogenic fevers are most common in young women and people with conditions often exacerbated by stress, such as chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia." I couldn't find one example without CFS involvement, and only a few case studies.

 

[cookiebaker]

Thanks for you input. I responded in more detail above. So far, nobody has responded in the affirmative. The pain is very similar to a fibro flare. So, with things ruled out medically, I thought I’d reach out on forums.

understandable... and it is good that you have been working with your doc on this, even if you haven't found anything yet.

I do get hot flashes - just majorly overheat, start sweating, the whole works, but oral temp will be perfectly normal.. ah, the joys of getting older (menopause) and having mystery ailments (i say mystery because we still dont know that much about fibro, what causes it, etc)

 

[Cutiegirl]

I’ve had fibro for about 5 years. Recently, my flares have intensified. I’m having fever with no other symptoms other than the aches and pain. Anybody else run a low grade temp with flares?

Hi CindyG, Yes, I also had a low grade fever for 3 months (April to June, 2022). My testing turned up nothing as well (no cancer markers, wasn't lyme disease, not osteoarthritis, etc.). I averaged about 99.5 to 101 degrees daily and it fluctuated throughout the day (no headache, though). I felt terrible but just plugged through. And then it just disappeared on it's own! I didn't do anything different to cause the fever to stop, except add L-glutamine. A week later, I finished up teaching and started a detox and elimination diet. That took the aches and pain away. I added a bunch of supplements which I believe have helped me. I haven't carried a low grade fever since. I kind of dread that happening again so I've been very careful to exercise, sleep well and eat well.

 

[Harpy]

I get low grade fever with the associated aches and pains and even my skin hurts to touch when there come on. My gp has done everything to find a cause and has put it down to my body fighting off a virus.
Gee I must get a lot off viruses lol.
Like today the low grade temp/headache/aches and pains. So an in bed day for me today.