Thursday, August 27, 2015

Frazzled by fevers

After three very good days with almost no seizures, we have been plagued by several awful ones. That blasted central fever and the many seizures it triggers have become  daily (and even twice-daily)  fixtures. Only after 1000 i.u. of Advil, cool compresses and a couple of hours does C. settle down.

It's not only the frequency that's increased. The fever itself is now higher: around 38+ degrees Celsius, rectally.

I Googled about central fever and epilepsy for the first time today and learned two things:
  • This blog comes up as link number 7 with a post in which I wrote about it.
  • Central fever is associated with acute neurological patients; those who are critically ill in some way other than "mere" neurological impairment. 
It seems that doctors often find it difficult to distinguish between fevers in such patients that are caused by infections and those that aren't. The articles tend to tackle that problem.

But I couldn't find any discussing  such fever in a neurologically-impaired but otherwise healthy patient.

Until now, C.'s doctor hasn't been concerned whenever I mention the fevers. I suppose I could let her know about their increased frequency. But since I'm sure she won't have a cure for it, I don't think I'll bother.

Here (on the right) is C. during one of her three recent great days. I didn't dare post this photo for fear of the jinx. No need to worry about that any more.

4 comments:

Elizabeth said...

When Sophie was on a benzo called Nitrazepam when she was an infant, she had mysterious fevers off and on for what seemed like years. Sometimes I wonder if it was the lasting effects of those early vaccinations and then steroids that screwed up her immune system. Strangely, though, she STOPS seizing during high fevers.

I sure hope C gets back to some seizure free days.

Knock on wood, one two three!

The Sound of the Silent said...

Wow, amazing. Fever without seizures; that would be a first for C. Many of her problems have come and gone without ever being deciphered by the medicos.

So I still hope that's what will happen with these fevers. And, preferably, before they do me in.

As always, thanks for your support, Elizabeth.

Erin said...

I've been extra sick for some time now, and without having improved I take a look at your blog and see this post. Fever! Low fever, of the 100.4+ variety, plagues me. I have yet to find a doctor who has any ideas or who expresses any real concern for these frequent fevers (several a week).

Sweating profusely during the fevers seems to cause dehydration and intensified muscle spasticity, and I feel like my eyes are boiling. I don't even care if the fevers have any particular indication, but I do care how much they can throw off a fragile balance. Bah, fevers!

The Sound of the Silent said...

It's great to hear from you again, Erin. But I'm sorry you have been unwell. How frustrating it must be that the fever has stumped all your doctors and doesn't even concern them. (I mean, how did they get through medical school; isn't Fever 101 a required course?)

I hope it either disappears as mysteriously as it began or that you find a caring doctor who gets to the bottom of it and can treat it. In the meantime do aspirin or ibuprofen bring some relief? Advil always works for C.