# What would cause fever and nausea for over a month?



## Ark (Oct 5, 2004)

11 yo girl
low grade fever and nausea _almost _every day for over a month.
Sometimes the nausea is SO severe that she wishes she could throw up, but she never does. 
? 
WHAT could cause this? 
Our doctor has no idea and will willingly test for anything I can think to ask for - so can yall help me out?

So far she is negative for lyme disease, giardia, h.pylori, and all blood tests come back as normal. I have taken her to the doc 3 times and have another appointment Thursday.


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## chris30523 (Jun 11, 2005)

Has he checked for urinary tract infection?Fluid in her ears? I am sure he has.How about Mono?


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## Beaners (Feb 23, 2005)

I thought mono too.

What about hormones? The hormones from pregnancy cause these kinds of symptoms. Any chance her body is having trouble regulating her hormone levels?

Kayleigh


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## Ark (Oct 5, 2004)

OH! Yes, I forgot - he did test for a bladder infection or UTI, and that was negative.
She has no pain in her stomach, and nothing hurt when he pressed on it.
Ears are fine. 
Could hormone problems cause a fever? She has not started her period, so I dont know about that one... 
Mono has not been tested for so I will ask him to do that Thursday. Thanks!


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## Becca65 (Jul 13, 2005)

Could it be anxiety? Course thats not going to cause a low grade fever though.. But it could cause the upset stomach. 
You don't think it's her appendix? hmm sounds like a medical mystery!
Hope you find out soon!! 
What about a food allergy?


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## deb (Jul 27, 2002)

Lyme disease? 

One of my neighbors has it and it was difficult to get the diagnosis.

deb
in wi.


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## pickapeppa (Jan 1, 2005)

A chronic build up of heavy metals resulting in toxicity could be related.


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## Anniebek (Oct 9, 2003)

I had this a few years ago. I ran a very low grade fever for six weeks and couldn't eat without feeling sick. Even the smell of food made me naseous. The whole family suffered because I couldn't cook and they couldn't cook anything that would make me sick. I also had several rash type spots on my legs, and a couple on my arm. Looked almost like a ringworm, but not quite. I was also, incidentally, having issues with my thyroid and was seeing an endochronologist that suggested surgery for my thyroid. Long story short, I had seen my GP, an infectious disease Dr, and an endochrinologist and none of them knew what was causing the symptoms (I lost 45 lbs. in six weeks). I finally mentioned it to the surgeon that I was discussing my thyroid surgery with and she did a biopsy of one of the rash rings on my leg. It turned out that I had a virus (very long word, can't remember it). Because I hadn't found out about the virus sooner there was nothing I could do but let it run it's course. It was a total of about 12 weeks before I felt better.

I hope this helps!

Anniebek


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## Bonnie L (May 11, 2002)

My dd had an off & on low fever for months when she was8 & 9. Turned out to be recurring kidney & bladder infections from bladder reflux. It's pretty common yet there are many doctors who don't catch it early & it can cause kidney damage if not diagnoses at a young age. My dd is short 1 kidney because the doctor was an idiot. :flame:


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## madness (Dec 6, 2006)

I threw up almost everyday before school when I was 10 for a few months. I had every test in the book. The doctors never figured it out and I simply stopped being nauseous. Sometimes weird things happen and you never know why. Hope she's better soon!


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## dragonflyz9C (Mar 22, 2006)

The Lyme titer blood tests for antibodies in the blood. If you tested her early on there are often false negatives. I had Lyme disease in '91 and I am planning on taking my daughter in tomorrow for the same symptoms. You could have her retested, but I never tested positive. I took 14 days of amoxicillin and the very next day I started feeling better. Good luck finding your answer.


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## CIW (Oct 2, 2007)

Has anyone thought about West Nile disease? It shows up with those symptoms.


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## stickinthemud (Sep 10, 2003)

Has your water been tested lately? Have you changed any part of the water system or has there been drought or heavy rain or anything else (municipal water changing sources) that could have affected well or water system? 
You might try having her drink only filtered/bottled/boiled water for a few days to see if it has any effect. And disinfect/boil any cup she drinks from- bacteria can grow in bathroom cups etc.


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## Heidi's_Goats (Mar 21, 2007)

dehydration.


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## Songbird (Apr 2, 2006)

Lupus or inflamed appendix. Both of these conditions caused the same symptoms for me. Does she have achy muscles and/or joints?


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## Katrina26 (Nov 18, 2007)

Mono here too...I feel like that when it flares up with me.

Also could it be she's starting her period soon? Puberty hormones made me not feel very well as a kid.

Kat


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## Ark (Oct 5, 2004)

*Kat*, I wondered about the hormones too, but just dont see how it could cause a fever...  but, we will ask for the mono test. Thanks!

*Songbird*, she does not have any pain anywhere - just fever and nausea. She has had the occasional bout of diarrhea, but just once or twice a week during this whole long month that she has been sick.

*Heidi'sGoats*, dehydration? Hmmm... I really dont think so, but will be sure to encourage more water drinking just in case! When she is the *most *nauseous then of course she is not eating at all, and barely drinking. We tried everything OTC we could buy and she was too nauseous to get any of it down. So, I asked for a prescription and he gave us phenergan. She can swallow that tiny pill and get enough relief to be able to drink plenty of fluids altho still not eat much. She has lost probably 10 pounds although I dont know exactly since we didnt weigh her for months before this started. I just know she looks a lot thinner. 

*Stickinthemud*, we only drink filtered water (we use a Berkey) and the one and only time we tested our well water was a couple years ago when our son had arsenic poisoning...... which brings me to *pickapeppa's *post! Heavy metals are a possibility - I wonder if our doctor can test for that himself. We still dont know where our son got the arsenic, but he is fine now. He was actually very sick for 2 YEARS and we found out a whole long list of problems. (Lyme, Celiac, heavy metals, food allergies, depression, and on and on.) He is finally feeling good again!
However, he never really ran a fever much with all of that, and although he had lots and lots of nausea, this seems very different. 

*CIW*, I am going to research West Nile Disease. Thanks for the idea. 

*Dragonflyz*, when the lyme test came up negative, I was sceptical, to be honest... I have 3 close family members with lyme - 2 of them are in the worst stages of it, and have had it for too many years to count. It went undiagnosed until it had invaded all the body, not just the blood. Years of antibiotics have done major harm, but not killed the lyme... I'm glad you are feeling better. Let me know what you find out about your daughter! What are her symptoms? 


*madness*, that is terrible!! Were you stressed about school? 

Bonnie, I am so sorry about your daughter.  That is awful! 

*Anniebek*, please let me know if you can remember the name of that virus. Her thyroid seems fine according the the doc, and she has not had any rashes. 

*deb*, I am going to find out which test he did for lyme and try to get the other one done. Thanks! 

I thought about anxiety and food allergies, but why the fever? Maybe it's more than one problem... I dont know!!


Thank you all! I hope I didnt leave anyone out. Our doctor is easy going and is not agressively attacking this problem, looking for answers...

To test for:
MONO
WNV? 
Heavy metals
lyme again


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## gwithrow (Feb 5, 2005)

we have a friend whose daughter same age, had the same symptoms...finally they did a cat scan...she had a ruptured, encapsulated appendix...didn't show up anywhere else...good luck..


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## PinkBat (Jul 15, 2006)

My uneducated guess would be anxiety. A friend of mine ran a low grade fever through most of her time in college. She said she was a nervous wreck. When she graduated the fever went away.


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## luvrulz (Feb 3, 2005)

Any abcessed teeth? Bad cavities that haven't been taken care of? My sister was hospitalized because of the fever abd nausea caused by a really bad tooth infection. She was in ICU, as a matter of fact and felt fine except for the nausea and low grade fever. Never even knew her tooth, wisdom tooth in her case, was so bad!


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## WindowOrMirror (Jan 10, 2005)

Does she have any other symptoms? Can she not tolerate certain foods? Do her stools change radically in frequency or consistency?

R


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## Ark (Oct 5, 2004)

*WindowOrMirror*, no other symptoms besides low grade fever (99.8 is usually the highest), nausea, and diarrhea occasionally. Sometimes I take her temp when she is acting normal, and her temp is normal then - just double checking my thermometer! LOL
_Do her stools change radically in frequency or consistency?_ Not that I know of - the doctor asked her that and she said no. I suppose I could tell her not to flush - just come tell me and I will do it. At this point, that is probably the best thing to do! Thank you!
_Can she not tolerate certain foods? _ No, she seems to be able to eat anything. We eat a very healthy diet - all homecooked meals and almost no sugar. We've been raising almost all our own meat for nearly 3 years.

*luvrulz*, she was at the dentist in early April for a check up and everything was fine. Thanks! 

*pinkbat*, thanks for the idea. We homeschool and homestead. We are home all the time, so I am around her all day every day. She is the happiest kid I ever met! Never depressed, never in a bad mood - so easy going, rarely gets in trouble. It drives her brother crazy that she is so "perfect" (HIS words!) I've asked her if she is worried about anything or depressed, or anxious, but she says no, and I am sure I could tell if she was. 

*gwithrow*, was your friend's daughter having any symptoms other than low grade fever and nausea? Any pain when pressing on the appendix? Yikes.


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## Macybaby (Jun 16, 2006)

About the appendix thing, rencently on another forum another young girl just had to have her's removed for the same thing.

Symptoms were similiar, low grade fever and nausea, and no complaining about stomac pain. They figure she had been this way for about a month - took it out and she's recovering fine.

Cathy


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## Queen Bee (Apr 7, 2004)

Does she have ingrown toenails? I would be worried about the appendix also. A cousin had the low grade fever-no pain-nausea for almost three months then had to have his appendix removed..


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## Patty0315 (Feb 1, 2004)

Have them run an sle and ana test . Both are for auto immune diseases like lupus

My appendix was leaking for a long time and finally the pain kicked in after a few weeks. It thru the Drs off because it had continued so long and my appendix was not were it was suppose to be . A ultra sound could not hurt.


Patty


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## wottahuzzee (Jul 7, 2006)

My first thought was appendix. Then possibly thyroid/pituitary or autoimmune problem -- I deal with autoimmune myself -- It can be tricky. 

The other thing I thought of, and I hate to say it, is some sort of malignant process, especially one involving the immune system such as Hodgkin's disease or a lymphoma. My younger sister was treated for a long time for "vague" symptoms or illnesses, which included appendicitis, tonsillitis, outbreaks of boils/staph infections, UTI, as well as suggested counseling for her "attention-seeking behavior." By the time she was finally diagnosed with Hodgkins, she was really sick. 

If I were you, I would ask the doctor about an MRI w/wo contrast of at least the chest, abdomen, possibly neck and head/brain, or CT w/wo if MRI not available or not covered. 

I just hate to even suggest something like that and I am really sorry for the worry it might cause you, but if my sister had had a competent diagnosis or if CT and MRI had been available during the late 60's-early 70's, she would probably be alive today. 

I hope they find the answer and she feels better soon.


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## CraftyDiva (Aug 26, 2003)

Have you and the Doc ruled out a reaction to an insect bite, such as a spider?


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## oldgaredneck (Jan 2, 2007)

Has she had a chest xray/sputum tests? Sounds a lot like the same symptoms I had when I had a fungal infection of the lungs....


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## Tracy Rimmer (May 9, 2002)

A deep inner ear infection can cause this, and be hard to diagnose. Drs typically check the ears as a matter of course, but I know of three separate instances where they "missed" it because it wasn't obvious by visual exam. If she's nauseated, it could be from the vertigo.


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## countrykidz (May 12, 2008)

She apparently does have some low grade infection somewhere in her body-in order to give her body the best chance for healing, I would take her to a trusted chiropractic doctor, and have an adjustment done. It may be something very slightly out of alignment, but enough to throw off her immune system. My daughter had thrush as a baby that would not go away-after 7 other regular medical doctors failed at clearing it, I took her to a chiropractic doctor who adjusted her, (he found the cause to be one hip that was just very slightly out of place, but enough to cause her immune system to have problems-went completely unnoticed by all the other docs though) and the thrush cleared completely without meds within a couple of hours of the spinal adjustment, and never returned.


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## Jenn (Nov 9, 2004)

My first guess would be hepatitis but they probably tested for this. If sed rate and blood count are normal I dunno. I tend to ask the pediatricians for their advice by now. If your doc is a pediatrician maybe they could ask an infectious disease doc/pediatrician.


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## LvDemWings (Sep 11, 2005)

I often run a low grade fever and have stomach troubles when its about that time of the month. I have also noticed that I will have an excessively heavy cycle with extreme cramping when it happens. Its possible that her horomones are out of whack and her body is fighting back.


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## bajiay (Apr 8, 2008)

I'd have them check again for the inner ear infection, mri is not going to hurt anything either. I would take her to a doc of Internal Medicine. I use to work for a couple of them and they can pinpoint things a lot better than a family doc can. A month of symptoms is too long. Your doc doesn't sound too worried.


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## dixienc (Apr 11, 2008)

Ark said:


> 11 yo girl
> low grade fever and nausea _almost _every day for over a month.
> Sometimes the nausea is SO severe that she wishes she could throw up, but she never does.
> ?
> ...


Stress?? Whats going on in school? Maybe hormones also.....


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## dixienc (Apr 11, 2008)

Ark said:


> OH! Yes, I forgot - he did test for a bladder infection or UTI, and that was negative.
> She has no pain in her stomach, and nothing hurt when he pressed on it.
> Ears are fine.
> Could hormone problems cause a fever? She has not started her period, so I dont know about that one...
> Mono has not been tested for so I will ask him to do that Thursday. Thanks!


Hormones will make your body temp go up and down. Right around ovulation your temp will spike and then drop slowly. I am perimenopausal and go through the wacky hormone thing all the time. She may be getting ready to start her period. And don't forget, being sick for long times tends to be trying on the nerves so she may have anxiety and stress too, this will compound the hormone thing. Have they checked her thyroid levels?


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## Ark (Oct 5, 2004)

dixienc said:


> Hormones will make your body temp go up and down. Right around ovulation your temp will spike and then drop slowly. QUOTE]
> 
> But, for over a month, nonstop?
> REALLY, she is only 11. I know girls are getting their periods younger and younger nowadays but I wonder how much of that is due to the hormones in food they eat?
> ...


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## Togg Lovers (Apr 30, 2008)

Have they checked her sugar level? And is she up to date on Tetanus? I would also get her hormone levels checked. If she is close to starting her period something may be out of whack.


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## dixienc (Apr 11, 2008)

Ark said:


> dixienc said:
> 
> 
> > Hormones will make your body temp go up and down. Right around ovulation your temp will spike and then drop slowly. QUOTE]
> ...


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