hello everybody,
Just wanted to post a cautionary tale re thermometers!
My first thermometer was an oral digital one but it always seemed to be low on battery so, on someone’s advice, I invested in a £20 aural (ear) one.
I have used this for the 4 chemos I have had and had never had a temperature until last Thursday (over 37.5). In fact, I was always rather proud of my low temperature despite having a couple of infections along the way and sometimes feeling under the weather with them.
On Thursday I woke up feeling very ill, day 8 of Taxotere, the two days before this I think I was starting to feel better. Anyhow despite retiring to bed feeling worse than I ever have before, my temp hovered at around 37.3, not quite enough to alert the chemo nurse. Eventually, it dragged itself up to 37.7 so I was advised to go to A & E. On getting there my temp was 38.7 (how strange I thought at first!) plus my blood counts were very low, I was severely neutropenic, neutrophils of 0.1. Suffice to say was taken in and given 4 days of IV antibiotics and still have a whole stack of stuff to take.
Whilst in hospital I tested my thermometer against the hospital one and it was a full 0.8 degrees lower! Basically, it appears Ive had quite a few temperatures over the course of my chemo treatment but never knew!
Neutropenia can be a pretty serious thing so I am very angry about my thermometer, but just wanted to say to everybody to make sure that yours is working properly although I have no idea how to test this. However, the nurses told me that the ear thermometers can be very unreliable.
I just wondered what kinds of thermometers people had been advised to use also.
Anyhow, take care and keep taking those temperatures, it can be very important (and this from someone who was terribly lax in taking theirs!) I have learnt my lesson.
Pauline
Hi Pauline
I’ve never trusted the tympanic (ear) thermometers, ever since I used to work on a ward and do regular obs…often the thermometer would show one reading from one ear, and another from the other!! I think the digital oral ones are the best.
F
xxx
Would agree about the tympanic thermometers - having worked with both!!. The tympanic one has to be pointed in the right direction to get an accurate reading - and reading can vary greatly so I would say the digital ones are better.
Fiona
I Have one that i put on my forehead and then it beeps after a couple of seconds. Think it is by Beechams
Jools
Hi Pauline,
I was advised to get an oral digital thermometer. I must admit I have only checked my temp twice since I started chemo in May. How often do you all check yours??
Kelly
-x-
Altho I commented on thermometers above - I havent actually checked my temp at all (only 1 chemo in). Think one could get too obsessessed with this - so only going to check it if I think I have one or feel different kind of ill rather than chemo kind of ill. Listen to your body!! (altho I am a nurse!)
Fiona
xx
I was told to check everyday, apparently it is possible to have neutropenia sepsis and not feel too bad… or if youre suffering a lot anyway with side effects not notice and think its just more side effects! The only way I knew to get a full blood count was that my temp had risen, otherwise i could have just sat at home and become very ill indeed. And certainly once youre neutropenic you are very at risk from infections that can be very serious, not necessarily caught from other people but from things just sitting in your own body. In my hosp we are told to check every day and certainly if you feel ill.
Pauline x
Hi all,
I had chemo yesterday and raised the whole temperature taking issue with my chemo nurses. I told them that I had only actually checked it twice since I started in May and wasn’t sure if this was too infrequent. They advised me that this was absolutely fine, as they said it was all too easy to become totally obssessed with your taking your temp. I was told to continue as I have been, only monitioring my temp if I start to feel poorly,
Obviously everyones chemo unit has different protocols and stuff but just thought I’d share my ones,
Take care,
Kelly
-x-
hi girls, im starting cmf soon, and they said about the temp thing to me yesterday,
so just to let ye all know i purchased one yesterday evenind in lidle its a oral digital one and it only cost €4.99 will do the same job as paying big price for one…
take care all
love
breda
x
i only ever took my temp if I felt poorly. Not chemo poorly as you kind of get used to that bit. But if I felt slight coldy poorly, and id check it every half hour or so. But typical…my temp would shoot up at home, go up the hozzie and it would drop back down again. Ive got an ear one…and an oral one…and both gave me the same readings. Ive only got the two simply cos i kept forgetting where i put the other one whenever the kids were poorly