Hi ladies
Ive been on and off chemo for a few years now and never had a problem with my temperature, but my daughters brought home a cough and bad cold, and I think Im starting to get a bit coughy and sniffly, other than that I feel ok, last nite my temp was 38 then this morning it was 37 1/2 and now its 38 again, should I ring the ward or just get on with things seeing as I feel fine??
silly question I know I should ring first thing in the morning, but …
Sue xx
Hi Sue,
I am new to chemo (only had 1st FEC) so feel like a virgin advising a lady of the night (no insult intended it was the first bad analogy that sprung to mind) and I would say - why not ring them now? If you are thinking about it you will only think about it all night so why put it off?
xx
Hi Sue,
I was always advised that if your temperature reached 38 you need to get yourself to the hospital so they can do a blood test, (and of course we get told so many different things!!!). After my first lot of chemo after about my 5 days my temp reached 38, I went into hospital and my blood count/platelets or whatever they called was 0 and I was kept in for 5 days. I’m now on antibiotics each time now 5 days after each chemo session. You could always leave it till the morning and make an emergency appt with your doctor but I would ring the hospital now at least to get their opinion and not leave it till the morning, I didnt have children to deal with so it’s your personal decision.
Ellie.x
mmmmm 5 days in hospital!!!
Think I’ll bury my head till the morning at least!!!
I know am such a wimp, thanks for the wise words
Sue xx
Good luck, hope its nothing but make sure you call anyway, x
Drink plenty of fluids, tepid flannel on head and if you feel crap or it gets any higher ring chemo ward.
Love Debsxxx
Best not to wait Sue.If you havent done it already ring the ward or go in tonight.I had a temp of 38 and was in hosp for 48hours on ab drip but if I had left it it would have had time to take hold and been a lot longer.I was on taxotere at time and had developed neutropenia.
RING THE HOSPITAL!! I had 6 FEC in May to September 2007 and after the 4th became neutropenic - I woke in the night (3 a.m.) with a fever of 38 degrees and took some paracetamol. I went to the hospital (chemo unit) at 9 a.m. and got a really severe reprimand - they said I should have gone in at 3 a.m. and not waited, because if your neutrophils are very, very low (which luckily mine weren’t, they were just very low), it can be life-threatening because you would have no immunity to disease of any sort.
They gave me oral antibiotics, but three days later, and after no improvement (my temperature was spiking 40 degrees), I found myself in hospital for a six-night stay on IV antibiotics.
Sadly, this happened after the 5th chemo too, but I wasted no time and got myself into hospital on that occasion as soon as I felt the flu-like symptoms.
Just give in to it and accept that it is part and parcel of fighting this monster. No, it’s not nice to be in hospital, but the alternative is even worse.
I know, tell me about it!! You might find in the morning that your temp is back to normal but theres no harm in ringing the hospital…You Ostrich!!
I had the same problem last nite but I just felt achey and my temp was 37.5 and didnt do anything about it but its ok now.
Hope you get better.
Ellie.x
Will add my voice to the others here Sue… ring em!!! 
You can go downhill extremely quickly, within hours in fact, so always best to play it safe. No heroics required when one is on chemo!
Good luck
Nikki
H i Sue,
I can only reirerate what Bubs has said. Luckily so far i’ve had no problems with temperature,am due my 4th FEC next Tuesday.
However on my pre chemo talk the nurse really emphasised the need to let the ward know if my temperature went over 37.5
She said it isn’t a problem as long as its caught early, the problems arise when people say " i’ll see how i feel in the morning." It’s your health and not worth gambling with.You have nothing to lose by just giving the ward a ring and letting them decide. Please do that.
Best wishes Tracey
Hoping you are ok Sue, x
Hi Sue,
I hope all is OK with you. I was the same last week and ended up in hospital for 4 nights on iv antibiotics and neutropen injections as my neutrophils were down to 0.01 – get thee to hospital!
Hi Sue
Ditto - hope you’re ok
xx
Hi sue
Do what Tracey, Ostrich and Carolj say - GET TO HOSPITAL. It is not worth the risk; to put it bluntly, you can die if your neutrophils are low and you have no immunity. It is better to go to the hospital and be sent away than never to come away from there alive.
Bubs X
Thank you thank you thank you all,
My temps stable at 37.2 and Im sure its just a cold, I know your all shouting at me, but I have listened to you all, I keep checking my temp all the time just to be sure and I promise that if it does rise to 37.5 again then I will go and get my bloods done, I feel ok besides a bit of a cough and runny nose, so your words havent landed on deaf ears.
I must confess that before this I hadnt checked my temp since my first round of chemo back in 04 (on my 5th round now!) when I was that scared I did everything that was recommended to me, it shows how complacent Ive become about it all - no more though I will now follow advice I am not invincible!!! well maybe not!!
take care you lovely bunch
Sue xxx
Hi Sue,
Glad to hear you’re okay (excepting the cough and runny nose), x
Keep an eye on your temp. I was taken in to hospital for 3 weeks and was on antibiotics the whole time. My temp went from 38 at first to 39.6. This was after 3rd Tax
Take care Louise x
How you doing now Sue?