What are signs that the spleen is being affected?

[Diane12855]

I had a really rough day yesterday. It was the first time I've had to take something for nausea and I'm going on my 8th shot this coming Friday. My stomach was (is) really swollen, and hurts when I lay on either side, whereas before it only hurt to lay on my right side when it was swollen. I also had a fever of 101.6 and since I haven't had fevers from the shots in the past, I doubt it was from my last shot. Is this just "par for the course" or do you think I should call my doctor if it continues?

[portann]

Diane,

Here's the thread I think you thought was missing.

If you scroll down to the bottom of the page, you'll see threads get bumped down over time and yours simply moved to page two. They're time-sensitive, based on the last post of the thread.

Hope this helps.

Susan

[portann]

Hey, Diane, sorry to hear about the rough day - god, I hated those rough days but you know, looking back, there weren't that many of them, even though every bad one seemed endless. I eventually learned I was on a rollercoaster - I'd go for a stretch doing so-so, then get walloped with a nasty doozer of a day that I wondered if I could survive. I always did survive and each one of those bad days would remind me down the road that I could tough out the next one.

What's with the "really swollen stomach", though? I'm not familiar with that one, so maybe contact the doc about it.

Wishing you lots of so-so days ahead, instead of rough ones,

Susan

[nygirl7]

Ah my ice cream that was my salvation (well until my thyroid went kaput anyway)! Couldn't eat any of the things I enjoyed but at least there were lots of flavors to make it entertaining.  Ice cream and crackers and gingerale the staples of my 72 weeks.

[Trinity4]

Homemade potato soup.  I think I ate it everyday, twice a day for 15 straight months. It was easy to digest and kept some weight on me.  If I ate as much potato soup now as I did back then I'd be a fatso.  

Trin

[GSDgirl]

By then I went with chicken bullion, carnation instant breakfast & instant mashed potatoes.  Good Luck

Denise

[spectda]

I had 102.5 for two days after my first injection. I have had on and off fever but not very high since. I had a friend who had 104 after his first injection for a day and a half. I don't think it's uncommon

[Trinity4]

I did develop fever.  Stayed with me throughout the course of 72 wks.  My average body temp was around 100.6 but never went above 101.8 and usually occurred 24-48 hrs after injection but not always the case.  Tylenol worked well to reduce the fever.  Neutropenia contributed I'm sure.

I did develop two upper respiratory infections and my temperature shot up to around 103 and needed antibiotics both times.

[Bill1954]

I never developed a fever either from IFN therapy. As far as the spleen is concerned, wouldn’t it tend to improve through treatment, rather than worsen? My spleen was enlarged prior to therapy; I had what was termed ‘hepatosplenomegaly’, and it improved rapidly as I treated.

As Mike mentioned, if the fever stays with you, call the doc and let them know—

--Bill

[mikesimon]

If the fever persists I would definitely call your doctor - I would probably call it to the doctor's attention now but, as I said, I didn't have fever while treating.
Mike

[mikesimon]

I had a huge spleen and I really had no symptoms.
I have read that there can be pain in the upper left abdomen.
I have also seen a feeling of "fullness" listed as a symptom.
I don't recall your platelet count but I would expect it to be below normal if your spleen is significantly enlarged.
I suffered with nausea for 2 years of treatment so I don't find that unusual or particular to an enlarged spleen. I always assume it is a side effect of treatment.
I didn't have a fever while treating but perhaps it is not unusual. I really don't know but I would suspect some type of infection but that's just a guess.
Mike