Recurring fever and chills

[Engr08jen]

Hi!I hope someone will give me some advise. I am suffering with a sudden fever with chills for 6months now. The fever will just occur every now and then and after a few hours I will be back to normal again. I have been to different hospitals and for 3times was diagnose with UTI.However with the last confinement the doctor(infectious disease)cannot give any specific diagnosis with my condition since all the tests were normal(cbc,urinalysis, ct scan, blood culture, etc). 1 week after confinement I have experience the fever and chills again with headache.

[mkh9]

Hi, So when you get these fevers you don't get any of these symptoms:
fever, headache, muscle and joint aches, and nausea?

What about fatigue or cough?

Any diarrhea?

Do you remember being bitten by a tick? Any rats living in the area you had been around? Had any mosquito bites before this?

I am trying to figure out which thing it could be.

If all else fails you could get them to have to do a smear for malaria and relapsing fever. They call them thin and thick smears. Also check for Borrelia (spirochetes). You can also get this done through a lab that checks for that bacteria. They can treat you with doxycycline for 10 days or tetracycline (500 mg orally, four times daily). They would test your blood on the day that you get the high fever for the Borrelia (spirochetes) and malaria. If it is malaria it is different treatment.

It sounds like relapsing fever. Usually, your lab work shows a high white blood cell count but the CT scan is normal and the blood work is normal except that the blood  bilirubin is high, reticulocyte is high, urinalysis is positive for protein (small amount), and spirochetes are found in a blood smear but it is with a Giemsa stain). They may not see it with the Wright stain they use for a complete blood count.

Also squirrels or other rodents can transmit this via ticks.

Some labs have immunoflurescent tests or PCR to detect it. If negative and malaria is negative then you may just want to get treated and see if it clears up. It is a thought.

mkh9

[mkh9]

Hi and sorry you have this problem. We are not doctors on these sites but I am a microbiologist and can try to help give you some advise.

So, have you traveled anywhere outside the country or even inside the country before this happened? Have you don't any hiking or swimming in fresh water such as a lake?

With the CT scan did they check your kidneys for infection or any blockage?

When you feel like you have a UTI they never cultured anything all three times? So what are your symptoms?

How high is your fever? When does it come on?

Have you seen any ticks on you or any rash at any time? What state do you live in?

Do you have any night sweats or fatigue?

Thanks
mkh9

[Engr08jen]

Thank you so much for replying. Here's my reply to your questions. 1. Yes I traveled outside the country but never been to hiking or swimming in fresh water. 2. They do the CT scan and the result is normal. 3. Whenever I experience the sudden chills and fever I immediately go to the hospital and they always do the Urinalysis and found that there is an infection based on the WBC.However in my last confinement the urinalysis is normal that's why they do other tests but all found out to be normal also. The diagnosis is Fever with unknown reason. I really don't have any symptoms except for a sudden chills and fever but after 3hours I will be back to normal again just like nothing really happened. 4. My fever went to 40deg C. 5. I dont have any rashes during the period. I am living in Philippines but is now assigned to Japan. 4. I dont have any night sweats or fatigue also. Just last Jan. 2 it happened again, but this time I didnt go to the hospital. As of now I am still having some appointments to different doctors however they still really don't find any problem with me. I am afraid that when I go back to Japan this monday this will happened again. It is quite difficult to be hospitalized there due to language barrier. That is why I am trying to find help from those who are also experiencing or those who have knowledge about my condition. Thank you so much again! It means a lot.