day 5 after surgery for my hubby ( clyde ) still at the hospital

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Vanessa

Active member
Joined
Jun 1, 2010
Messages
30
Location
virginia
Hi everybody wanted to give youll a quick update. My hubby has spiked a high fever with chills and sweating.They are working on tring to find out what is going on but think it maybe just viral.Ive been reading on here about several people who have had a low grade fever several days/weeks after surgery and this is normal but has any of you had a high fever and they couldnt find what it was?

They have done a full run down with a CBC ( white blood cell count is normal)
blood cultures that havent grown anything as of this morning
urine sample no results yet
waiting for a sputum ( coughed up snot ?lol ) sample


I will be asking them to do a chest xray if he runs a fever tonight or in the morning


He has a history with Endocarditis which lead up to this surgery and they are concerned about that ofcorse they drew those cultures last night but nothing is showing up.


What else should I ask them to check?
 
Sorry Hubby is having complications. Did they put him on antibiotics after the surgery or now? When I had c section years ago ran samething , Doc said it was from the surgery and it just went away after day or two. Hope Clyde's does the same. I had other problems so don't know what you should ask , I'm sure some other folks may have some ideas.
Vanessa you hang in there and make sure your taking care of yourself . Don't need to be laying in the bed next to hubby.

Good luck
 
HI Vanessa...i also have been running a fever and have had chills on and off since surgery.(2 weeks ago) . My blood test yesterday was fine...showed no infection.....I go for an ECHO on Friday so we will see that that may reveal.....I keep hearing that the surgery itself and the bodies response, and the lasting effects of anesthesia can produce fevers and many on here have told me they also experienced them but that in time they did diminish. Tell Clyde to keep positive thoughts.....he still has the worst part behind him....all these little things will resolve.....Michael
 
Vanessa,
Please define high fever. What was/is his temperature? Blood culutres, I think are read at 12, 24, 36, and 48 hours, so if first was ok, that's only part of the picture. There is a big difference between a high fever in the hospital and a low-grade fever. I agree with Nancy; ask for an opinion from an infectious disease specialist. Is he still having SOB?
 
As always, Nancy is so right.

He needs an Infectious Disease doc. Don't let them brush you off.
 
hi vanessa when i ran a fever in the hospital it sucked because most of the time it was masked by all the pain meds. so when i was discharged the first night home it was 101.8. i called and they didnt seem concerned. they did multiple tests and chest xrays and never found the cause. at 4 1/2 weeks post op, i am finally fever free. it slowly lowered until it was totally gone. i also kept hearing that it is normal for people after surgery and for some people, it is just the way their body responds to surgery. hope he gets better!
 
thanks everybody im still concerned about the posibillity of endocarditis I will mention about seeing an infectous desease doc. Also this fever spiked within 10 mins of being checked and it was normal but was having sereous chills after that calmed down a little 5 mins later took his temp and it was at 100.3 then 20 mins it was at 102.8 . they put him on an antibiotic just because.then stopped it this morning so he wouldnt develope a resistents so that will mask the posibility of another fever before tomorrow I would think. I wished I could be more detailed of everything . Ied feel better if I knew with no dout that it was normal
 
Don't just mention it, demand it. You need an Infectious Disease Doctor on the case pronto!!!!!!

His doctors are guessing now. You don't need that nor does he.
 
UPDATE : My hubby had an echo done this morning. We are waiting to see the cardiologist for results , ( this is how they found the endocarditis the first time ) Ill let everyone know as soon as I can.
 
Vanessa said:
UPDATE : My hubby had an echo done this morning. We are waiting to see the cardiologist for results , ( this is how they found the endocarditis the first time ) Ill let everyone know as soon as I can.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the update, I hope the echo if fine. I'm guessing the blood cultures still aren't growing anything? That is a good sign. How does his incision look?
 
hi vanessa,
sorry you and your husband are going through this. hopefully they will find the source very soon. nancy, however, is right.
please advocate and find an infectious disease specialist.
we look forward to hearing from you soon.
all the best,
sylvia
 
Hi Vanessa, I am BeanCounter's wife and I am an ICU nurse. I agree you should get a consult for a specialist. But also how are they taking his temp? Does he have a swan-ganze line (central line in his neck or chest that is YELLOW in color)? If so, that would be an internal temp and VERY accurate. If they have already pulled that line - are they taking it from his ear/mouth/arm-pit? If it is one of these latter ways - get a different thermometer to double check that the temp is right. Your comment that it changed so quickly tells me that maybe there is something up with HOW they are taking it. don't get me wrong, I think somethings up, but that much fluctuation makes me wonder where the disconnect is - esp. if his white count is ok.

Anything over 38.5 will require blood cultures - but be sure they are pulling them from MULTIPLE sources - a sick as WELL as from a central or main line that he already has. AND if he has that main line in (the yellow one that I spoke of earlier) see if they will consider PULLING IT and culturing the TIP. A lot of times there can be an infection in the LINE itself and once it is pulled, the fever will resolve. But they need to culture the tip to make sure that it is positive and then they will know the source. They may not want to pull it for fear that they need that access, but if it is the cause of the problem, it needs to come out. ASAP. The other lines could also be a problem... any arterial lines he may have (in the wrist or groin where they pull blood from). The infectious disease MD's will address this as well.

I agree with everyone, do not stop advocating for your husband. I believe he will be fine, but getting to the bottom of the fever thing is VERY important especially with a history of endocarditis. My last question would be, is he HOT? Beancounter is always HOT. I got a fan for him to stay cool. He never once used sheets and was always warm... this is his baseline. They were a bit annoyed with me and the fan, but this kept him comfortable. Also - beancounter requires a lot of calories since he is an endurance athlete, he had not eaten in 2 days - not like normal.... he had a fever and was sweating one night. I got him 2 ensure's and he stopped sweating and fever went down in about 15 minutes. Sometimes it is not the obvious.......for him, it was blood sugar. Be sure that they are checking glucose....

I hope this helps and be sure to take care of yourself too.....
 
Just hoping that your husband's condition is better. I hope that they can find the source of why he's running a fever.

But, I have to say that running a fever after OHS is not unusual. I ran fevers for all three of my OHS. In fact, my room was soooo cold, my husband could not stand to be in there for long intervals.

As others have cautioned though, if the fever continues best consult with a specialist!

Good luck!
 
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Hi everybody sorry it has took so long to get back with youll , my hubby didnt have a high temp anymore after that 1 time . The cultures were negative I assume cause they never said anything . They released him Thursday night and hes been doing fine other than staying tired . We are keeping an eye on his weight do to the fact that he has lost 6 lbs from his normal weight but we are sure this is because the hospital food was horrible and he hardly ate it plus there was only 2 options to choose . As for the ecko they said they would call Friday or Monday and let us know and they didnt call friday so we will see on monday . thanks everyone
 
Glad things are getting better and Clyde is home. I would give them a call on Monday just to ease a worried mind. Tell hubby take it easy and eat and drink , needs to get his strength back. Make sure you take care of yourself too .
Heal well
 
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