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What Causes Body Tremors, High BP, Weakness, Fever And Back Pain?
Question: My husband, suddenly feels tingly all over. Then weak, very cold, back hurting, started shaking uncontrollably . I could not get a blood pressure reading. The cuff would only keep pressuring up. When I did get it to read it was 216/92. His temp was 100.8 in one ear and 101.8 in the other. Then he got real hot. He said it felt hot all the way trough his body. This lasted 4-6 hours coming and going in intensity. He was left feeling very weak. This happened a little over a year ago. That time we went to the ER. His temp then was 106 at home. By the time we got to the ER and had been processed to a nurse his temp was 103.9. When it was 103.9 he felt better. He felt it was over. We waited to be seen 2-3 hours and there was no sign we would be seen soon and all symptoms had gone away, we went home. Last night was the first time he has had the symptoms again. I do not know if it relates to it but he had a nutria grain bar and a banana for breakfast and a mug of coffee which had 2 teaspoons of sugar for breakfast. The symptoms started a hour or two later. He just had blood work done and everything was ok. Any Thoughts?
Brief Answer:
If systolic (upper) blood pressure is over 180, go to ER.
Detailed Answer:
I am not sure if the BP you are describing, 216/92 is from the episode a year ago or current? If it is current, retake it 1 more time and if the upper number is over 180 or the lower number is over 110, you should go to the ER immediately, as this is a very unsafe blood pressure and can cause damage.
Regarding the overall problem, it sounds like he is having symptoms of an infection or some source for bacteremia. Symptoms of this are high fever, chills, shakes, light headedness, body aches. But usually this does not cause the blood pressure to soar.
An allergic reaction, if you are thinking of that relating to what he ate, does not usually give a high fever. But I suppose it is possible.
He sounds quite ill, and even if you had a bad experience waiting in the ER last time, if his blood pressure is so high again, or he is so ill suddenly, I think it warrants trying to have him seen promptly.
If systolic (upper) blood pressure is over 180, go to ER.
Detailed Answer:
I am not sure if the BP you are describing, 216/92 is from the episode a year ago or current? If it is current, retake it 1 more time and if the upper number is over 180 or the lower number is over 110, you should go to the ER immediately, as this is a very unsafe blood pressure and can cause damage.
Regarding the overall problem, it sounds like he is having symptoms of an infection or some source for bacteremia. Symptoms of this are high fever, chills, shakes, light headedness, body aches. But usually this does not cause the blood pressure to soar.
An allergic reaction, if you are thinking of that relating to what he ate, does not usually give a high fever. But I suppose it is possible.
He sounds quite ill, and even if you had a bad experience waiting in the ER last time, if his blood pressure is so high again, or he is so ill suddenly, I think it warrants trying to have him seen promptly.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Blood pressure was from 2 days ago. Later, after symptoms had evened off his BP was 128/61. That is about norm. We would have gone to ER but waited and monitored symptoms because last time they only lasted 2-4 hrs total. Fever, although iit got high last time did not stay high and symptoms eased off. This latest time the symptoms came and went for 8-10 hrs. But when temp went up we used ice packs. The BP was high but I was not sure if the reading was correct since I only got one reading. The cuff just kept on pressuring up until we had to remove it due to the pain it was giving the arm. He just retired, ins was good only until end of XXXXXXX New ins want start until August first. Could the body be reacting to the sugar of his breakfast. He gets the shakes sometimes if he get cereal or fruit an banana with coffee..
Brief Answer:
Consider evaluation by a rheumatologist or immunologist/infectious dis. dr.
Detailed Answer:
Your husband's symptoms are unusual and may need to be sorted out once you get your new insurance. I am thinking that a an immunology/infectious disease specialist might be able to explore these "fevers of unknown origin" the best. Or a good rheumatologist might be able to help too. Since it may take a while to get in to be seen by one of these specialists, you might want to schedule an appointment now. If there is a major university hospital he can go to, I would consider that over local community docs.
That said, I don't mean you should ignore it if another episode happens with a very high fever and blood pressure before August.
If you aren't sure of the accuracy of the automatic blood pressure cuff, you might want to try a manual blood pressure cuff and a cheap stethoscope. With the question of such dangerously high pressures happening during these febrile episodes, I think it would be worth considering.
I tried to find information regarding if hypoglycemia can cause fevers. I found an old article from JAMA (1968) that suggested that it can, but I was unable to find anything since. I am wondering if the stress of a rapid drop in blood sugar (following a sugary breakfast) triggers this inflammatory or immune response in your husband. There are inflammatory "mediators" that are released in response to infection but can be released inappropriately in other situations too. And that should be explored.
If your husband has a history of shakes after coffee with sugar and cereal, consider adding some source of protein (beans, tofu, chicken, fish, meat) and complex carbohydrate (unrefined grains) to his breakfast so that blood sugar doesn't suddenly shoot up and then drop precipitously.
This whole thing could be a brief transient bacteremia, which resolves on it's own, but given how high his fever has gotten during these episodes, and that it has reoccured, I think it is important to have it evaluated further.
Consider evaluation by a rheumatologist or immunologist/infectious dis. dr.
Detailed Answer:
Your husband's symptoms are unusual and may need to be sorted out once you get your new insurance. I am thinking that a an immunology/infectious disease specialist might be able to explore these "fevers of unknown origin" the best. Or a good rheumatologist might be able to help too. Since it may take a while to get in to be seen by one of these specialists, you might want to schedule an appointment now. If there is a major university hospital he can go to, I would consider that over local community docs.
That said, I don't mean you should ignore it if another episode happens with a very high fever and blood pressure before August.
If you aren't sure of the accuracy of the automatic blood pressure cuff, you might want to try a manual blood pressure cuff and a cheap stethoscope. With the question of such dangerously high pressures happening during these febrile episodes, I think it would be worth considering.
I tried to find information regarding if hypoglycemia can cause fevers. I found an old article from JAMA (1968) that suggested that it can, but I was unable to find anything since. I am wondering if the stress of a rapid drop in blood sugar (following a sugary breakfast) triggers this inflammatory or immune response in your husband. There are inflammatory "mediators" that are released in response to infection but can be released inappropriately in other situations too. And that should be explored.
If your husband has a history of shakes after coffee with sugar and cereal, consider adding some source of protein (beans, tofu, chicken, fish, meat) and complex carbohydrate (unrefined grains) to his breakfast so that blood sugar doesn't suddenly shoot up and then drop precipitously.
This whole thing could be a brief transient bacteremia, which resolves on it's own, but given how high his fever has gotten during these episodes, and that it has reoccured, I think it is important to have it evaluated further.
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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