Fever and chills again -advice

My husband started on mek/taf a couple of weeks ago.  Spiked fevers, shaking chills, onco. took him off Mek and started on taf only, planning to add the Mek again in a month or so if he can tolerate the taf alone.   

taking 150 mg Taf /twice daily and still spiking fevers, shaking chills and now nausea and vomiting.  After starting taf only, called on-call onco. at Roanoke hospital and she said, very firmly I might add, fever and shaking chills are a side effect of the medication, it may not be comfortable but it is going to happen so deal with it.  I said, "okay."  It is what I needed to hear and now my husband and I are of the opinion that in order to get the meds., and we want him to get the meds. he/we are going to have to deal with the fevers/chills – and now the vomiting (sorry).  So now i monitor his temp. and as soon as it gets over 101 degrees I give him three ibuprofen and start physically trying to keep him cool and encouraging him to drink ice water.  If temp is not coming down in 30 min. I add two 325mg. tylenol.  Most of the time the ibu. does the trick.  two nights ago he had a 103.8 and i packed him in ice under the arms, behind the knees, and the back of his neck, but after the tylenol it came down.  We are learning not to panic and just deal. 

Please, I am not giving you advice or telling you to do as we are doing.  This is just something that is working for us right now as treatment is the only hope and there is a lot that we can do to treat the symptoms.  I have read some on line posts recently that said that some doctors are giving low dose corticosteroids to control the fever.  That is something we will ask our onco. when we see him in a couple of weeks.  I hope things get better for you soon and know that you are not in this alone.  I am sorry I do not post often, I am just very busy but this message board is very helpful to me. 

Linda Raugh

My husband started on mek/taf a couple of weeks ago.  Spiked fevers, shaking chills, onco. took him off Mek and started on taf only, planning to add the Mek again in a month or so if he can tolerate the taf alone.   

taking 150 mg Taf /twice daily and still spiking fevers, shaking chills and now nausea and vomiting.  After starting taf only, called on-call onco. at Roanoke hospital and she said, very firmly I might add, fever and shaking chills are a side effect of the medication, it may not be comfortable but it is going to happen so deal with it.  I said, "okay."  It is what I needed to hear and now my husband and I are of the opinion that in order to get the meds., and we want him to get the meds. he/we are going to have to deal with the fevers/chills – and now the vomiting (sorry).  So now i monitor his temp. and as soon as it gets over 101 degrees I give him three ibuprofen and start physically trying to keep him cool and encouraging him to drink ice water.  If temp is not coming down in 30 min. I add two 325mg. tylenol.  Most of the time the ibu. does the trick.  two nights ago he had a 103.8 and i packed him in ice under the arms, behind the knees, and the back of his neck, but after the tylenol it came down.  We are learning not to panic and just deal. 

Please, I am not giving you advice or telling you to do as we are doing.  This is just something that is working for us right now as treatment is the only hope and there is a lot that we can do to treat the symptoms.  I have read some on line posts recently that said that some doctors are giving low dose corticosteroids to control the fever.  That is something we will ask our onco. when we see him in a couple of weeks.  I hope things get better for you soon and know that you are not in this alone.  I am sorry I do not post often, I am just very busy but this message board is very helpful to me. 

Linda Raugh

My husband started on mek/taf a couple of weeks ago.  Spiked fevers, shaking chills, onco. took him off Mek and started on taf only, planning to add the Mek again in a month or so if he can tolerate the taf alone.   

taking 150 mg Taf /twice daily and still spiking fevers, shaking chills and now nausea and vomiting.  After starting taf only, called on-call onco. at Roanoke hospital and she said, very firmly I might add, fever and shaking chills are a side effect of the medication, it may not be comfortable but it is going to happen so deal with it.  I said, "okay."  It is what I needed to hear and now my husband and I are of the opinion that in order to get the meds., and we want him to get the meds. he/we are going to have to deal with the fevers/chills – and now the vomiting (sorry).  So now i monitor his temp. and as soon as it gets over 101 degrees I give him three ibuprofen and start physically trying to keep him cool and encouraging him to drink ice water.  If temp is not coming down in 30 min. I add two 325mg. tylenol.  Most of the time the ibu. does the trick.  two nights ago he had a 103.8 and i packed him in ice under the arms, behind the knees, and the back of his neck, but after the tylenol it came down.  We are learning not to panic and just deal. 

Please, I am not giving you advice or telling you to do as we are doing.  This is just something that is working for us right now as treatment is the only hope and there is a lot that we can do to treat the symptoms.  I have read some on line posts recently that said that some doctors are giving low dose corticosteroids to control the fever.  That is something we will ask our onco. when we see him in a couple of weeks.  I hope things get better for you soon and know that you are not in this alone.  I am sorry I do not post often, I am just very busy but this message board is very helpful to me. 

Linda Raugh

My husband started on mek/taf a couple of weeks ago.  Spiked fevers, shaking chills, onco. took him off Mek and started on taf only, planning to add the Mek again in a month or so if he can tolerate the taf alone.   

taking 150 mg Taf /twice daily and still spiking fevers, shaking chills and now nausea and vomiting.  After starting taf only, called on-call onco. at Roanoke hospital and she said, very firmly I might add, fever and shaking chills are a side effect of the medication, it may not be comfortable but it is going to happen so deal with it.  I said, "okay."  It is what I needed to hear and now my husband and I are of the opinion that in order to get the meds., and we want him to get the meds. he/we are going to have to deal with the fevers/chills – and now the vomiting (sorry).  So now i monitor his temp. and as soon as it gets over 101 degrees I give him three ibuprofen and start physically trying to keep him cool and encouraging him to drink ice water.  If temp is not coming down in 30 min. I add two 325mg. tylenol.  Most of the time the ibu. does the trick.  two nights ago he had a 103.8 and i packed him in ice under the arms, behind the knees, and the back of his neck, but after the tylenol it came down.  We are learning not to panic and just deal. 

Please, I am not giving you advice or telling you to do as we are doing.  This is just something that is working for us right now as treatment is the only hope and there is a lot that we can do to treat the symptoms.  I have read some on line posts recently that said that some doctors are giving low dose corticosteroids to control the fever.  That is something we will ask our onco. when we see him in a couple of weeks.  I hope things get better for you soon and know that you are not in this alone.  I am sorry I do not post often, I am just very busy but this message board is very helpful to me. 

Linda Raugh

My husband started on mek/taf a couple of weeks ago.  Spiked fevers, shaking chills, onco. took him off Mek and started on taf only, planning to add the Mek again in a month or so if he can tolerate the taf alone.   

taking 150 mg Taf /twice daily and still spiking fevers, shaking chills and now nausea and vomiting.  After starting taf only, called on-call onco. at Roanoke hospital and she said, very firmly I might add, fever and shaking chills are a side effect of the medication, it may not be comfortable but it is going to happen so deal with it.  I said, "okay."  It is what I needed to hear and now my husband and I are of the opinion that in order to get the meds., and we want him to get the meds. he/we are going to have to deal with the fevers/chills – and now the vomiting (sorry).  So now i monitor his temp. and as soon as it gets over 101 degrees I give him three ibuprofen and start physically trying to keep him cool and encouraging him to drink ice water.  If temp is not coming down in 30 min. I add two 325mg. tylenol.  Most of the time the ibu. does the trick.  two nights ago he had a 103.8 and i packed him in ice under the arms, behind the knees, and the back of his neck, but after the tylenol it came down.  We are learning not to panic and just deal. 

Please, I am not giving you advice or telling you to do as we are doing.  This is just something that is working for us right now as treatment is the only hope and there is a lot that we can do to treat the symptoms.  I have read some on line posts recently that said that some doctors are giving low dose corticosteroids to control the fever.  That is something we will ask our onco. when we see him in a couple of weeks.  I hope things get better for you soon and know that you are not in this alone.  I am sorry I do not post often, I am just very busy but this message board is very helpful to me. 

Linda Raugh

My husband started on mek/taf a couple of weeks ago.  Spiked fevers, shaking chills, onco. took him off Mek and started on taf only, planning to add the Mek again in a month or so if he can tolerate the taf alone.   

taking 150 mg Taf /twice daily and still spiking fevers, shaking chills and now nausea and vomiting.  After starting taf only, called on-call onco. at Roanoke hospital and she said, very firmly I might add, fever and shaking chills are a side effect of the medication, it may not be comfortable but it is going to happen so deal with it.  I said, "okay."  It is what I needed to hear and now my husband and I are of the opinion that in order to get the meds., and we want him to get the meds. he/we are going to have to deal with the fevers/chills – and now the vomiting (sorry).  So now i monitor his temp. and as soon as it gets over 101 degrees I give him three ibuprofen and start physically trying to keep him cool and encouraging him to drink ice water.  If temp is not coming down in 30 min. I add two 325mg. tylenol.  Most of the time the ibu. does the trick.  two nights ago he had a 103.8 and i packed him in ice under the arms, behind the knees, and the back of his neck, but after the tylenol it came down.  We are learning not to panic and just deal. 

Please, I am not giving you advice or telling you to do as we are doing.  This is just something that is working for us right now as treatment is the only hope and there is a lot that we can do to treat the symptoms.  I have read some on line posts recently that said that some doctors are giving low dose corticosteroids to control the fever.  That is something we will ask our onco. when we see him in a couple of weeks.  I hope things get better for you soon and know that you are not in this alone.  I am sorry I do not post often, I am just very busy but this message board is very helpful to me. 

Linda Raugh

Hi Cathy and Linda – Not sure if this will work for your husbands but for my sister, we eventually found that using Tylenol and anti-nausea meds worked best when taken about an hour BEFORE taf/mek meds. She had the same side effects – fever, chills, nausea, vomiting and exploding headaches – but heading off the side effects before they started was how we managed to get it under control.

My best thoughts and wishes to you both.

Hi Cathy and Linda – Not sure if this will work for your husbands but for my sister, we eventually found that using Tylenol and anti-nausea meds worked best when taken about an hour BEFORE taf/mek meds. She had the same side effects – fever, chills, nausea, vomiting and exploding headaches – but heading off the side effects before they started was how we managed to get it under control.

My best thoughts and wishes to you both.

Hi Cathy and Linda – Not sure if this will work for your husbands but for my sister, we eventually found that using Tylenol and anti-nausea meds worked best when taken about an hour BEFORE taf/mek meds. She had the same side effects – fever, chills, nausea, vomiting and exploding headaches – but heading off the side effects before they started was how we managed to get it under control.

My best thoughts and wishes to you both.