I'm going to keep this short as my raised temperature/fever has continued since Thursday night and I am completely exhausted. My temperature has barely dipped below 38.5 for 4 days and this afternoon got to 40.3 which was disappointing because it had been 38.1 this morning and I was starting to feel a bit better. I have just slept all day, even moving to the toilet leaves me feeling a bit dizzy, and I am having to take morphine to get round the headaches which have been relentless. I essentially sleep for about three hours a night as I have a cycle of painkillers and either headaches, temperature or dry mouth wakes me regularly.
But all this crap has a silver lining. My neutrophils continue to rise: 0.88 on Saturday, 1.08 Sunday and 1.15 today, and there is a good possibility that I am suffering from 'engraftment syndrome'. Apparently when donor cells are establishing themselves in the bones as they produce blood products they also produce other chemicals which can induce, in some people, fever like effects. Which will just stop at some point. And if it is this then that is wonderful: proof at last that my donor cells are doing something. There is also the possibility that there is an infection somewhere but so far nothing has grown on my blood cultures. I have developed a mild rash pretty much all over, which seems like an odd thing to be happy about, but it shows that there is possibly a little fight going on, which is what we want. It's a shame it has made me feel this shit so close to the date I was told I would go home, but I am so happy it is working.
And there really is nothing to worry about. The consultant here told me: 'more than 50% of our patients have temperatures, this is our bread and butter. Do not worry.' So I'm not, I'm going to bed.
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