To ask anyone who has medical qualifications or even a mild interest in my ill health..

[Materdolores]

..... what was wrong with me yesterday?

Yesterday afternoon I began to feel really cold. Almost as if I was sitting in a freezer. I put a throw around me but couldn't warm up. I dished up the dinner about an hour later and by this time I was shaking with the cold. I struggled to eat and was beginning to feel very unwell. I left the table and went straight to bed. I was wrapped up in my duvet but had that uncontrollable shivering. I was utterly freezing and had to put socks on and a warm cardigan on top of my winter nightie.

My DH made me a hot drink and then a hot lemsip. He then lay next to me in the bed to keep me warm. I woke up a couple of hours later, about 9 pm and DH said that I was burning up. I still felt cold. This morning I woke up feeling fine but a little weak.

What was that all about?

I was bitten by something a few days ago in the garden and I have big itchy lumps on my leg and neck. Could my shivering fever be related? Should I buy a few gallons of industrial strength DDT and kill every crawler in the garden and surrounding 10 square miles?

I thought I was going to die. I was writing my will and choosing coffins and hymns for the Requiem Mass. Apart from having terminal dramatic tendencies, does anyone know what was wrong with me?

Low temperature can be related to sepsis.

I always feel cold when I have a high temp. So a virus could have caused it or some kind of infection. Do your bites look infected? If tgey do and you're not better now, then OOH for you, I think...

I had a viral thing recently that went from feeling a bit tired to blankets and shivering in the space of an hour. Took to my bed for 36 hours and was fine again.

Oh thanks Tinkly. D'ye think I'm going to die soon?

You probably had a high temperature. The paracetamol in the lemsip would have helped bring it down.

Hi Camels, no apparent infection in the bites.

Exploded, that's almost exactly what I had but sick for only 12 hours and a little under par for today, so 24 hours max.

I'll cancel the Funeral Directors, survival seems likely.

Out of 4 of us, 3 have just had exactly the same thing. I'd guess it's a virus.

You're less of a wuss than me then.

Exploded, 😊

It sounds like you had a fever. The shivering is called rigors and is common with a fever. The lemsip probably helped. You may have had a virus. Keep an eye on it though if you continue to feel unwell. As someone previously said a low temperature is a sign of sepsis but usually in the very young or elderly. Keep an eye on your bites, they could also be the reason. Keep them clean and get some piriton to help with the swelling. Hope you feel better.

You probably caught a chill, or it just means you were under the weather and ran a temperature because of something minor and viral.

The weather was unseasonably warm last week. Do you have any idea what bit you? Might it have been a tick?

I'm wondering if what you describe is borrelial. Lyme Disease is notoriously difficult to diagnose, though.

I'd really like to know that you weren't bitten by a tick! (You will remember if you had to pull it out of your skin).

Virus. Rigours. Not fun, are they?
Reach for paracetamol sooner next time.

Probably malaria. Best to have a couple of G&Ts just to make sure.

Definitely not a tick. I would know a tick as I often used to find them on the dog. shudders

Good, I shall be able to sleep at night now

Gin, eh? With tonic?

Go on then, I'll get the Hendricks.

I like your style of doctoring, Ferrety.

Have a good rest High. I'm in a tick free environment here.

Viral thingy or maybe the plague. Maybe paint a Red Cross on your door.

A couple of years ago I was lunch for a few dozen mozzies and had to take to my bed with similar symptoms. Needed anti biotics in the end.

Sure G&T will do just as well.....

24 hour flu thing. Glad you're feeling better.

But yes, G&T to be on the safe side

Dr Silver says you were poorlysick with a bug.

Infection, usually viral, releases pyrogens which reset your thermostat in the hypothalamus, telling your brain that you are freezing. You shiver to produce heat and vasoconstrict to prevent loss of heat, you feel icy cold. When your temperature reaches the new set point (generally nice and high if you've gone for the full blown rigors) then your body realises your >40C and you suddenly feel hot. You vasodilate (flushed skin) and sweat. Paracetamol helps reset the set point earlier than the natural course of a fever. The fever is generally thought to be a helpful immune response but when you start to feel like death it's usually a good bet to take paracetamol...

... or something like that.

Virus. My DCs had this a couple of weeks ago. Went from being totally fine to burning up and shivering. Woke up fine the next day.