Feeling run down: low-grade fever, fatigue, muscle aches, digestive issues, and tingling...

I'm 28 years old, weighing about 120 lbs, and I don't have any history of chronic illness. For the last 8 months, I've been dealing with a sudden wave of health issues. It started with low-grade fevers—usually hovering around 99-100°F, though it fluctuates. Sometimes it stays right around 99.7°F all day for two weeks straight, then settles into a range of 99.0-99.5°F for a week, and so on. I’m also feeling this intense, heavy fatigue, and I've had persistent pain in my left shoulder blade along with really stiff, aching neck muscles. My digestion has been a mess since the fevers started; I deal with frequent diarrhea, occasional constipation, and just a general need to use the bathroom much more often than usual. My stomach also feels bloated and tight sometimes. An abdominal ultrasound showed some intestinal gas, which led my doctors (my internist, a gastroenterologist, and an infectious disease specialist) to suspect ulcerative colitis. However, a full colonoscopy came back completely normal. As for other tests, I've already done amoeba screening, stool cultures, occult blood tests, chest X-rays, a CBC, ESR, CRP, TSH, T3, T4, a full gynecological exam, urine cultures, and urinalysis—everything there was perfectly fine. Since my infectious disease markers were normal, my internist suggested looking into autoimmune issues, so she ordered C3, C4, RF, ANA, ENA, ANCA, anti-dsDNA, a full celiac panel, immunoelectrophoresis, and protein electrophoresis. Out of all those, the only thing that came back high was the tissue transglutaminase antibodies (tTg-IgG) at 58 U/ml (where anything over 20 is positive). Because of work, I had to travel, so I wasn't able to follow up on further testing immediately. Since then, I've started feeling nauseous after eating, sometimes even throwing up after a meal. Also, being out in the sun seems to make everything worse. About two months ago, I noticed tingling in my left hand and fingers, and my veins would swell up quite a bit—sometimes enough to cause pain and itching. Now, that happens occasionally in my right hand too. Throughout all of this, I've also had urinary issues; I'm going incredibly frequently, maybe 15 to 20 times a day, sometimes more. Sometimes I have to strain hard to go, and even after I think I'm done, I still experience dripping. When I'm in the sun or exerting myself, I get dizzy and nauseous. The intensity of these symptoms fluctuates without any obvious pattern. Because this is making it impossible to work or do basic things, I finally saw an immunologist. They recommended I get an IEF, light chain testing, a urine culture, a cervical swab, and see a urologist, a hematologist, and check Ig levels, PPD, IgE, and cryoglobulins. Based on my results, they mentioned the possibility of a bone marrow biopsy. What could be going on in my case? Sorry for the long post, and thanks in advance for any help!

crimsonhawk5 said:I'm 28 years old, weighing about 120 lbs, and I don't have any history of chronic illness. For the last 8 months, I've been dealing with a sudden wave of health issues. It started with low-grade fevers—usually hovering around 99-100°F, though it fluctuates. Sometimes it stays right around 99.7°F all day for two weeks straight, then settles into a range of 99.0-99.5°F for a week, and so on. I’m also feeling this intense, heavy fatigue, and I've had persistent pain in my left shoulder blade along with really stiff, aching neck muscles. My digestion has been a mess since the fevers started; I deal with frequent diarrhea, occasional constipation, and just a general need to use the bathroom much more often than usual. My stomach also feels bloated and tight sometimes. An abdominal ultrasound showed some intestinal gas, which led my doctors (my internist, a gastroenterologist, and an infectious disease specialist) to suspect ulcerative colitis. However, a full colonoscopy came back completely normal. As for other tests, I've already done amoeba screening, stool cultures, occult blood tests, chest X-rays, a CBC, ESR, CRP, TSH, T3, T4, a full gynecological exam, urine cultures, and urinalysis—everything there was perfectly fine. Since my infectious disease markers were normal, my internist suggested looking into autoimmune issues, so she ordered C3, C4, RF, ANA, ENA, ANCA, anti-dsDNA, a full celiac panel, immunoelectrophoresis, and protein electrophoresis. Out of all those, the only thing that came back high was the tissue transglutaminase antibodies (tTg-IgG) at 58 U/ml (where anything over 20 is positive). Because of work, I had to travel, so I wasn't able to follow up on further testing immediately. Since then, I've started feeling nauseous after eating, sometimes even throwing up after a meal. Also, being out in the sun seems to make everything worse. About two months ago, I noticed tingling in my left hand and fingers, and my veins would swell up quite a bit—sometimes enough to cause pain and itching. Now, that happens occasionally in my right hand too. Throughout all of this, I've also had urinary issues; I'm going incredibly frequently, maybe 15 to 20 times a day, sometimes more. Sometimes I have to strain hard to go, and even after I think I'm done, I still experience dripping. When I'm in the sun or exerting myself, I get dizzy and nauseous. The intensity of these symptoms fluctuates without any obvious pattern. Because this is making it impossible to work or do basic things, I finally saw an immunologist. They recommended I get an IEF, light chain testing, a urine culture, a cervical swab, and see a urologist, a hematologist, and check Ig levels, PPD, IgE, and cryoglobulins. Based on my results, they mentioned the possibility of a bone marrow biopsy. What could be going on in my case? Sorry for the long post, and thanks in advance for any help!

Have you checked back in with your doctor since that high tissue transglutaminase result came in? Personally, I’d sit down with a solid gastroenterologist to finally nail down whether it's celiac disease or not. To me, that’s the biggest red flag here.

I just saw an immunologist who ordered all those tests mentioned at the end of this thread, and I’d already been to a GI specialist before my colonoscopy. I was wondering—is it actually possible to have celiac disease even if the gliadin antibodies come back negative? In my case, both the IgA and IgG levels are totally normal.

crimsonhawk5 said:I'm 28 years old, weighing about 120 lbs, and I don't have any history of chronic illness. For the last 8 months, I've been dealing with a sudden wave of health issues. It started with low-grade fevers—usually hovering around 99-100°F, though it fluctuates. Sometimes it stays right around 99.7°F all day for two weeks straight, then settles into a range of 99.0-99.5°F for a week, and so on. I’m also feeling this intense, heavy fatigue, and I've had persistent pain in my left shoulder blade along with really stiff, aching neck muscles. My digestion has been a mess since the fevers started; I deal with frequent diarrhea, occasional constipation, and just a general need to use the bathroom much more often than usual. My stomach also feels bloated and tight sometimes. An abdominal ultrasound showed some intestinal gas, which led my doctors (my internist, a gastroenterologist, and an infectious disease specialist) to suspect ulcerative colitis. However, a full colonoscopy came back completely normal. As for other tests, I've already done amoeba screening, stool cultures, occult blood tests, chest X-rays, a CBC, ESR, CRP, TSH, T3, T4, a full gynecological exam, urine cultures, and urinalysis—everything there was perfectly fine. Since my infectious disease markers were normal, my internist suggested looking into autoimmune issues, so she ordered C3, C4, RF, ANA, ENA, ANCA, anti-dsDNA, a full celiac panel, immunoelectrophoresis, and protein electrophoresis. Out of all those, the only thing that came back high was the tissue transglutaminase antibodies (tTg-IgG) at 58 U/ml (where anything over 20 is positive). Because of work, I had to travel, so I wasn't able to follow up on further testing immediately. Since then, I've started feeling nauseous after eating, sometimes even throwing up after a meal. Also, being out in the sun seems to make everything worse. About two months ago, I noticed tingling in my left hand and fingers, and my veins would swell up quite a bit—sometimes enough to cause pain and itching. Now, that happens occasionally in my right hand too. Throughout all of this, I've also had urinary issues; I'm going incredibly frequently, maybe 15 to 20 times a day, sometimes more. Sometimes I have to strain hard to go, and even after I think I'm done, I still experience dripping. When I'm in the sun or exerting myself, I get dizzy and nauseous. The intensity of these symptoms fluctuates without any obvious pattern. Because this is making it impossible to work or do basic things, I finally saw an immunologist. They recommended I get an IEF, light chain testing, a urine culture, a cervical swab, and see a urologist, a hematologist, and check Ig levels, PPD, IgE, and cryoglobulins. Based on my results, they mentioned the possibility of a bone marrow biopsy. What could be going on in my case? Sorry for the long post, and thanks in advance for any help!

A lot of rambling for very little substance. Here's the rule: state the problem in five sentences. List the most important diagnoses or suspicions using standard medical abbreviations like "dx," "obs," "i.o.," or "susp." And please, don't claim you don't have them when you clearly do.
Post the results
and the potential therapy.

I’m running a fever between 98.6 and 100.4, feeling totally wiped out, nauseous, and getting this weird tingling sensation in my hands. I’ve also been dealing with frequent trips to both the bathroom and the toilet, plus some dizzy spells.
Regarding concerns about an autoimmune issue, my infectious disease specialist noted a diagnosis of chronic colitis.
My internist wrote down: status febrile tracheitis, colitis under observation, and possible celiac disease.
Then the immunologist noted: subfebrile status under observation.

As for the test results, everything looks normal except for the abdominal ultrasound, which showed significant gas buildup in the colon. Also, my tissue transglutaminase antibodies (tTg-IgG) came back at 58 U/ml (where anything over 20 is considered positive). A full colonoscopy didn't show any abnormalities. I'm not on any medication right now. Thanks in advance!

crimsonhawk5 said:I’m running a fever between 98.6 and 100.4, feeling totally wiped out, nauseous, and getting this weird tingling sensation in my hands. I’ve also been dealing with frequent trips to both the bathroom and the toilet, plus some dizzy spells.
Regarding concerns about an autoimmune issue, my infectious disease specialist noted a diagnosis of chronic colitis.
My internist wrote down: status febrile tracheitis, colitis under observation, and possible celiac disease.
Then the immunologist noted: subfebrile status under observation.

As for the test results, everything looks normal except for the abdominal ultrasound, which showed significant gas buildup in the colon. Also, my tissue transglutaminase antibodies (tTg-IgG) came back at 58 U/ml (where anything over 20 is considered positive). A full colonoscopy didn't show any abnormalities. I'm not on any medication right now. Thanks in advance!

Things have improved significantly, but you absolutely need to schedule a GI consult for an EGD and a deep duodenoscopy with biopsies.
Get those done—or repeated—before you go in for bloodwork like a CBC, CRP, transaminases, Ca, P, K, Na, Mg, CK, LDH, EMA, IgA, and gliadin IgG antibodies.
There is more than enough reason here to strongly suspect celiac disease.

Thanks for the reply 🙂