Yesterday we were at the doctor for routine visit. When his vitals were taken, his BP was ok for him and we had our home BP machine tested against the one at the doctor's and it was very good which surprised them. He was down 2 lbs.( he needs to drop a little) but his temp was 97.2. This is not the first time for that sort of 97.___ reading. As far as I know he always had a normal temp of 98.6. ( If I have 98.6 I am running a fever) What does this mean? Even on warm days he is bundled up.
I know when my elderly cat's temp dropped below what is normal for the cat, the vet said his core temp was dropping and it was a signal that all was not well. Is that the same for humans too?
Mimi-- The body's temp normally fluctuates over the course of the day, by a little bit. I've been told the 97. temps are really still in the normal range. The fact you DH bundles up on warm days is probably habit or the disease working on his internal thermostat. He may feel cold, but that doesn't mean he actually is. The reading at the Dr.'s is on record and if there were concern the Dr. would, I'm sure tell you.
A temp of 97.2 is nothing to be worried about. I had several patients who never made it to the "normal" 98.6. It would probably be worth checking the temp periodically and if it continues to drop, particularly below 97, you should check with the doctor. However, with AD as the body starts to shut down the temp could drop and there would be nothing you could do about it.
Thanks, marsh, for your insight. I was wondering if there are other medical conditions that might make a body temp go down from what was previously a normal 98.6 besides AD? DH is diabetic, has hypertension and cholesterol which is nicely controlled by his meds. He had 3X bypass surgery in 2 005 and a tiny launar tia in 2008. Would any of this come into play?
Mimi, my husband has had several TIAs and he will sometimes seem to have a fever, and an hour later seem to be too cold. His body temperature fluctuates considerably from 97 to 99+. It is an AD "thing" and nothing to be overly concerned about. It seems to correct itself in a matter of hours.