Does anyone have Valley Fever?

Hello @misslauren

I am sorry to hear of your son's longstanding problem with Valley Fever. We have several members on Connect who have discussed this problem. Here is a link to all of the posts that mention Valley Fever.
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/search/?search=Valley+fever
I encourage you to read these posts and to ask questions or comment on what others have said about this.

You say that it has spread to many organs in his body. Could you share what his most bothersome symptoms are right now?

Yes, his main problem is in his bones. He has alot of pain in his shoulders down to his wrists. The doctor is still running tests to see if his organs are involved. He also has pain in his back. Thank you for responding, sorry it took me so long but I'm suffering from Long Covid with many symptoms for two and a half years. I will look the link and read the posts and will give him the link. Thank you so much. Lauren

Well, I can relay my experience in case it's helpful in some way...

I got Valley Fever back in Dec 2022 and took Fluconazole every day for about 6 months. Despite the annoying side effects of Fluconazole (itching, dry skin, and dry everything), it worked for me and I was finally "clear" of VF by June 2023. I was 48 yo when I got it. I'm 51 now.

My VF stayed confined to my lungs, though I did have some pretty achy knees and ankles for the last couple months. The achyness really reminded me of when I had growing pains as a little kit. It was pretty bad.

I also had horrible flu-like symptoms, fever, fatigue, MASSIVE night-sweats, etc. My bone and joint pain were not due to it actually getting INTO my bones and joints though. More of a systemic symptom (if I'm remembering the docs explanation correctly). In that regard, I was lucky. Though rare, VF can indeed spread to things outside the lungs--like joints, bones, or the nervous system. I believe it can manifest externally on the skin too.

Most commonly though, it's a respiratory thing and people recover... sometimes very quickly, and some people deal with it for years.

Some people never even have symptoms, apparently.

Though I'm recovered, I have permanent "cavitations" in one of my lungs. They're stable, but could one day get worse or rupture. So, I have to get a chest x-ray yearly to ensure they're not getting worse. So far, they're staying stable, which is better than nothing, I guess.

I do still cough a lot, and am more sensitive now to any impurities in the air. Just something I'll have to live with, but otherwise I'm fully recovered and back to normal activities, exercise, etc.

It sounds like your son has what's called the "disseminated" version of VF. That's usually what they classify any version of VF that migrates outside the respiratory system. I think they tend to treat that with intravenous antifungals.

Thank you for sharing your experience with FV. Yes my son has disseminated FV. He is on antifungal pill, the same one you were on. I am glad you have less symptoms. I would like to know where you live because VF is more prevalent in certain areas. My son's doctor said she doesn't know much about VF. Hoping to find one who does . Thank you again. Lauren

When I caught VF, we were living in north-central Phoenix, AZ. Not far from the I-17 and Happy Valley Road. They were doing a TON of new construction out there, so digging-up and moving massive amounts of earth for many months. That (all the dust and stuff getting kicked up) is almost certainly the culprit. Coccidioides lives in the soil, and deep soil disturbances can kick it up into the air to be breathed in.

It was a primary care physician at the Mayo Clinic Family Medicine Arrowhead clinic that knew to test me for VF. My usual PC was on vacation at the time, so I saw someone else and can't remember exactly who it was, but most doctors in the West & Southwest will be familiar with VF.

Though knowledge of VF is spreading (as is VF itself) throughout other parts of the country, it's still best-known in the western regions, where it's endemic.

After getting onto oral Fluconazole, I was scheduled for a couple check-ins (virtually) with the Infectious Diseases folks at the Mayo Clinic's AZ campus (don't remember if it was the Phoenix or Scottsdale campus). That was more for tracking my case though (they report such cases to the CDC), as well as to simply answer my myriad questions.

Since my case never became disseminated, I didn't need their expertise beyond that.

The University of Arizona has its "Valley Fever Center for Excellence" (https://vfce.arizona.edu/)... but I don't believe they see or treat patients. I think it's just a research endeavor, but that may have changed in recent years. Might be worth looking into.

Thank you again! Sorry it has taken me awhile to get back . I have Long Covid that has caused my brain to slow down and my whole body. I thought you probably lived in Arizona. I had read that 2/3's of FV was in Arizona . Do you still live there? My son caught FV in San Luis Obispo, Ca. I live in Lompoc,Ca. Bakersfield,Ca has a good treatment center at Kern Medical Center. FV is well known in San Joaquin Valley. Thanks for keeping in touch. Lauren

Hey, my grandparents lived in San Luis Obispo until their passing recently. I lived in Grover City, CA during my early childhood... and I'm very familiar with Lompoc too. Love that whole area and wish I could afford to live there. Small world!

No, don't live in AZ anymore. We moved to Oregon in 2023.

Glad to hear you've got a good treatment center there. Some people suffer for months or years with misdiagnosis, wrong treatments, etc. It's usually people who've visited our regions and then go back home, where doctors don't know to test for VF.