Help - Advice needed for post viral fatigue & intense pain

[CoffeeBeansGalore]

Hi
Had a nasty flu virus (not covid) at the start of October. I have become steadily weaker since. Had full blood screen done last week which came back mostly normal. White cell count a bit low but to be expected after the flu. GP has signed me off work again for this week & given cocodamol 30/500, I have been off since this started.
I have been told to try & get back to normal activity but rest when needed. GP doesn't want to see me again unless it gets worse.

For some reason my knees are agony. It's really affecting my mobility. 6 weeks ago I was normal. I walked my dogs every day, could get up & down steps, in & out the car etc without even thinking about it. I am 50.

Now I struggle. I need help to get in the over bath shower. I can't have a bath because it's too hard to get out. I need help with the 3 steps at the front door. I've now bought a cane so I can get out the door if I am alone. I am still driving but it hurts. I can't walk the dogs (adult kids at home so they do). It takes a lot of effort using my arms to stand up from sitting. My knees feel like they are disintegrating. I presume this is what arthritis feels like? I have lost the muscle tone in my thighs.

I have found some gentle muscle toning exercises on the NHS website that I am doing every day. I am walking around the house. I'm getting broken sleep as the pain wakes me every few hours even with the pain killers.

I am so fed up with this. I just want to get back to normal.

Has anyone else had similar? Any advice?

Thank you.

Vitamin D, B-12 and ibuprofen daily. And maybe think about stopping the cocodamol. Some people don't react well to it. I find the codeine gives me fatigue and the paracetamol doesn't actually help with pain from inflammation which is often what post-viral pain is. Ibuprofen works much better for that type of pain.

Also try stretching for 15 minutes each morning before even getting out of bed.

Thank you for your tips. Unable to take Ibuprofen or aspirin & already taking the vitamins. I will try the stretching.

So sorry you’re going through this. What type of pain is it - muscular or joint? Or both?

I have painful joints as part of Long Covid. Ice packs are good for me, some people prefer heat so try both. Also I take glucosamine, chondroitin, fish oils and curcumin. Could you use ibuprofen gel? DH uses this on his bad joints as he cannot have oral aspirin or NSAIDS.

@Totallydefeated thank you. Mainly joint pain in the knees, but get shooting pains down my shins as well.

@Choconuttolata didn't think of gel. Thank you I will try it. Already take glucosamine & have just ordered turmeric supplements.

DS has joint pain as part of long covid. His physio has given him core strengthening exercises to take the pressure off his knees. It seems to be helping.

I think your GP has got it the wrong way round. You need to rest as much as possible to begin with to give your body a chance to recover and only try to get back to normal activities once you're starting to feel better. From the sounds of it you're currently feeling steadily worse, which probably means you're still doing too much. I know it can be difficult when you have responsibilities as you feel like you have to get things done, get back to work etc but the more you look after yourself in the early stages of post-viral fatigue the better prospect you have for a quick and full recovery. Many people have discovered the hard way that trying to push through and keep going just makes things worse, unfortunately.

Thank you all. Some good news. Spoke to GP this morning & he has booked a telephone consult with a physio for me. Hopefully will give an idea of some targeted exercises to help build back up my thigh muscles & some general strengthening exercises as well. I can also use the suggested gel. Onwards!

I'm 51 and have been like this since I had covid last year. Pain everywhere, joint problems, muscle loss and terrible weakness. I've injured my shoulders by having to lever myself up from sitting to standing. Can't walk far and slowly getting worse. It's horrible.

@bestcattoyintheworld I am so sorry to hear that. Can you get referred to physio?

This is not what arthritis feels like, no

[quote CoffeeBeansGalore]@Totallydefeated thank you. Mainly joint pain in the knees, but get shooting pains down my shins as well.

@Choconuttolata didn't think of gel. Thank you I will try it. Already take glucosamine & have just ordered turmeric supplements.[/quote]
That sounds painful and very like what I had when I had ME/CFS, which was triggered when I had a glandular fever or flu type virus at a time when I was very stressed at work. It was awful. I'm fully recovered now, thankfully, so don't get the pains anymore, but the memory is heat-seared into me.

What helped when I was in the thick of it, was resting with my legs up as much as possible in the day, heat on the area and taking both magnesium and Vegepa, which is a combination of omega 3 (from fish) with omega 6 (from evening primrose). Taking quite large quantities of the Vegepa had quite a marked effect on the pain.

I need to go to bed now, but PM me if you'd like any other info on how I got over my ME.

Hi, anyone on this thread got an update on how it’s going, what worked/ didn’t work. I am 4 months into a post viral myalgia, sounds very much like the symptoms described by original OP. Would really like to hear of coping strategies. Many thanks