If you’ve recovered from Long Covid: what helped?

[WeAreThePigs]

Desperate for my mum to get better

She is utterly miserable

thanks

Vitamin c& zinc
Pacing myself and planning my week
Accepting I would go backwards a bit some days.

It's tough and I have recently had covid again so dreading the impact of that.

Best to luck to your mum. Has she spoken to the GP to see if she needs a referral to a long covid clinic?

Thank you. How long did it take? I hope the second bout isn’t as bad for you. God I hope she doesn’t cat it again, I think it would finish her off.

I didn’t actually think about vitamin c which is embarrassing for me to say

I’m getting her up at 9 every day, back to bed 2-4 for nap and she then goes to bed at 2130. she gets very confused and almost dementia like if she naps later than that so that’s why I get her up early.

She goes to aqua aerobics and yoga once a week each
I take her to Tesco’s with me and encourage her to plans meals etc

……and apart from that she sits around really fed up. She was an unstoppable energetic whirlwind of a woman before so this is such a shock for us all

Following for tips

Sorry your mum is suffering so much, op.

Has she had her B12 checked? DH has LC and his was almost zero and has now had injections. He's been off work for 5 months now. It's like living with an 80yo with dementia.

How long since your Mum had covid?

I got it in the first wave and was incredibly unwell for a couple of months. It took me a year to get back to full strength but I felt ok enough after about 6 months. I do have some other health complications so this may very well have hindered me.

I have always eaten quite healthily, I just slept a lot and felt grateful I was still alive.

Can anyone give advise on something to help with the nausea/stomach pains/diarrhoea

My DD had long COVID, off work for 5 months. This was in the first round. The vaccine was the turning point, and catching COVID again also helped.

She took a ton for supplements, some of which she still takes. One of them helps to level out glucose, that really helped.

I saw an osteopath..not even sure how it helped but l was desperate as had no energy in my legs...but it did help. They were like lead. I took lots of vitamins. The Complete Woman from Boots has everything..l think. Lots of rest an patience with myself. Lots of blueberries as recommended by my pharmacist! Kept walking for 15 minutes..no more every day.
I got Covid again since but nothing like the first time.

That’s interesting. My mum complains specifically of leaden legs. How many sessions did you need and was the difference noticeable straight away? Thanks

She had a full load of bloods done last week, we are eager to get the results! I think the b12 is ok as she’s been wearing this stickers and eats marmite quite a bit.

im sorry your DH is in such a bad way. I actually thought my mum has developed dementia to be honest, it’s frightening.

what’s helped us (her cognition has improved hugely) has been: getting her up at the same time every day 9am) and encouraging a nap at about 2pm. Napping any later made her really quite incoherent and it’s made a big difference. Maybe you could try that? Apparently there’s biorhythm disturbances in dementia and also in long covid. A few people I know say their parents are much worse after late afternoon. Hopefully this will help you x

Sorry about your daughter, that must be really upsetting for you. What supplements is she taking?

I’ve heard magnesium helps but keep forgetting to buy that

@Frenchfancy which supplements helped with glucose levels please ?

Honestly if she's doing aqua aerobics and yoga every week that's amazing.

My DS is nearly 2 years in and early on the fatigue was so bad he couldn't even make it into school. He's only now just able to walk very slowly round the block with me. Physio has helped with the leg pains he has along with breathing exercises plus Vit D, multivitamin & antihistamine daily.

@isitfridayyet22 Maybe ask your doctor for a coeliac test and if it's negative you could still try looking at a low histamine diet? DS's stomach is definitely more sensitive post Covid.

Well. Both activities take place at 10am and she sleeps til /pm after

I sound like a slave driver but she just is very lovely and energetic and getting Really depressed so I need to give her stuff to do. She’s not naturally a sedentary person. - very much a doer

Thanks for the histamine sigh ration. - I would never have thought if that

hoe your son is doing better now x

Sorry this is a bit vague, there has been some mention from some scientists that I follow on Twitter of micro blood clots and epithelial (blood vessel lining) damage in long Covid.
Theres some suggestion that consuming food rich in nitric oxide ( not nitrous oxide) such as beetroot,may help the body to break down the micro clots and help maintain blood vessel help.
Sorry vague and no links but it may be worth looking into 💖🌸

Yea I have heard that too

basically food high in nitrates helps open and maintain blood vessels which in turn helps brain and muscular health

I have tried giving my mum carrot juice - carrots being v high in nitrates

I think for this reason niacin 500mg is supposed to be very good but can be uncomfortable as you can end up with what feels like a menopausal flush. We used to indulge a few years ago but kind of went off it. You sleep well and feel very relaxed after it burning works t ever take it while feeing delicate .

Can I just ask what everyone's symptoms are please?

I've been feeling so awful for the last month and I'm so miserable. I'm so exhausted, I have this really odd feeling in my mouth when I have too much saliva and have to keep swallowing (though that's not all the time). I feel so drained and achey, my back hurts and I could honestly cry. Blood tests not showing anything apart from too much iron and I don't know what to do with myself. I don't know what vitamins to take which might help as they all seem to have bloody iron in them.

I'm sitting here wondering how I'm going to get through work tomorrow and I just don't know. I'd be so grateful for some advice.

I don't even know if I have long CoVID it's just what my doctor suggested may be the issue. I had CoVID back in April.

Can only speak for my mum but:
leaden legs
deep deep fatigue - my mum sleeps about 15/24
taste and smell issues

she had such brain fog I thought she was developing dementia but a scan was clear and she’s improved since I started looking after her loads with very plant based food and juices

she falls apart after 4pm - apparently not unusual in LC

There’s no way in hell my mum could live alone right now - hopefully this isn’t forever

I've had long Covid for almost a year now. I improved after the first 5 months but then relapsed due to being back at work and going too hard. I was referred to a long Covid specialist privately and it was confirmed (by some VERY expensive testing) that Covid has affected my nervous system. I'm improving slowly but it's incredibly frustrating as I was very active pre-Covid plus I desperately need to get well enough to work as I'm the only source of income in my household.

My specialist recommended taking 200mg of Co-enzyme Q10 three times each day and I noticed an improvement in energy levels almost overnight. So I suggest giving this a go. I use Solgar as it's very good quality (no point wasting money on cheaper versions that aren't effective). Note that there should be an improvement within 1-2 days if this works. If it doesn't, there's no point in persisting as results are quick or not at all. Worth a try though.

What sort of testing? @HundredMilesAnHour

My mum would definitely pay for this

Autonomic function testing. £3.5k plus cardiologist consultant fees and other tests on top. You're looking at at least £8k, quite possibly more if they find something that needs further investigation and/or treatment.

But you need to discuss with a cardiologist first as there's no point going down this (expensive) road if your Mum's symptoms don't align with this. I'd suggest you start with a long Covid specialist and go from there.

Has your Mum been referred to a long Covid clinic OP? An earlier poster asked the same question but you didn't answer it. This is the starting point so get a referral if she doesn't already have one.

Thanks, that’s v helpful both
I have ordered coq10
and will ask for a referral