My Lungs Part 7

[Taffyapple8]

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/coronavirus/3872239-My-Lungs-Part-6?pg=1&order=

I don't know if this will help anyone, but I'm putting it out there. I'm finding sucking mint imperials helpful for the heartburn.

My gran swore by sucking frozen pineapple. She had cancer in her bronchial tubes.

@Dorual OK, don't think I'm a dick for this next bit. It's much easier to give advice to others than yourself... Keep focused on what you can control, not what you can't. As frustrating and scary as that is. Focus on what you need to do right now to make yourself feel better and get stronger. Rest, healthy food, water. Recovery will not be a straight line, but doesn't mean it will go down hill. Remember whan you are scared you will focus on the slight negative symptoms and miss the positive ones.

Take care x

Thanks breathless I have just got DD to put a tin of pineapple in the freezer.(minus the tin, only just )

rose when I managed to get up the stairs in one go it was a turn around point for me.

Take care all.

This is such a challenging disease.

I think breathless is spot on with the advice of focussing on what you can do now.

And as for darker thoughts I set a timer I could think of everything that could go wrong but I had to stop after 10 minutes. I could feel sorry for myself. I could get thoroughly pissed off for the slow govt response but then I had to stop. I had to think about getting better.

Not sure if it helps others.

Thanks @BreathlessCommotion I will try. It's just so hard when breathing feels restricted and pains, and I can't be reassured medically. Googling is the enemy. But I am going to try to think positive and at the same time, be grateful for my pulse oximeter.

Have you read any medical papers? That's the best place for actual probabilities and numbers.

Do you have any underlying conditions @Dorual?

I do understand, it's much easier to give the advice than take it.

The night before last I had a panic attack because of not being able to breathe well. When I was a teenager I almost had to have a tracheotomy and therefore find breathing difficulties really scary. I suppose most people do, it's instinctive.

@Dorual dont google anything, it’ll send your anxiety higher and make it much harder to focus on recovery. If you stick to this thread, There are six more before this one. And another thread for those who are taking longer to recover called 30+
Spend your time reading those threads because posters have filtered out good news stories, youtube videos that support and motivate and news articles that support what we are going through. Spend your time on those! You’ll find some really encouraging timelines on the other threads.

@breathless I was being investigated for abnormal heart rhythm before this but no results from 7 day heart monitor as yet.

Panic attacks are horrible. And yes, SOB is one of those triggers for me too.

I have looked at some studie but I can't see much on when risk of ARDS passes. My lungs feel stiff like cardboard at the moment.

What day are you on?

Thanks @TheDrsWife46 I will have a read back. I'd like to see if anyone's symptoms compare to mine at around day 12

Im only at 21 days myself so if you go back to thread 6 you’ll see me losing it for all to see between days 6-12. Not my finest hour im usually a well reasoned sane individual.

@Dorual didnt tag you sorry

I'm only day 4.

Bit fed up, had a good day yesterday but feel worse again today. On Day 9. I know that is short compared to many but just disappointed to have gone backwards. Feeling lightheaded, fluey and generally weak and tired. Cough only just starting now too.

@Dorual

ARDS tends to develop very quickly and I doubt you’d be posting here even if in the early stages. It is a serious acute lung injury and you’d be presenting as much worse and much more quickly. I hope this is somewhat reassuring.

Things I do to help keep calm;
Mindfulness imagery exercises - imagine my body is full of light and similar
YouTube “binaural beats” - so relaxing!
Read a book and get totally lost in it.

Take care of your emotional self as well as physical self

@Dorual I posted a detailed diary of my symptom progression a day or two back on this thread. I’m day 17-18 now.

www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/coronavirus-symptoms/

@Dorual if you have a look at the Chinese stats showing median times to onset of ARDS it gave me reassurance when I was where you are at.

@JackJackIncredible @UncomfortableBadger
@worriesomedad

Thank you. The stats help a bit, but then I question whether I should be counting headache days as day 1 and 2.

I'm reading thread 6. It helps to know you guys are still alive

I wonder if before you go down with ARDS, you get any progressively worsening symptoms, or if it's just... BAM!

Anyone know of an antibody test recently that doesn't cost the earth?

Hi all, I'm on day 2/3 - did other people find it impossible to eat? Like you can't move food from your mouth down. And like horizontal heartburn along your ribs?

I had a scary episode of breathlessness earlier so am a bit panicky. And am trying to hide that panic from DH & DS

@Dorual

“ I wonder if before you go down with ARDS, you get any progressively worsening symptoms, or if it's just... BAM!”

ARDS isn’t a condition in and of itself. It’s a type of respiratory failure due to lung injury. Various things can cause the lung injury/lung failure including pneumonia. You’d have very unpleasant COVID pneumonia symptoms.

Hope this helps explain.

@dorual I’ve found several labs selling antibody tests business to business - as I run a small company, I’m able to buy some for me (& my staff). Several companies (including Sure Screen) have a waiting list and a minimum purchase amount of 10/20/30+ tests and they seem to vary in price from £20 to £100 each. However as they’re not fully approved for personal use, I’m in two minds about ordering, particularly as the government is concerned about how accurate the antibody tests are.

Day27 for me, newbie to this thread but have been on a few others.

I had back pain as an early symptom, then persistent coughing and headache. Then very congested nose and an insane amount of mucus (yellow and green). Chills at night, dizziness all day, plus extreme tiredness. One night of breathing difficulties. Loss of smell and taste and nausea.

I am much better now. Still very tired, still have one-off symptoms, e.g. I’ll get a metallic taste in my mouth, then nausea, then an hour or two of coughing, or one episode of chills over night. I still have one odd, persistent symptom...when I lower my head I get intense sinus pain. It’s like the start of sinusitis (I have chronic, allergic sinusitis), but unlike my usual attacks it doesn’t progress to more symptoms of sinusitis. Anyone else experience anything similar?

That has helped @JackJackIncredible. So basically I'd probably have bad chest pains, short of breath and o2 sats drop as a worsening of pneumonia before that then could injure the lungs a bit later.

@UncomfortableBadger I won't be able to get the test then, darn. I hope it becomes more easily available soon.

@Booboostwo With you on the sinus pain! Only thing that relieves it for me is Otrivine Sinusitis spray (in the purple box). Comes & goes which is really odd