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[WorriesomeDad]

Thread for continuing long-term Coronavirus support

Thanks @hollieberrie! Did you have anything visibly wrong with your ears?

I've had some dizziness definitely and feeling blank.

Tangledyarn Thank you, I will look online for exercises.

I have been so scared to use steam, in case it hurts my chest even more, this whole thing is utterly ridiculous now.

I cried last night because I have felt so shit, last Sunday I made a lovely dinner, some days its all I can do to have beans on toast. Its so variable.

@hollieberrie Ha how funny! Yes cawthorne cooksey for labyrinthitis. My first bout lasted about 8 weeks, but gradually improved in that time, things got more complex for me after then after a head injury but that's a whole other thread!
It's also fairly common to feel dizzy and brain foggy with pvf so maybe hard to know the difference for gps.

@Dandyish Yes muffled, some ringing, some ear pain. GP had a look and said both eardrums are retracted. So i have a middle ear and an inner ear issue currently! Great.. I've never had it before so don't know much about it. I think nausea and dizziness / vertigo are the main symptoms.

Hope you feel better soon. I am so terrified of ever catching this virus again.

@WorriesomeDad thanks for the article. I'd love to see more recognition from the medical profession/media that some of us are really struggling to recover. Everyone just wants to hear that I'm better, and I know that's because they care about me and are concerned, but I'm not.

@porcupineinwaiting I posted this yesterday but in case you haven’t seen it - I spoke to a GP yesterday who I have spoken to a few time’s in the last 2-3 weeks and asked him if he had heard about anyone like me. He said he was speaking to hospital consultant(s) and apparently they have now seen the long cases like us.

@WorriesomeDad thanks for the link, although funny enough I found the story @Gunner30 linked to which was easier to share as there wasn’t a log in.
To be honest it’s hard to find stories where there hasn’t been a hospital stay. I will see what the reaction to the neuro symptoms is but I’m going to guess that it sort of gets muddled up with head, and psychosomatic. Next time someone asks me what me symptoms are I might cut out the work for them and just say actually I’m making it up for attention.

The doctor I saw at the hospital on Thursday @Porcupineinwaiting said he’d had other patients In the same position and saying the same as me - taking weeks and weeks to get over it.

@hollieberrie @Cityonlockdown
Hello!
I just saw in my email my name mentioned. I am day 46 - and practically (again) back to normal although struggling massively with hay fever. But I will take that any day over the viral symptoms I had.

But wanted to say yes, it was me who had labyrinthitis. Originally I was “excited” to have it as I read also that it was post viral so made me happy to think I was out there other side but my labyrinthitis started off terribly. Very severe, couldn’t sleep for 2 days and was so dizzy, nauseous and heavy. It took over 2 weeks to go. And it gradually lifted. I have had the occasional vertigo before and usually antihistamines helped but it didn’t touch it this time. For me the symptom that stayed the longest was this incredible powerful heaviness that was positional (lying down or leaning back) everything felt like it was being dragged down in the ground - teeth, eyes, stomach muscles) it was horrible. It didn’t scare me as much as my breathing issues I had prior but i was worried it was never going to go away fully.
Which it has now btw! It made a comeback last week for one day but then went again. Very strange.
Sorry to hear you are struggling with it. I rode it out as I am a wimp about taking medication. Let me see what my doc suggested I take when I asked at my worst...
Motion sickness tablets (Sturgeon) and Buccastem were mentioned.
When my chest pressure and breathing difficulties released after almost 10 days or so of symptoms the “post viral” symptoms started, what felt like a sinus infection, loss of taste and smell and then without a day or two this labyrinthitis.

Sorry if I made this message sound really long!

Just looked at some comments above. Shall i tell you - I swear that sitting in the very hot shower every morning and evening before bed for roughly 15-20 min for over 3 weeks really helped with my labyrinthitis symptoms.

@findingschools4myboys Great news about your recovery! I am so desperate to see some good stories. So low today with the varying symptoms coming and going.

Thanks finding Not that I’m sure I gave it unlike the others, but I’m getting that awful chest pressure when I lie on my back again and have sinus pain. Is that with the shower running the whole time?

Thank for the article worrisomedad. I clicked on the link to the group and filled in the form to join a couple of hours ago but haven't been able to yet. Has anyone else joined? How does it work?

Ah and I also did the half somersault movement for vertigo several times a day. (Meant to move the crystal in the ear which I don’t think was my problem but doing the exercises would definitely give me a bit of relief for a while) google half somersault vertigo.
I remember in the beginning I probably did it 20 plus times a day (and during night when I was desperate)

@DandyPeguin
I probably left the shower running for 10-15 minutes and would sit another 5 while there was still steam in there. Had it on very hot, hotter than would be comfortable on body so didn’t have water spray on me directly. Would be sitting slumped in the corner as remember just felt terrible at that time. Crazy to think where I am at now - I now go on bike rides and hikes most days! Could barely walk up the road 4 weeks after my first symptom.

Great, thank you! So you sat in the shower?!

Think my shower cubicle is too small for that, but I could sit on the (closed) toilet though as it’s a small shower and toilet room. But I’d have to keep the shower door mostly closed so I don’t flood the place.

Can’t believe you’re bike riding and hiking at Day 46! The stuff of fantasies

@findingschools4myboys Hikes and bikes rides - thank you so much for giving me hope!

@DandyPeguin
Yes sat in the shower. You could also run the shower very hot and then go in and turn water off if the steam stays in?

Good idea, thank you.

@Tangledyarn i know, so funny to see you username there! i think those threads were from several years ago! Thanks for the tips, will try the cawthorne cooksey exercises. 8 weeks?!!! Oh god.. must have been awful.

@findingschools4myboys thanks so much for replying! I was sure you had mentioned it. I'd literally never heard of labyrinthits before and now its all i can think about!!! Thanks for the advice, hot showers are good but i havent been staying in very long, will try that tomorrow.

Am SO glad you are feeling better :) Great great news. Hiking and biking?!! Wow.

I’m Day 39 and just had big relapse. No way I’m going to be biking AND hiking in a week.

But maybe I can aim for Day 60?

That half somersault and the epley manourve are for bbpv rather than labyrinthitis but they are often misdiagnosed as each other, with bbpv often you have a bad side so experience vertigo turning to one side eg when getting out bed but its usually less constant. Vestibular disorders are weirdly like my pointless expert subject after having so many

@alittleprivacy I spied yesterday and was emailed an invite today. Not tried it yet, going to tomorrow.

@Crayfishforyou, really sorry to hear about your crap hospital experience. We're around the same number of days I think.

I had a private antibody test today and it was negative. So confused now about what this is. Over the last four weeks I've spoken to several different GP's ( 3 of them) at my practice, two GP's at 111 and had the paramedics out - every single one has said its classic Covid. Even the private GP today was a bit puzzled.

I've seen another thread today about a negative antibody test and it was suggested this might be a false negative. I'll have to wait for the nhs tests to come out. Now I'm bloody terrified that I'm going to pick up CV on top of what I have! Meanwhile, they took loads of blood tests to look at any DVT, heart inflammation issues that could be causing the breathlessness.

Felt terrible this morning (Day 28), really nauseous and weak - had to use the lift at the clinic to get to the first floor. By this afternoon I felt a bit stronger but I have stabbing throat and ear pain, back lung pain and shortness of breath still.

@Moodgie too!