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[WorriesomeDad]

Thread for continuing long-term Coronavirus support

Sorry to those who were up in the night again.

More drama here. Just at the point I was dropping off about 1ish last night I felt a sort of all consuming ache/warmth in my abdomen which travelled in a wave up and across my chest. This was quickly followed by severe palpitations/ heart rate yoyo-ing. I tried to ride it out but it didn't seem to be going. I couldn't speak and began to shake uncontrollably. The shaking then stopped suddenly and everything went woozy. DH then called 111, and amazingly spoke with someone within 5 minutes. By that stage although still feeling unwell I felt like I was through this episode and was able to speak to the operator. He still thought it best to call an ambulance though, which arrived 20 minutes later. By then I was completely fine, everything normal, and as I'd only just been discharged from hospital, paramedics left quite quickly.

@SimpleKindofLife we have similar symptoms at the moment and I too felt like this all sets off when I'm lying down, so I spent the rest off the night propped up with pillows. I slept very soundly for about 3 and a half hours and then woke up feeling ill and an intense sense of panic. No palpitations just a really scary feeling. I felt like I was breathing okay but struggling for air, put the oximeter on and watched it dip to 88. I sat up, concentrated on deep regular breathing and it rose back to normal again. I started to feel better in my self after about 20 minutes. I'm now sort of flaked out/ weak.

I don't know whether or not to tell my (very supportive) GP now. I feel like it's pointless after I've already had lots of tests and it's now all being attributed to anxiety/ panic attacks. I am quite anxious and really wish it was just that but there are too many other people on this thread and also on the Covid Slack threads with similar symptoms, especially at night. I just don't know what to think. Feel like I'm going mad.

@Moodgie

I was feeling so much better last week, and I'm not as bad as I was by a long way. So when I sit and think rationally about it, I am improving. It's just slow and not always linear. It's hard to stay rational though because the dips are so disappointing, and for all I know they're probably coming, there's a big part of me that's secretly hoping I've had my last one!

@fedupofbed thst does sound like a panic attack. They are terrible. And feel bad enough to ring an ambulance. This situation is so awful. :(

Hi all, I only discovered this thread yesterday and wanted to thank you all for sharing your experiences - I thought I was the only one and almost feel like I have to pretend to family and friends that I’m ‘moving in the right direction’ when they ask “are you better now?”. The truth is, I feel the same but have moments where I feel a lot worse (thankfully not as bad as weeks 2&3). My DH had a sore throat and tiredness in the first week that I did, but luckily he’s been fine since. Although my shivery chills, gastro symptoms and stabbing pains around my heart / palpitations have calmed for now, the shortness of breath, chest pain, intense headache and general weakness are still with me. My DH is carrying me up and down stairs as I get too breathless if I try it myself.

Am confused as to if I still need to isolate or if it’s safe to attempt a short walk down my street. I’m on day 38 now and my GP advised me to go to A&E yesterday for a chest x-ray as it would mean immediate results. Kings hospital were fine and said my chest x-ray looks ok and that they think this is post-viral like many of you have been saying..but then they also said it could be anxiety which I think is only an element of this. I can completely empathise with a lot of the ups and downs that you have all described. Glad we are in this together!

A positive article I found an the Lungs thread medium.com/@doyebalogun/my-recent-experience-with-a-mystery-virus-as-a-36-year-old-healthy-male-92a59c2609c5

Glad you found us @Silvergoldsilver This thread has brought me a lot of reassurance that I'm not on my own through this.

Dodgy stomach for me today too! It's like symptom bingo! Hopefully my body is now trying to flush it out...

@fedupofbed sorry to hear that. It does sound like a panic attack/anxiety but I think the virus is actually causing that symptom with all the heart palpitations. I have had such feelings of doom throughout all this too which come and go, it doesn't seem relative to what I'm doing or feeling, so I think it's just another nasty side of this nasty virus.

@Silvergoldsilver

Welcome to the thread. I don't know if I would have survived without hearing about other people's experiences an realising I'm not alone.

It's interesting that so many posters have had chest x-rays and ECGs etc and nothing major's come up!

Hello and welcome @Silvergoldsilver yes it is horrible that we're all going through this but a comfort that we're not alone, especially when many of the symptoms are so unusual.

@mumlurker it feels like the virus hides to me! Quite unnerving really.

I like that term symptom bingo as that is exactly what it feels like. Having got up , bathed, dressed and ate a piece toast feeling half way normal. Still got the shortness of breath but it has now moved to my sternum. However hanging on to the fact that I am better than five weeks ago. In fact I am actually up and I am able to walk around and do things. Just so frustrated that after this time I am not back to normal.

Quick update on the survey, it's now full as only allowed 40 respondents on the free Surveymonkey account I have. V interesting especially the distribution of blood groups, 48% of us are A which compares to 38% in wider population, and only 37% of our group are O, compared to 48% in wider population..B and AB are close to the national percentage. Bear in mind some people didn't know their blood group, so it's only a percentage of 27 people so not hugely statistically significant. Still interesting though..I needed to ask different questions about exercise I think as it didn't show enough variation to reveal anything. Occupations didn't show any trends I could see. Will update again when I've done some more analysis. Might design another survey on exercise and fitness at some point too.

Hmm. What other questions could you include?

Thanks @Moominmamma33

I've updating the Covid app too, it helps to know my answers are going to some medical research lab that might help people.

It's this, if anyone doesn't know about it:

covid.joinzoe.com

2.7 million people contributing! I think the UK's official number of cases is a bit out!

Maybe a question about whether they suffered with anxiety before becoming ill.

Is also no one else worried that the guy on the link needed oxygen after a month?

Just done the survey

Have caved & managed to procure some private ELISA antibody tests (via my limited company at vast expense - they’re only selling B2B at present apparently) to find out once & for all whether my illness was Covid. Will report back in due course

@dorual that worried me too reading that guy had to have oxygen after a month of illness. I assumed that i had passed the danger point & was just slowly recovering from this. It has worried me as well to be honest

Let us know how that goes @UncomfortableBadger

I really want to know if it's Covid, I really wish they were testing us... Although, we all 'know' don't we, I guess. Be reassuring to know that after all this hell, we might have some antibodies though?!

@Dorual I can't face reading it!

Ladies with the heart pain please please take it very easy and allow it to heal. My pain doesn't really go either at the moment it was sore when I woke up and I am breathless but my sats seem ok. Please be careful

Day 30
Having a tearful day today.
Chest pain is still here and the dizziness/lightheadedness is back with a vengeance. Plus I have a migraine/sinus type headache.
I felt better yesterday and over did it lugging basket of clothes upstairs. I knew I did it, i got a pop in the side of my head and a searing pain.
Had a rough night, insomnia followed by my pulse deciding to drop right down and then race back up.
I don't think I will ever get better.
I am very miserable today and depressed.
I've had such a dip this 4th/5th week. In my head I would be almost better by week 8.
Now I don't think so.
DH has gone back to work, I can't do the schoolwork with her.

@UncomfortableBadger, my private antibody test came back negative on day 29. No antigens detected - I'm hoping it was a false negative as i (and several doctors) can't think what else it could have been.

Sorry @Crayfishforyou, it's so crap isn't it. I'm struggling mentally with the fact that I was ill in March and it will be May on Friday and I'm still so bloody ill...

Why aren't we getting better more quickly?

I've got lightheadedness today too.

People keep asking me if I'm getting better and I'm starting to lie and say yes because they can't understand it, especially when my hospital tests were clear.

@Lightsabre Bugger! Was yours a rapid cassette test at home or an ELISA test where you sent blood off to a lab? I’ve plumped for the latter

Welcome @Silvergoldsilver I’ve found it invaluable knowing others are in the same boat (though sorry for you all!) and it’s helpful for my sanity when the inability to get ‘well’ again is so depressing (and scary in such an unknown disease). I think nearly all of us feel that we’re not as bad as those early weeks and to those around us no longer being bed bound suggests ‘better’ yet the horrid heart, chest and other internal feelings are invisible and very worrying.

We are some of the front runners in the first wave of this virus (I know my first symptoms were before lockdown started as many others here) and I’m hoping that soon there will be so many others in a similar boat that there will HAVE to be more investigation of what’s going on in chronic cases.