Covid Lungs Week 7/Day 49 and onwards

[Dandyish]

Support thread for those who've had Covid symptoms or post-viral fatigue for at least 7 weeks/49 days or longer.

If your symptoms haven't lasted that long, check out the Lung 7 thread (or later).It'll be more helpful as people there will be in a more similar position.

Hi
You asked for something positive. I am on day 54 and on the 5th day of feeling ok. Managed to do some ironing . cleaned a window, put some washing on and pottered around. I feel tired but no reoccurrence of symptoms. I was really ill again on days 46 to 48 and was in bed again and the on the afternoon of day 49 suddenly started to feel better, Since then felt more myself except for the tiredness a little shortness of breath occasionally and my joints ache a bit but that might be because I am doing things again. the other thing is that I am sleeping like 8 10 hours at night. So sorry some of you are still feeling so ill.

@meercatmama Yay, need this. Thank you.

That is great to hear @Meercatmama.

In my case, at the moment I see little evidence I will be free of this anytime soon so I need a plan as to how to manage my symptoms while getting done the things I need to do.

My plan (currently day 48/49) is:

Sinus symptoms and pain - manage with sinus rinses, nasal steroid spray, paracetamol and extra antihistamines

Heart symptoms - manage by minimising physical exertion until/unless they normalise, then a gentle graded return to exercise. If not better in one more week push for cardiology referral.

Fatigue: keep an hour by hour diary for a week with fatigue ratings and what I am doing. Use this as a baseline from which to schedule slightly increased work/useful activity each week, alternating with very gradually shorter rest periods. Continue to monitor subjective fatigue levels (using the fatigue severity scale).

@Moodgie @alittleprivacy - i am also curious if we are still dealing with some active infection. I think it might make sense. The video at www.wsj.com/video/why-fully-recovering-from-coronavirus-might-take-longer-than-expected/985A51E7-D3C9-4375-BC3B-9E5E2E03691E.html talks about blips where the virus counts pick up a bit (but no where near the peak). As most people are not testing positive that far out i guess the viral load is smaller or not hanging out in the upper respiratory tract anymore (presumably also making us much less infectious). Anecdotally from the slack forum there are lots of people several weeks in like us who are testing negative for antibodies suggesting that we might not be developing them as quickly as others. Paul garner from the BMJ article also believes it is most likely active infection. If this is the case hopefully our immune systems will suss it out soon.

I hope this is not the case @Monty6. And if it is, yes, I hope the impinge system figures it out soon.

*immune

@TheWooisStrong yes to the acid indigestion, seven weeks of it
Never had it previously.

I'm trying a month of slippery elm powder and mastic gum to heal it rather than masking the symptoms with Gavescon which I've taken occasionally and has worked.

No real changes yet.

I think I’m day 51.
I am unwell but improving. I still have no voice, it’s been two weeks now. Has anyone else heard of this being a symptom in the slack or FB groups?
A few words about postviral fatigue. After a virus, if you are still fatigued then it’s post viral fatigue. If it goes on for months, it is post viral fatigue syndrome. Which may or may not be the same as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome CFS.
As this article says, even a common cold can trigger post viral fatigue
www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/326619#symptoms

Of course, because covid 19 is a new virus, no one really knows where the virus ended and where post viral fatigue may have started. I think you would need to be ill more than 6 months before it might be viewed as a long-term issue, and we are nowhere near that yet

Thanks for all your updates, sorry to hear so many are still ill.

I think I’m around day 47 now and my energy levels have definitely increased. I’m worried by my pulse rate as it seems to be much higher than you guys are reporting, and this happens every single time I stand up. Lying down I can get under 100bpm, sitting up takes it higher and standing up in the morning takes it to at least 150bpm and in the afternoon around 130 Bpm. I am spending most of my time lying down or propped up with cushions. I will be on the phone chasing a referral first thing Monday morning if this doesn’t improve....

I am 39 and was pretty fit (running and weight training) before this so this is a whole new world for me. I have 2 dd age 5 and 2 and they just want mummy to play with them again. Feeling really rubbish today.

Hoping this is the weekend we all start to turn the corner, thanks for keeping me company through this crap! Xx

@Letsbesensible - yes I lost my voice too but it has come back. Resting it, drinking a lot, steaming and salt water we’re all helpful.

I’m going to try managing my fatigue using chronic fatigue type strategies (even though hopefully it won’t become very long-term) because I need to start getting on with things (will be working long hours in a few weeks) and can’t be spending my whole life in bed.

Just a quick update on DD, she came downstairs in tears this morning, saying she felt terrible. Temp 37.5. She seems brighter as the day has gone on but has just told me she has a new burning feeling in her chest, which sounds similar to what some of you describe...

My conversation with GP was similar, ie it’s a long slow recovery for some and get her to hospital if her lips/nails look blue or she struggles to breathe

@LetsBeSensible I lost my voice the day before I came down with a cough and then other strange symptoms so it may have been my first symptom? X

@Countingsheeps have you come across POTS which can be post-viral www.nhs.uk/conditions/postural-tachycardia-syndrome/

@Monty6 That video doesn't seem to have taken into account the findings Korea released last week, which the WHO have now reviewed and backed. They did extensive investigation into the patients who retested positive and found detectable large fragments of dead virus and a good antibody response. The virus in us is dead, just still present in our respiratory cells. What we are feeling is almost certainly post-viral but some viruses have a prolonged post viral phase for some people. Not enough is known about post viral syndrome to know why it happens and obviously nobody knows much about how long it will take for us to recover from this particular virus.

@Egghead68

Thanks, I think someone mentioned it before (sorry forget who) and it does certainly sound like what happening to me. In fact when I stand up with the oximeter on my finger my sats drop and then my heart rate goes crazy and the sats raise again in tandem as if my body realises it isn’t getting enough oxygen and raises the heart rate to help. I’m really hoping that it just goes away though, as I feel so awful being upright.... I can’t face this being a long term thing.

@Egghead68
That is interesting about POTS. I assumed the heart rate symptoms were down to the virus/viral remains being in the vagus nerve system.
@Meercatmama that's wonderful. I really needed to hear some positives.

I'm back to heart racing on moving, skin on chest, stomach and back being on fire, chest burning, unable to deep breath and feeling what I think a panic or an anxiety attack would feel like. Like I smoked waaaay too much weed.
I am so down again. I really thought I was starting to feel better.
I'm back to thinking this virus will never go.

I need to count my positives.
I don't feel sick.
The omeprazole has clearly helped my heartburn.
My legs don't feel as though they are made of jelly anymore.
The dizziness has largely gone, until last week, that was my most constant symptom.
My brain is no longer full of cotton wool

@countingsheeps I had it once before I think after a bout of pneumonia. After getting the all-clear on my heart I managed it with regular exercise (ignoring the fact that this pushed my heart rate up to over its supposed maximum - the cardiologist said this was OK). It went away over several months and I’ve not had any problems since (till now).

Can I join. I’m finding it hard to work out but think it’s day 47 since I started with proper flu. That BMJ blog emoojoo posted on p1 is me now. Cyclical tiredness to exhaustion and round again, a new high tinnitus, glands aching, ear and headache, exhausted, periods all over the place. No cough though. My temp’s been constantly a bit raised 37.1- 37.8 most days but not been higher than 38 since I first got ill. Rest of household also cycling in and out of it a bit. They have more gastric symptoms than I have had. Just want to know what the hell this is. GP suggests post viral but would that really come and go? The bedridden with exhaustion for 1-2 days after a walk seems like it’s still active COVID surely (I can only assume that’s what it is). anyway

That’s lots of positives @Crayfishforyou. It’s so hard when we think we are getting better and get symptoms again. You will almost certainly have better days again.

Welcome @Fishflakes. It’s rubbish isn’t it.

@Egghead68 thank you so much for your reply- if it is POTS and it does sound likely it’s good to know it can go away again. It must be terrifying to push your heart past it’s supposed maximum- I hope I am as brave as you as I can’t wait to run again! Xx

@alittleprivacy. I confess i am somewhat conflicted on this. I agree the south korean study might suggest a different explanation. It might just be our bodies dealing with the aftermath. I know very little about our immune system. It just somehow seems easier to interpret our continued dips and sometimes completely new symptoms as being due to an active virus albeit at much lower levels. I am remaining very open minded until i see more research into the longer cases.

Hi @Fishflakes
Thanks @Egghead68 and @countingsheeps

What is post.viral? It’s when you have some of the same symptoms at the end of a virus. It’s what doctors are going to say our symptoms are. No one really knows. Just us, the lungs pioneers!

Hi @fishflakes
Lots of rest, lots of fluids and lots of support and we'll all get there.
Hope everyone doing ok today x

@LetsBeSensible my voice is very hoarse and i start to lose it if I talk for long. This has been going on for a few weeks now.