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.

@Egghead68 I needed a GP referral. I’m in the north west, where are you? The cardiac consultant I spoke to was great. He would advise more tests however as I had already had a fair bit on the NHS said I could leave it a few weeks and see how I felt and decide which I have chosen to do. I got a referral from GP late Friday eve and the appointment was the following Tuesday (by phone). Very thorough and had all my notes etc from gp and sent a follow up letter. I wasn’t impressed.

@Lightsabre forgot to mention the cough but yes, it has resurfaced in the last few days and worse than I remembered it unfortunately. Ditto the back pain and general inflammation in ribs and chest, as well as the shortness of breath. Just grim, and I'm sorry you're still really struggling. Hope the call to the BLF helps, that's a very good idea actually and I may ask their advice myself this week. Let us know how it goes if you do speak to them. I'm probably the most scared I've been overall this last few days. Hope ebbing away daily after this long being ill really challenges me to cope and stay calm. For ages I wasn't worried about my heart and kept reading people's heart symptoms and concerns here and thinking I'd been lucky to escape that. Not anymore. This last few days mine has felt pretty erratic and 'thick' in my chest, and my left arm and hand has been tense, left ribs more tender than the right. Even so I can do the counting to 30 on one breath thing so I guess I'm well enough oxygenated and would be very surprised if my heart is struggling as such. In my case at least I suspect I'm just aware of it more than usual because of my vigilance over shifting pain, breathlessness and inflammation. Hope I'm not wrong, and that that proves to be the case for you too.

Thanks @longshot. I am in London.

Hi all, I'm just checking in to say I absolutely experienced the 50 day dip I saw a few of you talking about on the previous thread.

This really has gone on so so long.

My only main symptom seems to be my heart now. It feels inflamed whenever I try to exert myself physically or even doing emails on my laptop.

I need to keep taking care- but everyone assumes I'm better now as I keep on saying I'm improving.

I came back to work full time yesterday to a big fanfare from the company owner.

Then by lunchtime I had to lie in bed for the rest of the day. Just checking emails on my phone.

I'm still in bed now- but am running three big meetings today and people keep emailing me asking for the agenda and slides- needless to say I've got neither.

That 50 day dip came bang on as predicted though- I'm just not sure how fast I'll recover- and if that'll be it?

Thanks @baroqueandblue, it must be scary when you feel it is your heart. Do you have a blood pressure monitor? It might be one way to keep an eye on it.
I can really relate to the hope ebbing away and scared bit of your post. I too am having some of the worst days after 6+ weeks and am concerned also at the lack of medical care. We just have to plod on and present at A and E if anything worsens (which i might have to do today).

I don't believe I'm going to get better now.
I think it's going to be like this until it wears me down completely.
This virus is like snakes and ladders and I was always really bad at that.

Day 57/61, yes to the raised heartbeat when doing anything. Everyday for me starts off with pins and needles in heart area for about 2 hours. This then changes to intermittent the rest of the day, then repeat everyday. And also when carrying something that is slightly heavy, my chest kills me for ages and for a good while after. I'm sick of this now.

@Egghead68 i went through my insurance and they just require a verbal GP referral. I got a written one from a private GP as my NHS GP has been really unhelpful. If you are self paid then you can go directly to the consultant. Let me know if you are London based and I can share the details of my consultant.

Thanks @user34254356. I am in London and would be very grateful for details of your consultant. Thanks so much.

Just PMed you @Egghead68

I had an Ecco cardiogram and 24-hour ecg self-pay at the Brompton a couple of years ago and i think it was the best part of £2K! Needs must though, if I can’t get an NHS appointment.

Echo not Ecco!

Thanks so much @user34254356.

Thank you for the kind words, it's helped to be talking to people who get it. I already had Chronic Fatigue Syndrome after having pneumonia last year, (MH related too, I have PTSD), so my future health is very uncertain now. I used to have a cast iron stomach, I never puked!! . It's sad, especially as I have 2 adopted DDs of 11 and 8. My DH has asthma, so he's vulnerable, and hence I've been self-isolating from him.

My DSis has offered to have them to stay to give us respite, but they live a very long way from us, on the Isle of Wight, so it isn't a practical possibility for the foreseeable, as well as being against lockdown rules. Plus they would only get really anxious about me, as they're well aware at their ages of what's been going on. And they know that people die of this. We reassure them that I won't but they know that their dad has called 999 and an ambulance has been sent out.

DD2 knows that she very likely had COVID-19 mildly herself. It was in early March and 111 advised us to take her to A&E, but because we hadn't been overseas in an 'infected region', she wasn't tested.

A nutritional therapist friend has suggested I look into a supplement called bromelain (extract from pineapples). It targets inflammation and gastro problems.

Morning everyone,

I've just had a brief read through of posts since I last looked which was yesterday afternoon. It's disheartening to hear so many of you still suffering setbacks at 50+ and even 60+ days! Crayfishforyou you sound so down, please keep posting. It's clear that this virus is having a massive detrimental effect of our mental health too.

I've had a dreadful night with ongoing ear inflammation and tinnitus which is awful. Chest pains come and go and I have dreadful fatigue and brain fog but otherwise feel 'ok'. Very low mentally though and, like most of you, can't ever see a point when I'll feel well again and be able to get on with life as much as is possible in these times...

☕️💐 for you all. X

everyone for today.
I’m wondering if this virus has played up my general anxiety or it’s peri meno or something. My usual insomnia is off the scale at the moment. That’s not definitely helping with the exhaustion side of this.

eyebrows that sounds really hard. Do you think your work has fully taken on board yet that getting exhausted could seriously set you back for some time?

I am also worried about returning to work for the same reasons. I’ve worked again each time I felt better, thinking it had gone. I couldn’t understand why, but each time even doing simple tasks made me feel awful by the end of the day. I know employers want us to be either ‘off ill’ or ‘back working and well’ in a predictable way so it’s really hard to get across that we don’t know how long it will go on for and it’s hard to say what tasks are going to be OK to do or not. I think we’ll all have to spend time managing expectations and making time to tell them how we’ve been managing at work. Not easy when you feel exhausted though.

@Norugratsatall I am very low mentally too. For not getting fully better obviously but also generally, with loneliness - I have friends but not really best friends - my parents live in a different country, I am an only child, single, my son is a uni student, I have been crying, dwelling on past mistakes, worrying about the future, just not in a great place. Sorry for offloading.

@user34254356 What you're describing about chest pain getting worse when going over bumps in the car is exactly what I am experiencing. Last night even a 20 minute drive brought them on and they didn't stop until I went to bed. Once it's been triggered, pain medication doesn't seem to help much. There are lots of possible causes for chest pain but I think mine is caused by inflammation of cartilage under the ribs - which is usually called costochondritis (or Tietze's Syndrome if the ribs stick up). It sometimes seems to travell round to my back as well. Walking also makes it bad. It's very frustrating as without this symptom I'd at least be able to get some light exercise and a change of scene. As it is, I'm resigned to being stuck at home until it goes away.

@Moodgei @Norugratsatall - I can sympathise with feeling low mentally. I didn't want to get out of bed this morning, despite waking up very early again. It's hard not to dwell when the symptoms are there to remind you and there's so little else to distract you from them. I managed an afternoon of work yesterday and that was the best I'd felt in ages.

@Moodgie and @Mittens030869 . I am trying a news embargo - just watching rubbish TV and reading for distraction. Are you getting plenty of fresh air? I just sit in a chair in the garden for an hour if it's not too cold - it doesn't help with the breathlessness but it's a change of scene.

I'm not going to get better.
And I cant go on anymore.
Everyone keeps asking how I am. DH points out how much better I am but not looking at me.
I'm being a terrible mother.
Even if I'm having what I think is a good day it's actually pathetic, I've managed to put something in the washing machine or walk 500 steps in a day.

@Norugratsatall , commiserations to you too.

@Crayfishforyou, I know what you mean - I feel a shadow of my former self but I think we're alive, we can cuddle the children and we're there. Our families will have to adapt and hopefully we'll get some help at some point further down the line.

Hi all, I posted a couple of days ago After over doing it I'm day 65 today I have spent the last 24hr with a hot water bottle on my chest and it has eased my central chest pain. My heart pain has lessened. I have had to take it very very easy in that time. I had to take my car to the garage as we have a slow puncture and needed new tyres. The walk really wasn't far it was half our usual walk and I wasn't too far from home when my chest started burning and then my back.

I think I need to stop everything and just rest rest for a few days. This is really really really hard for me as I worked full time and run a business on the side (which I do have work to do but no energy to do it atm).

If I don't I fear I will actually cause damage to my heart as the pain that I experienced the other day was worse than the first time around the 50 day dip. I really really don't want to experience that again it scared me.

@baroqueandblue I think you may be having the 50/53 day dip it is absolutely horrific and was like being back in week 2/3 of the virus. I think after this things will start to improve. Keep any eye on your sats and rest. I barely moved on those days it was so awful, every inch of me ached my back pain was horrific I couldn't breathe properly my chest hurt I was emotional and felt so so exhausted. It really is awful but it will pass.

Place marking until I can count how many days it’s been. Pleased to meet you all though.