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.

@Mittens030869 I feel your pain re the children. I have 2 DDs (5 and 7), who need constant help and attention, DH working from home, I'm trying to do as much work from home as I can manage and they have school stuff but yo-yo between that, getting distracted, making a huge mess or bickering. I'm so frustrated with my symptoms that my fuse in incredibly short and of course they are climbing the walls too. I've certainly noticed that when I yell at them my chest hurts more after, so it really can't be good but I'm pushed to my limit (and then wracked with guilt).

@Egghead68 That’s great to hear that there has been some improvement - nice that things have been handled well. Best of luck for your blood results.

I had a bad day yesterday but today is not as bad. Not great, just not as bad. I’m finding that even thinking about anything at a vaguely normal pace sends my heart pounding like crazy..very frustrating but glad to say I’ve managed a short, snail-paced walk every day for the past 2 weeks since coming out of isolation.

@Needsomegoodnews I am also working from home with kids and it's really hard. To be honest I've almost given up homeschooling as it creates so much friction and I dont have the energy. But the guilt ☹️

Sounds like at least some of us are getting medical tests.

@toothfairy73 and @MillStone - how are you both getting on?

Interesting that you say that @Monty6 - the rest of my family have been sneezing in this week 8 relapse (they all did early on and we haven't been anywhere!) and my littlest seems very tired again after suffering most in weeks 1 and 2.

Hi @Egghead68

Cutting and pasting my original post below:

I got back to a pretty much normal heart rate when resting (60-65bpm) quite quickly, but it shot up whenever I moved. Walking up the stairs caused my heart rate to go up to about 130bpm, and a ten minute walk on flat ground was 150bpm+. I'm pretty fit, and so there was clearly something wrong. Also, I have struggled to fight off the symptoms of this wretched virus - eye infections, occasional breathlessness, and the weirdest one is the sense I am breathing through peppermint (or cold air) when I take a breath.

After a couple of late night visits to A&E with sustained tachycardia, which wouldn't settle for several hours, my brilliant GP organised a referral to a cardiologist. She did a 24 hour ECG and a heart ultrasound. The ECG showed a huge variation in heart beat, but was otherwise normal, and the heart ultrasound was also normal. Her diagnosis is a post-viral condition - it was as vague as that. She offered plenty of encouragement that the structure of my heart has not been damaged and I will get better. She told me it is not unusual after a virus, and with some people it may take days, others take weeks, and some take months.

She prescribed a very small dose of a beta blocker as a short term treatment, and that has really helped, although I was very reluctant to take it. Heart rate is back to normal (even on the low side), and I am able to exercise again (without my heart rate shooting up). The horrible jittery feeling I had is gone too, and the multiple palpitations where I felt my heart literally trying to bounce out of my chest have largely stopped. Interestingly, the cardiologist said she had seen a number of people recently with very similar symptoms (some of whom had been tested as CV19+, others, like me, just had a history of symptoms). Now I just have to get rid of the other symptoms of this wretched virus which keep trying to come back...

Hope that helps reassure - that said, if you have symptoms you are worried about, please do see your GP rather than just rely on my experience.

@Notgoingouttoday and anyone else who has had a negative antibody test I had a conversation with a consultant about these the other day and this is my lay persons summary of what he said.

The antibody tests in the market may claim near 100% effectiveness but they are likely confirmed on people who have themselves had a high viral load and there isn’t much evidence to support/understand if people with ‘mild to moderate’ symptoms in the community will test positive.

So if you are suffering with all these horrible symptoms please don’t feel disheartened if you get a negative test, it’s only a part of the picture.

@Egghead68

‘ A very slowly improving post-covid syndrome’ - it makes sense and I am hoping this is what it is.

Ah the 8 week anniversary that nobody wants to have...
I feel like I’ve got a head cold. I’m also conscious that it’s around a eek left until period. Despite the pain the other week (must have been ovulation pain) it’s been at a normal level so far. However I know that the period always causes some fatigue and I overdid it last week so I’m going very slowly.
I really wanted to walk 20 mins to the big supermarket this weekend but I know it’s too much, I’d be on my feet at least an hour if not longer. I’ve booked a delivery instead.
I found a pouch of spiraling in the back of the cupboard so am going to start taking that. I’ve been doing well setting a routine to my day, I will build on that and see how things are in two weeks after Aunt Flow has buggered off.

@godhelpusall - when I was really ill, we delegated home schooling to Disney+! The aim of anything they do now is more to distract them than anything else (but it backfires as they they need help and have a million questions).

Taking a break to procrastinate here helps a bit with the sanity though!

@user34254356 hope you get on OK today if you do go. It can be daunting, I totally get that, so go easy on yourself and wait for another day if it feels overwhelming just now.

@Mittens030869 could it be viral pneumonia, would that show up in tests like bacterial pneumonia would? Or perhaps it's neither, as such, and just an integral factor in how covid lands with some of us. I haven't had blood tests, the GPs seem to be throwing antibiotics at people from a distance just in case they might work! Clearly in your case they haven't but let's hope the verdict @Egghead68 got earlier applies in our cases and we've got awful post-viral symptoms that should pass with time, rather than anything more sinister 🤞

Can we just turn up at a & e? If this gets worse I'm going up there.

Hi @egghead68, that all sounds very reassuring, do you feel better knowing that there's been an improvement? I tried a lovely new drink today - turmeric latte - supposedly anti-inflammatory. Felt ok yesterday mainly, but a bit weak and slightly achy chest today, also chills but my temp is normal.

@Egghead68 Thank you for updating us, I expect that would probably be the diagnosis for us as well. I was told on my one visit to A&E that it was a virus, it might be COVID-19 or it might not, but that I appeared to be 'out of the woods'. That wasn't the case at all, as a week later, my airways were blocked again and my DH called 999. My oxygen level was 94 so lower than it should be but not low enough to go into hospital.

It's certainly worse than the pneumonia I had last year, but with very similar symptoms, especially the breathlessness,

As I recall, when Boris Johnson was in intensive care, he didn't have pneumonia either, and yet it 'could have gone either way'.

@Needsomegoodnews You're doing really well to be working at all. A couple of times I've tried to do jobs and my temperature went up again. So I've had to give up. I go for a short walk around the block most days and that's as much as I can achieve most days. I also have concerns about my DH's asthma, and I can never be certain that I'm not infectious, with the coughing and mucus. If only I could have a test.

I do sympathise over the chest pain, Italian awful.

@baroqueandblue I think it probably is viral pneumonia, the symptoms certainly are very similar to last year.

As I understand it, the X-ray would only show the damage to the lungs in critical patients.

@Thinkle that's really interesting info about the antibody tests, thank you for posting.

Day 56

Taken it easy so far today. Put laundry on, I cheated and in the tumble dryer it went.
DS (young adult) and I made eggy bread. I was going to bake but feel tired today.
I think I did too much yesterday.

I still feel better than I did last week. The symptoms are still there but not as pronounced.
I'm wheezy but that's not unusual for me and the weather is cold and damp.

Still pacing myself.

This can be quite relevant: www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.thecalifornian.com/amp/23597871
A little bit from the article:
Though your body usually fights off the initial respiratory infection promptly, your bronchial tubes can remain inflamed and sensitive for several weeks, causing you to continue coughing. The inflammation also can create spasm or irritability of the bronchial tubes: They intermittently tighten up suddenly, causing coughing.

This can produce other symptoms as well:

• a tight feeling in your chest

• wheezing

• shortness of breath when you exert yourself

• mild fatigue

This article is 2015, not covid-related but talks about respiratory infections.

I was on 2 weeks of doxycycline and 3 weeks of steriods for pneumonia/breathing.
Also 1 week of amoxicillin the week before the doxy which didn't help at all.

The doxy definitely helped get rid of the phlegm.
GP put it down as secondary infection mild pneumonia after suspected covid 19.

@Rosesofeyam That's basically how they've helped me, and what they've diagnosed. And I have much less phlegm as well, which I think is down to the steroid spray I was prescribed. Is that what you had?

I'm glad it improved things for you as well.

moodgie That is what the GP has told me. Inflammation from
Virus/secondary infection.

I've been told to eat well,rest and gentle exercise. If my symptoms get worse go to a&e.

@Moodgie Thank you for that, that sounds very like what a lot of us have been going through. The only thing it doesn't explain is the nausea, which has been very unnerving.

mitten
I had 3 weeks of prednisolone.(x6 5mg a Day.) Orally.

The steriods helped me breathe better so I could get the phlegm out.iyswim.
I'm a severe asthmatic.

mitten I hope you a speedy recovery.