COVID lungs 7 weeks plus/ 49 days plus plus

[pinkoneblueone]

New thread,

I won't be a very good host as I tend to dip in and out of these things but have filled up the last thread. (Sorry)

Last Friday when I went for my blood tests, I was convinced it could be diabetes due to the feeling of low blood sugar and my legs. Will be interesting to see my results.

@Whatnext2018 yes!

Whatnext DD is complaining frequently of dizziness and is also eating lots (which until now I’d seen as a positive ). Temp was 37.3 and 37.9 today (weirdly she has almost always has differing temps in each ear throughout this). I’m going back to GP again tomorrow...which will be the fifth time . She is so fed up bless her - I don’t know how to comfort her

@sleepwhenidie It’s awful, how long has she had it for?

Very quick update from me, and sorry for not replying directly to whoever namechecked me in a post yesterday - can't find it now and I'm too tired to remember who it was. But thanks, and I hope you're ok. Getting this on top of CFS and the like is extremely tough, I've got fibromyalgia and also a MH diagnosis similar to PTSD, so I totally get it. We're vulnerable enough as it is without this medical mystery to contend with!

My Wednesday was miles better than my Tuesday!! Hardly any pain, no shortness of breath or unmanageable fatigue. Managed to clean my fridge, do some personal grooming, take my bins down, hang washing, read a few chapters of my book and keep on top of the washing up. Paced myself throughout, took regular breaks for a bit of telly, had a siesta for 90 minutes before dinner. No painkillers needed. The only real symptoms were stiffness/muscle aches down the sides of my back and a mild headache this evening, but nothing too dismaying.

I'm in the 80s at least now, have lost count but it was late Feb when I started with the sore throat and awful headaches. I definitely feel that even though I'm having bad days still, something has changed. Hoping that very soon I can super-confidently tell you all that it definitely goes away! Take care

Ladies and gents it’s early day 74 for me i am very windy and have discomfort in my chest in my lungs and a sore throat. I am
Really struggling mentally at the moment an due to start antidepressants in the morning. I am really struggling with panic disorder and ptsd and each twinge I am getting now Is not very helpful for me. I struggling. Can other day 74 people please tell me your symptoms to help me get through? I had a traumatic experience at the weekend and it has brought all this tumbling down for me.

@pinkoneblueone

I’m sorry to hear that you had a traumatic experience at the weekend. Physical pain or illness is hard, but even harder on top of mental and emotional wounds which we are still healing. Although not formally diagnosed, I struggle with past trauma too and know how easily each twinge can set one back. I found the random lung pains hardest to deal with mentally but if it helps, I don’t have any lung pain at all now. I will post my update a bit later. Thinking of you and everyone else who is still suffering or worried with this virus. We will get through this. We will do it together.

Thank you @Valsemove I have only had about an hours sleep and have tried a bit of yoga to snap me out of my panic attack which worked but has given me muscle aches as they are exercise induced it has taken my mind off my sore and constricted throat feeling which is what I needed. I am going to try and get a bit of sleep Now the sun is up. I am finding nights hard again at the moment.

74 days (11 weeks and 2 days) since start of cold-type symptoms.

64 days (9 weeks and 1 day) since first breathlessness.

8 1/2 weeks since first breathlessness is when I felt I really turned the corner.

Now: No lung pain or breathlessness. Lungs feel normal - not tight or too small. Able to walk around house normally, up and down stairs and do light household activities (e.g. set table, empty small bins) without breathlessness or pain. I started putting laundry on the line, until neighbour’s BBQ started. I loaded the nappies into the washing machine but DH still had to carry the (full) nappy bucket. I haven’t pushed myself to do more than this.

I am not ‘conscious’ of my breathing anymore. However, I had to come indoors and close the windows yesterday afternoon as my lungs felt irritated by neighbour’s BBQ smoke. I could tolerate BBQ smoke before this illness. The feeling eased after a few minutes once I was indoors.

DH is still carrying DD up and down stairs but I did manage it once yesterday without any resulting pain or breathlessness.

Chest wall inflammation seems to have receded considerably over the past couple of days, but there is still some there.

My main symptoms now are gastric:

⁃	Acid reflux (diagnosis confirmed by GP over the phone yesterday) - never had this before, until two weeks into this illness 
⁃	Abdominal pain - sharp, quite spread out, but not debilitating - feels like it’s my intestines - intermittent, for past few weeks
⁃	Tummy churning a bit at nighttime and in morning  
⁃	Toilet runs in morning 

I also get some weird little symptoms like a slightly numb feeling in left arm/hand at times, but barely noticeable. Also yesterday evening, a pain around the bone/muscle at the back of my right ear, which passed fairly quickly. I know others here have reported these same symptoms.

I’m pleased so far with my progress but am building up my activity slowly. DH and I have agreed I won’t consider increasing it any further until Monday.

I’m still taking Pregnacare, Calcium & Vitamin D, Vitamin C and Algae Oil (Omega 3 and DHA). This is partly due to breastfeeding.

Gaviscon helps the reflux but I’m going to try to deal with it without Gaviscon or medication if I can, though GP has prescribed medication (omeprazole, I think) and a Gaviscon equivalent. Been reading up on how natural methods, including probiotic foods and drinks, can help. Willing to give it a try.

@Valsemove, we are in very very similar places, I have irration in my lungs and a feeling of something wedged in my windpipe and everything else is the same apart from my panic disorder thwarting things for me a little my throat is sore as I am sleeping with my mouth open and mouth breathing to compensate. Things do seem to be improving a little. We have all been sick here so it is making things tricky for us but we are getting there. I could actually kiss you. Thank you so much for the update. I just need to shift my wine issue as it is keeping me up too. Thank you.

@Whatnext2018 we kept her off school with a temperature the day Boris announced that whole households should isolate if one person had any symptoms, so I think exactly a week before lockdown started .

What the hell is that weird pain behind ear? I'd love to know.

DD has just said she has that exact pain in her neck! She just moved in bed and had it, first time she’s mentioned anything like it (hers is left side)

Mine is too

@Valsemove How long have you had the toilet runs for? I’m a similar timescale to you, my toilet runs have been for the last 5 weeks though.

Day 61/62 feel a bit catarrh-y and my pulse is still high but otherwise OK.

@baroqueandblue I’m so glad you are doing better. I can’t imagine how awful it must be to have to cope with this on top of other diagnoses

@pinkoneblueone I am so sorry about your awful weekend and poor sleep. I hope you can get some rest today at least. You are dealing with so many diagnoses at once too. I don’t know how people cope.

@ Valsemove sounds like good progress. I really hope you’re on the way out of this now.

@sleepwhenidie
I hope your daughter is OK.

@Whatnext2018
I had dizziness but only for the odd day.

Wishing you all a better day today

Anyone have high heart rate in the mornings more? Mine has just said 120, is that ok?

@whatnext2018 yes mine gets a bit less bad towards the evening. 120 is high at rest (it should be 60-90 ish) but normal if you are being more energetic. Heart rate is generally higher during any active infection.

@Valsemove good to hear you're making progress! 💐

I have had a pain behind the ear too. It comes and goes. Doc pressed there yesterday and it didn't hurt st all typically. Wondering if it might be causing the tinnitus.

@pinkoneblueone @Valsemove and so many others, I’m so sorry you’re
all still struggling after so long but you make me feel so much better to know it’s not just me! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
I started all this 10 weeks ago today! Fever, aches, dry cough, lump in my throat (since Christmas?!) and painful, swollen, constricted throat and neck glands. Plus a migraine headache (or worse if that’s possible?!) but the scariest thing was the chest pain and the breathing problems!
I spent a week in bed, then a week on the sofa before I could even move!
I have had virtually every symptom you have all described but the worst thing was the fact that every time I move, I couldn’t breathe and I couldn’t walk. For weeks and weeks it was so bad that even at rest, I struggled to talk.
I too thought I was improving after a few weeks and tried a few walks around our village and down the fields. I couldn’t breathe and ended up collapsing and having to lie on the grass for half an hour before I could even stand again. Definitely one of my scariest points! I’ve tried going out a couple of times since and it got to a similar point of breathlessness, so I now stay home.
I’ve also given up doing the gentle Pilates I was trying (hoping it would ease the stiffness in my chest?) because it only seems to make me worse and I’d have grim days recovering after any exercise.
My GP has been great at checking me out on three occasions: blood sats, blood pressure, temperature etc and ultrasound to check my heart and lungs.
Beginning of last week, he sent me to A&E where they checked everything including blood tests and a chest X-ray, apparently they were worried about the possibility of multiple blood clots on my lungs?! Thank goodness they couldn’t find any!
So after nearly 9 horrendous weeks I was sent home saying all the tests were fine. A relief but scary since I still felt so bad, in fact not much better than week 2/3?! Thought I was going mad and imagining it all. I know I’m absolutely not but if the tests were okay?! I also managed to get a test but it was 8 weeks by then and not surprisingly/thankfully it came back negative. I had been really scared I’d still be infectious if I was still ill?
This whole drama has been horrible and depressing. A couple of weeks ago I started seeing the odd bit on tv and on the internet about long term issues. And then I somehow I finally found all of you and I no longer felt alone.
I have been reading your posts and looking at all the brilliant articles you keep posting. And no, I’m not better yet but I’m hoping I will be one day?
Today I’ve finally picked up the courage to join in. When I saw @Valsemove’s comments about being left with mainly gastric issues (or is that just speciality of the week and it will be something else again next week?!) and @pinkoneblueone’s comments about ‘feeling of something wedged in my windpipe’ I realised I am in exactly the same place!
So hello, glad to meet you all. Sorry it’s not in better circumstances

Welcome @MelClare . It's bloody awful but at least having others makes you feel less alone.

I'm so anxious now about my health. I really feel like this has reactivated my PTSD

I've had the test result now. Negative, not surprisingly.

Now hopefully the antibody test will be available soon, that's what we really need.

@godhelpusall if you worry about this please contact your GP I have been suffering with this since the weekend and it’s not that long but it’s debilitating and it it making me feel worse.