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)

@ohidontgetit - a whitey green colour? Try using a hydrogen peroxide mouthwash (if you have any hydrogen peroxide at home). I had this during my first week of illness, along with a foul taste in my mouth.

My de has just said his mouth tastes of metal again! Ffs. 8 weeks after he caught it he has the metal taste again. I have been worrying endlessly about my kids getting ill again.

@user34254356 same here, negative on both and still have ongoing sob as burning on and off. Really don’t know what to do as feel like if it hasn’t been this there is something massively wrong with me. Where do we go though?!! Feel like just pushed away now I’ve been looked over by hospital

Dear all,

I am at 8 and a half weeks. I started reading this thread about 2 weeks ago whilst I was in bed ill and have found it very useful, particularly to help ease my anxiety. Whilst I wouldn't want to wish these symptoms on anyone, it was re-assuring to know that I am not the only one!

I wonder if I may ask some advice and I apologise in advance if this has been covered before. I have abdominal pain/swelling/inflammation that seems to be exasperated by being either stood up or sat down. This has been going on since the beginning and I can only assume that the weight of my chest etc is pressing down and contributing to this problem as it disappeared whilst I spent a week in bed. There is very mixed press with regards to whether I should take ibuprofen or any other anti-inflammation drugs. What does everyone else think, is it ok to take ibuprofen? and would anyone else recommend any other anti inflammation drugs for this problem? I will ring the Doctor again next week, but they seem as much in the dark as we are with all these symptoms.

I am aware that my symptoms whilst debilitating at times, pale in comparison to some people on here. I can only send everyone my best and hope that we can all beat this horrible thing as as soon as possible.
Thanks & best wishes, Steve

@ohidontgetit i still am off my food at times. Sometimes i am thinking about it before the meal but then i have no desire to taste it.

@Wingingit15 i guess we should feel happy that it's not covid but I would like to know what it is then? I also have low grade fever spikes nearly every day now out of the blue and so wondering whether i have contracted covid now. Only time will tell !

@Dorual sorry just replied to another post but wanted to say I’m with you. I really don’t know where to go from here, have made real effort to not think about it (hence didn’t post on last thread after getting negative anti body test via hosp) but very definitely have sob, burning and jumped heartbeat again. Feels like it’s a never ending cycle and if it’s not C19 what is wrong ?!

godhelpusall

That’s what seems to be so twatty about this virus. For some people it almost becomes chronic.

How very strange.

@WingingIt15 and @Dorual the tests are not very accurate as far as I know. If you have the distinctive symptoms and timecourse of Covid, during a Covid pandemic, then doesn’t it seem most likely you have Covid and that the test was wrong?

@Wingingit15 It’s got to be covid. With the Guardian article based on the doctor’s experience who surely must have been tested, and his saga of symptoms, we can all relate at one level or other.

@user34254356 you see I’ve never had noticeable temperatures - the only thing I’ve not had that is typical. It interesting to read above possible link between lack of temp and antibodies. Though I feel like clutching straws. Feel like if I had this again it would literally kill me, still feel so weak

@Deano1649
I'd say at this point you're unlikely to be still viral and anti inflammatories should be fine. I've been taking them. Ibuprofen seems to be the only thing that does anything.

@Wingingit15 do you really think it isn't COVID though? If I believed I didn't have COVID I would really be banging on my gp's door demanding answers.

The only other viruses my gp could suggest that would last this long were whooping cough and glandular fever. I had whooping cough two years ago and it was awful but nothing like this and I personally havent had the symptoms for glandular fever (fever, swollen neck glands, v sore throat).

When I went to hospital I had chest x ray, bloods, ecg. All came back without concern and coded covid amber. Was genuinely suprised when antibody was neg. I asked explicitly when they looked at my test if there was a chance it could be lung cancer or copd or something or not and they were very clear no. However maybe they just though it was presenting as panic attack and trying to reassure me, I don’t know ...

Ps I’ve stayed away as I said to avoid thinking about how I feel but it’s so lovely to be able to discuss 😁

Hi all,

bit of an unusual post this - it's Saturday so I'm not working, but trying to find ways to fill the day, and it got me to thinking how this group has developed over the weeks. I kind of see us all as having being press-ganged into a mass experiment where we are forced to experience a very prolonged version of this virus with close to zero information or advice from the medical profession. Nobody will ever be in this exact situation again because people who get infected now will at least have access to information we didn't - information that might be reassuring or helpful in alleviating some symptoms. On the other hand, we have had to make it up as we go along.

So.... in my non-COVID life one of the things I do is analyse language. To that end, I've taken the past 5 long-term COVID threads, going back to 9th April and used some software to pick out the top 10 words which have been most distinctive of each thread (compared to the other threads). And here's what the "hot topics" or what we were agonising about across 5 earlier threads.

9th-15th April – antibiotics, smell, BCG, pattern, taste, appetite, breathlessness, sepsis, heartburn, temperature
15th-21st April – viral, fizzing, buzzing, coughing, clearing, weakness, calls, tingling, throat, fatigue
21st-29th April – bras, heart, pleurisy, labyrinthitis, doom, sore, throat, phlegmy, windpipe, chest
29th-April-5 May – CBD, doctors, clots, tests, sample, asthmatic, myocarditis, oral, cardiac, SOB
5-15 May – toes, inflammation, tinnitus, ibuprofen, yoga, turmeric, ears, confusion, syndrome, antibody

The words indicate how complicated this virus is in terms of the carousel of symptoms it produces over a prolonged period (many of which are not recognised officially of course). The words also indicate how our own understandings, feelings and theories about the virus has progressed over time, and which symptoms were bothering us the most collectively at any given point. Discussion of smell and taste occurred much earlier in our collective progression, while issues around sore throats or clearing the throat appeared more at the middle point. The start of May seems to have been one of particular concern about heart issues while inflammation (and reducing it) seems to be a fairly recent topic. If anyone has any specific things they want me to look at, let me know.

@Wingingit15 which antibody test did the hospital carry out? I thought the antibody test (Roche) was just approved few days ago?

I know it's utterly disheartening when you get a negative result. For those wondering what else it could be, adenovirus was suggested to me as it presents exactly the same with breathing difficulties, gastro issues etc. I don't know too much about it but if there is widespread adenovirus in the UK, it's surprising that it hit Uk at the same time as covid and that no one has picked up on this at all. When you look at the number of positive tests as a proportion of total tests carried out and even remove the false negatives, there is a fairly large population that is still (true) negative and so there must be another virus doing the rounds with the same symptoms?

I actually now believe that I didn't really have covid, negative swabs and negative antibody. I am going to try the Abbot one as well, but honestly i don't know anyone who has tested positive for antibodies and so surely we must all have a different virus?

Thank you @Linus1972 it really is fascinating to see the wide variety of symptoms, and also the progression of our discussions. What will be next??

After a promising start to the day things have slid again. I spent most of the afternoon in a state that I find hard to describe - very jittery, almost like a permanent state of high panic. It felt like my heart was racing but my heart rate was actually okay.

This very literally burned out later in the afternoon - it was abruptly replaced with a burning sensation from my head to my bladder. It's also left me with a headache, interestingly a previous poster (can't remember who sorry) described it's location perfectly - in the bone behind my right ear! The SOB is also back.

Probably relating to the burning bladder (which has been intermittent for the last week or so), it's now starting to hurt when I pee, so I've been necking water all evening. I feel like another part of my body is now under attack. Has anyone else had this?

Ah fuck...now the dry coughing is starting. I was praying that wouldn’t come.

Hi, I hope you're all on the mend? Please can you tell me what you think of these symptoms? Stiff, painful hands and forearms, stiff neck and upper back, griping stomach ache, exhaustion and weird little dry blisters on hands and feet. Also short of breath but no cough. The Zoe app sent me for a test on Thursday which has come back negative. I have no idea what to think. I did have a very bad cough earlier this year (super long 'sensitive bladder' pads bad) but can't remember when exactly. Could that have been corona and this a recurrence or am I barking up the wrong tree in your proper Covid19 experiences?

@fedupofbed it was me. Weirdly I've also had burning from head to bladder too, very strange. What day are you? Maybe these are the last two symptoms before the end (mad naive optimism!)

That’s really interesting @Linus1972 - thank you very much for posting it.

Sorry you are feeling worse @fedupofbed.

@user34254356 that’s interesting that you believe we have a different virus. It does just seem so unlikely that there would be an outbreak of two separate viruses with similar novel symptoms at the same time though. I’d find it easier to buy that this is perhaps a mutation of the more common covid. Who knows.

I really don’t trust the swab tests. The sensitivity and specificity data have not been released as far as I can tell but there is one paper that suggests only 70% sensitivity. My feeling is that the government is just interested in the numbers of tests being done rather than whether or not they are accurate (particularly as they are probably going for herd immunity by stealth anyhow, so telling people they are fine to go to work when they are actually positive suits them).

I have no idea how they can possibly say the Roche antibody test is 100% sensitive and >99% specific either. What are they measuring it against? The swab test which is likely inaccurate itself?

@user34254356 interesting re another virus doing the rounds. I previously posted that the cardiologist I saw said 75% of those presenting with symptoms at his clinic tested positive for antibodies and 25% negative. He seemed to imply though that the negatives may have had a different virus rather than a false result. He is using the Abbott test and I should get my result later in the week.

@godhelpusall ha yes wouldn't it be great if these were the last symptoms. Hate to say it but I'm on day 78, and every day I wonder what's in store for me. What day are you?

@egghead68 fair point that the benchmark used for the accuracy of the Roche test may be unreliable in itself. There is probably a lot we don't know about this virus.

I am just so disappointed with the variety of negative outcomes I have had that i have reconciled myself to having had another virus, which isn't a bad thing in itself. It's not like I wanted to get covid !

@fedupofbed that's interesting that 25% are testing negative and may have had a different virus. It is so tricky as a lot of viruses can make you seriously ill for a very long time and the symptoms can be very similar.

@fedupofbed 66 I think. I really hope that's it. I can't face much more ☹️.