COVID Lungs 8wks plus

[baroqueandblue]

Saw the previous thread is almost full. Hope I've not duplicated a new thread! And I might not be the best person to be custodian of this one, so feel free someone else to start a replacement and I'll get this deleted. Otherwise -

Here we all are, at least 56 days plus 😕

Thanks @Lightsabre. So frustrating as thought I was taking it slowly. I also felt really good. Even said to my husband that I was going to wear my running gear next week and try a little run on the flat.
@AndsLee I have the Mirena coil so don't get any periods. I will take it back a gear and see how it goes.

@godhelpusall I’m getting that sensation in my legs also. Keep trying to rub and massage the weird feeling out but it doesn’t help, really. I haven’t been moving around as much for the past couple of days since my faint so I thought it might be to do with that. Who knows! Another weird symptom to add to the list.

@Lightsabre hope you're okay and good to her you're still making progress. As painfully slow as it is! Yes we're both about day 6o aren;t we and I still relate to your current symptoms. Sadly 6 months does seem realistic but I would't be surprised if it takes longer.

@Kitcat122 So frustrating isn't it -- wanting to get back to normal but being held back.

The best advice I've seen recently is only do half of what you think you can, and even then take lots of rests.

I'm interspersing my day with mindfulness sessions and the effects is both mentally and physically calming. I'm gutted I can't exercise at the moment or enjoy a Spring walk but I can work on my mind and mental health.

Everything is so difficult. I’ve been waiting 2 weeks for my urgent cardiology appt to be switched to a hospital I can get to. Yesterday my Gp practice phoned to say they were looking at this and unable to do it as the dept was closed. Today I phoned the dept myself and they said they are open and the go just needs to email them. I’ve relayed this to my Gp practice but I’ve no faith they will send the email. I’m also having to chase an antibody test. I feel like I don’t have the energy to chase every single thing. Grr... it would be nice if things worked properly. End rant.

Morning everyone. I'm still in bed for most of the day and still get very frustrated and low about this. However, I'm now managing to get downstairs more often and spending short spells in the garden so I just have to be patient and accept that there is progress but it's very slow. I will be venturing out today for a chiropractor appointment, and I'm a bit nervous about this, particularly about all the physical energy it will take and how it might affect me.

@MillStone thank you for checking in. I'm sorry you still have an array of symptoms. I'm very interested in how your appointment with the infectious diseases expert goes - could you let us know? Also, did you get it through a GP referral?

@Egghead68 and @Kitcat122 sorry you're both having relapses, and @NotAnotherUserNumber sorry recovery is taking a long time too. As others have said over-exertion does seem to be a key factor,

@BellatrixLeStrangest I too can't shower! I get really breathless, no idea why it would set this off - would love to get a medical explanation. I have relaxing baths instead.

@BellatrixLeStrangest there’s certainly similarity between your symptoms and those experienced by many of us but as @Lightsabre says it’s impossible to know for sure without further tests (and no one seems sure whether covid could have been circulating in Jan). That said, your issue with the shower struck a chord with me. In my second week of all this, when my breathing got worse, I had a shower which made me far worse and I came out gasping for breath and terrified. It felt like the steam was replacing all the oxygen in my lungs and I couldn’t get enough air in. When I spoke to a GP about my shortness of breath they suggested a steamy shower and couldn’t understand when I said that I couldn’t tolerate this as it made my breathing worse. For a couple of weeks I was scared to shower and could only do so very quickly with a cooler shower and the cubicle door open. Weird as it contradicts what is often suggested for lung restriction.

@Egghead68 what a complete pain, I know you've been waiting for the 'urgent' appointment for so long. And it's completely draining have to chase all the time. I've still not got my antibody results yet either.

@Egghead68 sorry you’re having difficulty with your GP. Hope you get it sorted quickly.

@fedupofbed sure I will keep you updated. Yes it was a referral via my GP. Luckily there is a special department in my local hospital. Unless I hear otherwise it’s face to face which is worrying... but a risk worth taking.

@fedupofbed

Good luck at your apt! Take it slow!!

@Millstone thank you. Yes I need to slow it down. It's just so hard when I'm used to exercising daily. After 4 children at 48 I'm seeing all my hard work literally turning to jelly 😭😂😂

What a nasty, nasty illness that 2 an a half months on, going for a daily walk is overdoing it!!!

I know @Kitcat122 ! I'm a similar age with 3 children, used to run regularly. I'm now like a little old lady. And annoyingly I've started to put on weight too!

Same, 38yo and run or cycle every morning, nice walk at lunch and strength training or yoga in the evening before dinner.

@Kitcat122 @fedupofbed @millstone Same here, Iove running, and like an old lady now. All my muscle is gone and I got some not particularly pretty cellulite on my thighs which I have never had before.

Sorry to hear you have relapse @Kitcat122

A tentatively positive morning for me so far after yesterday's dancing fiasco. After the lump in my throat appeared I started to get a serious burning in my sternum and my throat was getting really sore. Someone on here mentioned GERD, so I started looking that up. I know chestwall inflammation can feel like GERD, so I had kind of ignored the reflux burning up until yesterday. But the worst of the feelings that the dancing had brought on was all "Gerd-ish." I had a little shortness of breath but when I tried blowing up a balloon with as few blows as possible it caused a dull ache in my right lung, not the sharp stab I was getting even a week ago.

I mentioned this to my mum on the phone and she brought me a pantoprazole tablet she had at home. After half an hour the lump in my throat stopped getting worse and after an hour or two started to ease back. By night time the burning sensation had eased and my chest wasn't as tight and I was getting very little breathing pain. This morning my breathing is mostly fine. I have sore, stiff muscles, but that's hopefully just a result of some of my more crazy dance moves. I still have the burning sensation but not as bad. Some chest pain and a headache.

I've called my gp and I'm going to take pantoprazole for a while and see if that helps. Post-viral GERD is common and may explain why my throat, mouth and esophagus has been covered in sores for the last 10 days or so as I increased my walking. Even the ear pain I was experiencing could have been GERD. Fingerscrossed it helps. The worst of my symptoms recently seem to be GERD related, so I'm feeling hopeful this might be the beginning of the end!!!

Glad you got away with the dancing better than me @alittleprivacy! My resting heart rate has gone back up to 95 (was 77 pre dancing and walking 6000 steps). I’m doing no walking today and I’m going to stick to 3-5K a day max for the next couple of weeks.

Thank you for all the sympathy with my rant!

Thanks everyone, I need to put it in perspective I guess. I am improving generally and a lot of people have suffered and are suffering much more than I have. We will ALL get there in the end. Healing vibes to everyone xx

@Egghead68 There must have been something in the air last night as I did a bit of dancing/jiggling too. I stopped after around 20 seconds as my chest was hurting. This morning it’s still hurting and I have a sore throat.

Oh no! I do think it's possible the virus has triggered a post-viral cardiac reaction in you. One of my uncles had a really bad case of pericarditis after a viral infection some years ago. I hope you get your cardiology appointment soon.

@alittleprivacy great that helped!

Yes acid reflux. I’ve noticed most people seem to be experiencing symptoms. It can case a lump in throat, coughing after eating, trouble swallowing, sore throat, chest pain and tightness and SOB.

I noticed mine has returned since sleeping flatter.

I was prescribed omeprazole weeks ago but hated the bloated sensation so stopped.

Since that I’ve tried cutting out all problematic foods and drinks and tried to calm it with fresh ginger tea and probiotics.

Might try some gaviscon if it doesn’t work. Hopefully that will be less problematic than The omeprazole. Apparently the liquid one coats the oesophagus too.

Thanks @alittleprivacy. Yes I think pericarditis is a strong possibility (and would fit with the bouts of alarmingly low blood pressure I’ve been having and raised troponin).

@Kitcat122 same here on the jelly front. My body shape has completely changed from taut and muscular to blob. My thighs and bum are the worst (I’ve managed a few arm weights lying on the sofa). I think of all the people dead or in intensive care though ...

If I ever get back to the gym (which seems unimaginable at the moment) I think people will be shocked at how I’ve deteriorated.

Week 9 or 11.
Nasty nasty day after a pretty good week and slightly overdoing it yesterday.
No deep breaths allowed and the chest pain has upped a notch today.
I had a very scary incident on the sofa. I was lying listening to dd and I felt a wave of hot all over. I felt as though I couldn't breathe properly.
I checked my sats and O2 was 95 and then shot up along with my pulse. BPM was 150.
In the space of about half an hour this has happened three times now.
I've rung the GPs and been prescribed a beta blocker for anxiety.
I dont think its anxiety causing my anxiety.
But I dont know what is.
Its died down now but I feel very weird and shaky. And frightened that it will happen again.

@Crayfishforyou I've had a scary turn like that I think. Have you had anything to eat/drink? I am not sure if it's immune system flaring or what but it's terrifying.

@Egghead68 & @Kitcat122 same here on the jelly front. My body shape has completely changed from taut and muscular to blob. My thighs and bum are the worst (I’ve managed a few arm weights lying on the sofa).

Another jelly person here. I hate the loss of muscle. I've also gained fat because I've gained weight while losing muscle. The worst part for me is that I've lost my core strength and that means that a back injury I sustained in my 20s is hurting again. When I have a strong core I don't feel much pressure on the old injury. But with a jelly-belly the pain in my lower back has returned with a vengeance. As much as I hate the loss of strength and the loss of the toned look my body had, the return of an old pain I'd worked to eradicate just fucking sucks.

Day 75 today. Lots of neurological problems these days. Numb hands and arms, dizziness, blurry vision, tingling jaw and face, poor balance. Anyone else still experiencing this? Yesterday was the first time I felt scared in a long while.