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 😕

Hi @stayathomegardener So glad things are picking up for you 🙏 it’s reassuring to hear there’s some light at the end of this tunnel.
Would you mind just briefly listing your symptoms in order, just curious to see if there’s a general timeline we’re all kind of following (obviously some of us have more chest issues than others or more neurological symptoms etc)
I currently seem to be at the very achy stage in the upper body and dizziness, face numbness, some headaches etc X

@AndsLee fingers crossed we are past that stage... though I've left the bag there for now!

@stayathomegardener I'm really glad you're improving, and especially losing the weird symptoms. I hope it continues.

I'm very interested in your gut supplement, I've not heard of that before. I'm on week 3 of a 12 week course of Symprove though so I'd better not mix the two. It's hard to tell if it's had any effect, though the reflux has definitely improved over the last few days - I tentatively stopped taking the omeprazole yesterday.

@fedupofbed Ive also adding in slippery elm, bone broth and l-glutathione over the weeks

Thank you @stayathomegardener I'll look in to them.

Trying so hard with the fruit and veg - DH has just handed me my dinner, which seems to consist mainly of sprouts and broccoli with a little bit of fish and chips on the side 😏

@stayathomegardener I'm super interested in all youve been doing for the reflux. Mine is so bad at the moment. I'm still resisting omezaprole though as bit scared of yet more meds. How bad was your reflux initially? Did you take any meds for it?
I have ordered Symprove and am drinking lots of kefir.

I think I might quit my ranitidine. I seem to be having allergy symptoms, never had those in my life! Ranitidine is a histamine so I wonder if it's being counter productive.

@Whatnext2018 so hard to remember.

Early March
Lump in throat, acid burning windpipe, hot flushes, smelling burning, developed after a week or so to typical flu including SOB, racing heart, tight band/ weight on chest, 02 dropping below 93.
No sleep omg awake 24/7. Feeling of doom, huge anxiety. No cough or appreciable temperature.

Early April started to see an improvement in symptoms apart from the acid burning but hit by a wave of intense fatigue and interesting neurological bits.

End April fatigue lifting able to potter 4 hours in the morning but any extra exertion resulted in a crash and brought on chest pain, tight band, SOB, racing heart continuous sweating, neurological stuff around my nose and acid burning

Last 10 days or so able to potter 4-5 hours in the morning and help with evening meal preparation, hot sweats surprise me occasionally. Sleep only broken when too hot.

Waking without any obvious symptoms apart from fatigue.

When tired my chest feels odd but it's hardly noticeable. Pulse consistently normal 60ish.
No dips but expecting one obviously. 🙄 Still treating myself very carefully as I'm desperate to avoid ME again.

My dry cough has got a lot worse today (day 71/72). Has anyone had this happen? It had almost gone. I’m starting to worry I might have caught Covid again in A&E on 13th May (last time I went out).

I’m really glad you are doing well @stayathomegardener!

I’m having one of those days when my mind is telling me that everyone else will get better and I will be the only one left with this for life. Not a helpful thought!

@hollieberrie I had no idea it was reflux initially, I assumed it was a Covid lung issue.

I've a condition that produces super low stomach acid so excess acid would be very unusual for me.

The British Lung foundation have a fantastic WhatsApp service and I chatted to them about my "lung problems" and breathing issues, they were confident it was acid related including the SOB.

I was very dubious at the time but am confident they were right.

I've been treating it as such for about 3 weeks and for the first time in almost 3 months my peak flow is now back to my normal 440 readings.

Not started the Kefir yet, it's still brewing 🥴

@Egghead68
Could you get a test to find out for sure? I would as I'd be anxious about it otherwise.

@Egghead68 I have already said to DH three times today I'm never going to get back to how I was am I ?
It's a normal reaction to an unknown virus with crazy symptoms.

The Koreans are confident you can't be reinfected, they pride themselves on being at the forefront of Covid research. There is a fantastic video on Asian Boss where they talk of viral numbers flaring up in dips to above 3,000 somethings which can give a positive test but it's not a new infection.

@AndsLee I seem to have developed hayfever which I've never had before. Piriton clears up my symptoms every time. Could it be that?

I'm surprised the covid app doesn't mention acid reflux yet. I write it in every day as an extra symptom but everyone who's had the virus seems to say it causes acid reflux.
I've swapped from lansoprazole to esomeprazole and it seems to be better.

@ofwarren could be... I don't have a runny nose though. It's more like a kinda constricted feeling, not quite wheezy, a rash on my hands and red, sore eyes. I've started taking Benedryl. I hope this isn't a permanent thing...

@Egghead68 I feel exactly the same too. That's why I listed all my progress today, to try and keep the demons at bay. My cardio symptoms have returned this afternoon too. I'm trying to remember that the nature of this thing is non linear and hopefully each relapse will be smaller.

I never really had a dry cough I'm afraid but as @stayathomegardener said I think based on the evidence out there it's unlikely you'd have been reinfected so soon afterwards?

@stayathomegardener
I am following this thread wondering if I had a relatively mild dose of covid mid -March
You are the first person who has listed feeling of doom, severe anxiety and sleeplessness which were what happened to me the first few days.
Basically I was fine then over the space of 45 mins I became jittery and lost my appetite completely (was cooking tea at the time - baked salmon. Not sure I'll ever eat it again). Couldn't sleep, racing heart which felt like anxiety. Bit of nausea, diarrhea the next day, then sore throat, thick phlegm, dizziness for a week or so, backache, flank pain on left, one evening of central chest pain. Then a slight dry cough and feeling of having inhaled talcum powder. No fever. Then weeks of indigestion and the talcum powder feeling, slight cough comes and goes. I feel fine now and never had tight chest, sob or persistent cough, (which makes me doubt that it was covid?) but I had a very strange thing that affected multiple body systems, was mild, but dragged on for much longer than mild illnesses I have had in the past. This was mid March and the heartburn is finally mostly gone.

The dizziness and anxiety/doom feeling were the worst part at first, then the talcum powder feeling that lasted about 2 weeks persistently and I still get now if someone sprays deodorant near me, like there's a new sensitivity in my tubes 😊

I too keep having the what if I never get better thing. Some days better than others and also left with bad acid reflux.

@ofwarren I did a swab test on Tuesday which was negative but they miss around 30% of positives. I agree it’s unlikely I’ve been reinfected - my mind is going a bit worst-case-scenario at the moment!

@feelpoorly, @fedupofbed and @stayathomegardener sorry you are having the never-going-to-get-better thoughts too. It’s so hard because we just don’t know, do we? I guess the likelihood is that we will but that it may take a very long time (I can believe it could take a couple of years in my case).

@stayathomegardener Thank so much 💐 I recognise a lot of those symptoms, trying to see if we follow a sort of set pattern 🤔

@Egghead68 Hope it’s just a temporary thing, I’m thinking (hoping) can’t be reinfected 🙏

egghead my dry cough consistently comes back just as I think it is going, usually if I have ‘overdone’ it the previous day and/or I am having a relapse. I am on day 72 now and it was back this morning after two days of thinking things were clearing up; I also have had chest pain back all day, racing heart (which I had not noticed for days or even a couple of weeks) and some shortness of breath. So I guess a mild relapse.

I have also had the feeling this will just not go away and is a chronic condition to manage now, but I do think week on week there is some marginal improvement - I hope at least.

So I’ve found another symptom-woohoo (said with sarcasm)
I noticed it yesterday, but today has been the same. Either tend to have no appetite or be starving most of the time. Hadn’t eaten much all day, was really hungry at dinner and wolfed it all down. Felt red hot almost immediately afterwards and still have a high temperature (for me) sat here sweating, my hr also went to 100-110, when just sat here. That was just over an hour ago and still high temp. Anyone had this weird one or has an explanation please?

Thanks @stayathomegardener those tips you posted about acid are really helpful, hopefully it will just go in time?? I have a Polish shop right near me so have been buying kefir from there but may look into growing my own. Apparently it's easy?! Famous last words..

I also have THE FEAR of never getting better but great to hear that the South Koreans don't believe reinfection is possible. I'm also holding onto some Sars research i read about on patients (all hospitalised and very poorly) who all made a full, complete physical recovery within 1 year.

I did before my big relapse. I felt better but I was really hungry all the time, weirdly so. I've had odd turns to do with food- especially low blood sugar