Is this normal? Nearly 5 weeks post ‘positive’ test

[Fedupofitnow876]

I was really unwell with it - not needing hospital treatment but enough to be off work for a few weeks and there was no way I could have struggled on. Could barely move for about a week.

I’m still not right, but it’s intermittent. I’ll have days where I feel pretty much normal but a bit tired. Then days where my head is killing or my chest is feeling weird again. I’ve upped my exercise this week (nothing intense, just walking) and I’ve started feeling quite unwell again - exhausted, chest feeling weird, headache. Maybe I’ve overdone it this week. I feel like mostly my taste and smell have come back as normal, thankfully, but occasionally certain meals will taste a bit bland.

At what point does it become ‘long covid’? This weekend it will be 5 weeks since my positive test.

I keep panicking that I’ll have somehow caught it again (although barely been anywhere as being careful pre Christmas!) but I expect it’s more that I’m still ‘post viral’ and recovering.

I just wondered if it’s normal for these enduring symptoms to be intermittent, and not just feeling crap constantly?

I was the same with the intermittent symptoms. Even now (I had it in March) I occasionally get the raw/sore/cold inside nose feeling if I’m really tired or I’ve done lots of exercise.

I was off work for four weeks, phased return for two, and now I’m back at work I can’t exercise (even if we were allowed rules-wise!) It was just before COVID was, at the time, thought to be in the UK (January) so it was diagnosed as post viral fatigue. Now we know more about when it was actually in the UK, I’m guessing I had/have long COVID.

@cannaethink

I was the same with the intermittent symptoms. Even now (I had it in March) I occasionally get the raw/sore/cold inside nose feeling if I’m really tired or I’ve done lots of exercise.

I had exactly this feeling when I first got the virus! Like sea water in my nose!

I suppose when do you start worrying it’s another infection and when do you just think it’s the tail end of covid?

When I had 'flu, years ago, it was 12 weeks before I was able to last a whole day at work.

Your body's had a nasty attack. It will take time to recover. Treat it as gently as you can.

@Misssugarplum12764

I was off work for four weeks, phased return for two, and now I’m back at work I can’t exercise (even if we were allowed rules-wise!) It was just before COVID was, at the time, thought to be in the UK (January) so it was diagnosed as post viral fatigue. Now we know more about when it was actually in the UK, I’m guessing I had/have long COVID.

Sorry to hear this - did you find your symptoms were up and down? That’s what I’m struggling with, whether these are new symptoms or just intermittent prolonged covid!

@amicissimma

When I had 'flu, years ago, it was 12 weeks before I was able to last a whole day at work.

Your body's had a nasty attack. It will take time to recover. Treat it as gently as you can.

I just keep getting worried that I’ve caught it ‘again’ and will be infectious but I know that that’s incredibly unlikely for another few months at least!!

As I understand it, it's 12 weeks plus for long COVID. Certainly it was after that that the gp stopped just telling me it was pvf and referred me to the COVID recovery clinic.

Hopefully you wont get that far.

@Porcupineinwaiting

As I understand it, it's 12 weeks plus for long COVID. Certainly it was after that that the gp stopped just telling me it was pvf and referred me to the COVID recovery clinic.

Hopefully you wont get that far.

Sorry to hear that. So post viral is up to 12 weeks then? I was reading the NICE guidelines and they talk about ongoing symptomatic covid for 4-12 weeks so maybe this is what I have.

I haven’t bothered speaking to the GP about it as I’m not sure what they can do/say?

I'm 21 days since symptoms started, 16 post +ve test. Still feel absolutely crap, spend most of the day on the sofa, odd tightness in my chest if I move around too much, occasional bouts of anxiety and palpatations, much less wheezy. Haven't been out for weeks as we were self isolating due to dp catching it first. I'm dreading long covid because one of the risk factors for it is asthma which I have. It's such a worry isn't it...

As to what the gp can do, I think it depends on your symptoms.

If you are still having breathing difficulties or heart problems I'd suggest you do speak to them as there are medications that can/may help. If it's generalised feeling crap, or weird neurological shit, not so much.

@Porcupineinwaiting

As to what the gp can do, I think it depends on your symptoms.

If you are still having breathing difficulties or heart problems I'd suggest you do speak to them as there are medications that can/may help. If it's generalised feeling crap, or weird neurological shit, not so much.

The latter

I think it can be a virus that takes a long time to recover from, even if technically mild. It sounds horrible but hopefully things will improve in the next few weeks. Try not to overdo it and be patient.

I had swine flu when I was a very healthy 23 year old. It was mild enough to not need hospital treatment but I took months to feel better again.

Yes, very up and down. And randomly too; sometimes when work is hard, sometimes when I’m really relaxed!

Yes covid symptoms can go up and down. You can think you have recovered completely and then relapse again, unfortunately. I’d strongly recommend avoiding strenuous exercise for now (even if you feel up to it). It makes things worse.

Ah just seen new NICE guidelines suggest anyone worried about symptoms after 8 weeks should be offered a consultation at a clinic, referred via GP.

Yes for the up and down. I had a relapse at the end of my first week and then started with new symptoms this week almost three weeks in. The cough is still very much there.

You can ask your GP to refer you to a post covid clinic for assessment, and they can discuss your recovery with you.
A relapse in symptoms is a common pattern. This can happen if you have increased your activity levels and have exerted yourself too much. That won't be what you'd normally think of as "too much", as your tolerance levels will be very low.
Pacing yourself, increasing your activity very slowly and then reducing as needed if your symptoms return, is really important.
Have a look at www.mycovidrecovery.nhs.net

Thanks pps. I’ve definitely noticed a pattern of feeling unwell if I’ve either had a more ‘active’ day or a busy day working with lots of meetings etc. On the weekends I’ve been a lot better.

Keep getting migraines as well - usually only get them once or twice a year.

It is the gift that keeps on giving!!!

I need to just listen to my body and not push it - as frustrating as it is.

@starrynight19

Yes for the up and down. I had a relapse at the end of my first week and then started with new symptoms this week almost three weeks in. The cough is still very much there.

Are you having to isolate again due to your new symptoms?? Probably a stupid question but I’m worried about having to do this when I know I’m still recovering!

Post viral fatigue (and associated symptoms) is not a new thing unfortunately. In my experience it’s only after two years post virus that they start looking for other reasons. I’m sorry you feel like crap but in the grand scheme of things, it’s not been that long.

When I was little my parents used to talk about convalescent homes and convalescence after an illness or an operation. It wasn't that long previously that there were no antibiotics and no vaccinations against most childhood viruses, so people would get quite ill and their bodies would have to fight the infection. Which takes it out of a body and it was recognised that they would need time to recover.

Then we got vaccinations and antibiotics and serious illness was much rarer. We got used to short, mild viral infections and just taking a day or two off work, then taking some paracetemol and going back, or having a course of antibiotics and then back to work.

Now a new, more serious illness has come along. Outside of hospitals we have no treatment. Our bodies literally have a fight to the death (of the virus, hopefully). It's hardly surprising it takes its toll on us. And we're not used to having to do that, so we expect to be able to carry on as we usually do after a mild illness or a treated one.

We hardly know how to convalesce any more and, unlike in my parents' day, we don't have people telling us to, nor anyone offering to look after us and take on our chores while we recuperate. Which it turns out we need.

@Fedupofitnow876 no , I have laryngitis and conjunctivitis both diagnosed this week. They are connected to covid but I am out and about now.

OP, I’ve had long Covid for almost 9 months now. And I’m still breathless at 100 yards, and still having relapses where I’m coughing and exhausted.
The advice with exercise post Covid is to not let your heart rate get higher than 60% above base rate, and to do gentle walking rather than vigorous workouts. Pace yourself - don’t try to do too much in one day.
If possible, have a rest with your feet up or a short nap in the afternoon, have a regular bedtime and at least 8 hours sleep a night. Eat healthy food, and take a vit D supplement to help your immunity.

I’m finding the relapses are getting less severe and further apart with this regime, but it’s a very long hard road. I’m off oxygen at night now, and not waking three times a night breathless any more, but I’m frustrated at the level of lung disability, given that I was previously completely fit.

@amicissimma

When I was little my parents used to talk about convalescent homes and convalescence after an illness or an operation. It wasn't that long previously that there were no antibiotics and no vaccinations against most childhood viruses, so people would get quite ill and their bodies would have to fight the infection. Which takes it out of a body and it was recognised that they would need time to recover.

Then we got vaccinations and antibiotics and serious illness was much rarer. We got used to short, mild viral infections and just taking a day or two off work, then taking some paracetemol and going back, or having a course of antibiotics and then back to work.

Now a new, more serious illness has come along. Outside of hospitals we have no treatment. Our bodies literally have a fight to the death (of the virus, hopefully). It's hardly surprising it takes its toll on us. And we're not used to having to do that, so we expect to be able to carry on as we usually do after a mild illness or a treated one.

We hardly know how to convalesce any more and, unlike in my parents' day, we don't have people telling us to, nor anyone offering to look after us and take on our chores while we recuperate. Which it turns out we need.

This is so true and I hadn’t thought of it like that! All these people saying it’s ‘a sniffle’!