I have covid, just keep crying

[Zenab12]

Hi so this week I tested positive for covid. It came from my lovely sister in law who didn't tell us she had covid before coming to our house. First my son had a cough and he tested positive, he is 4 and only had a cough. Then my daughter got ill (5&half) she was quite bad, high temp, dizzy. My husband is completely fine.

I'm only 23, had my first jab of Pfizer last month ( 2nd one due 30th August) and I just feel so so bad, I started with a fever and just general feeling of being unwell for the first 3 days, I'm on day 5 now, yesterday the fever subsided but I feel so sick and dizzy every time I stand up, I've completely lost my taste and smell and its actually pretty scary to me whenever I try and smell something or eat something and I can't even taste it. I feel hungry but I can't eat. I keep calling my mum and crying down the phone bevause I'm usually a very active person and every time I feel the slightest bit better and I get up and try and clean etc I end up not being able to stand up bevause I feel so ill and weak. I'm taking paracetomal every 4hrs. My head really hurts and my ears really hurt. I just never imagined it would hit me this bad and thank god I had the first vaccine when I did otherwise I don't know how bad I would have been.

Does anyone have any advice on absolutely anything I can do to make myself feel better 😒 I know the only option really is to just ride it out but I just keep feeling so bad, upset and scared. My kids are both better now and it's just so so hard feeling this bad when I need to run around after them, I haven't got dressed in 5 days and I'm practically bed bound and the mum guilt is killing me bevause they are just sat at home watching me in bed all day.

Oh you poor thing . Just wanted to give a virtual hug and tell yourself that this WILL pass ! Xx

Drink lots of water, REST, your children will be fine so ignore the stupid mum guilt (it lies!) just cover the basics - all fed and watered and clean. Hope you feel better soon

Are you able to watch TV?

If you are, time to buckle down and binge watch a TV series you've already wanted to watch but never had the time.

Shame on your sister-in-law!!!

Can I ask gently if you’ve ever had flu or similar before? It’s shocking to find out just how incapacitated an illness can make you. You’re fairly young and it made me wonder if this is your first time dealing with that level of illness?

You need to be kind to yourself. Let your dh pick up the slack with your dc and concentrate that maternal energy on yourself. Tuck yourself up in bed, take plenty of fluids and tell yourself, out loud if necessary, all the soothing things you’d say to a friend or a child.

It’s natural to be frightened too - and frustrated - and all those things. But try and be sensible too. It’s a tough dose but in your age group likely to pass in a few more days. It will take time to get back to full fitness so you’ll have to be patient. Again, channel those maternal instincts and tell yourself to be patient, to take it easy.

Everyone gets sick and dc learn lots of great things from mum being out of action for a while. Let go of the guilt!

Please don’t take more that 8 paracetamol tablets in a 24 hour period (4g maximum in 24 hours)
Drink lots, try and eat something easy: bananas or crackers. Rest up if you can. Get well soon

Ah bless you, you will be fine (speaking as someone much older than you who recovered from Covid) - but please get your husband or his selfish sister to watch the kids while you rest! If it's the sister, give the kids loads of sugary treats before she arrives .... She's NOT lovely!

Your husband is there so don’t worry about running around after everyone, you need to rest so you can get well. Sleep as much as you can and drink lots. Stressing about all the other stuff isn’t going to help you get well.

Not really - try to take small bites of food like dry toast or a bit of biscuit so paracetamol and ibuprofen have the best chance of working (paramedics told me that, it really makes a difference), and rotate them so you're taking something every 2 hours. Keep sipping cool drinks obviously, and a damp flannel and a fan can help the raging temperature feel more comfortable.

I feel for you, I got quite scared at feeling so ill for so long and not being well enough to watch something on Netflix or listen to music - even soothing meditations gave me hallucinations.

It was day 6 before I could stay out of bed for any length of time, but I improved quite quickly after that. Try to stay calm, and yes, you can only ride it out!

Poor you. It’s a lot to cope with when you’re a mum of 2. Agree with everything @thelegohooverer says.

Get yourself some Cocodamol too. You can buy it from over the counter at Boots etc. It has codeine in it as well as paracetamol and is stronger and will enable you to rest better at night. The only issue to be aware of is that it can make you a little constipated if you take it regularly (and obviously don’t take paracetamol at the same time)!

@thelegohooverer

Can I ask gently if you’ve ever had flu or similar before? It’s shocking to find out just how incapacitated an illness can make you. You’re fairly young and it made me wonder if this is your first time dealing with that level of illness?

You need to be kind to yourself. Let your dh pick up the slack with your dc and concentrate that maternal energy on yourself. Tuck yourself up in bed, take plenty of fluids and tell yourself, out loud if necessary, all the soothing things you’d say to a friend or a child.

It’s natural to be frightened too - and frustrated - and all those things. But try and be sensible too. It’s a tough dose but in your age group likely to pass in a few more days. It will take time to get back to full fitness so you’ll have to be patient. Again, channel those maternal instincts and tell yourself to be patient, to take it easy.

Everyone gets sick and dc learn lots of great things from mum being out of action for a while. Let go of the guilt!

No I've never had flu or been this ill with anything before, until now as far as I'm aware I haven't even had covid. I have no other health problems either so it's just a shock to me how bad I'm feeling.

It probably doesn't help that I keep pushing my self too, as I said I'm very active usually doing everything and I keep trying to push myself to get things done such as cleaning and the cooking ( even tho I can't taste or smell anything so not much point) so that's probably not helping me get any better I guess.

A couple of years ago I had a chest infection that really wiped me out. I just laid in bed and cried and slept because I just felt so bad.

I felt bad because I felt ill, I felt bad because I couldn’t look after my children. I felt bad because I couldn’t get out of bed.

In the early hours of the morning one day I convinced myself that this is it, I will never feel better, in fact I may die.

I did recover, and I am fine now. However a lot of what you wrote I can really relate to. I had never felt that ill before and I have never felt that ill since.

I hope you feel better soon.

I haven't had Covid and I know it's not the same thing, but I had flu at 21 and was surprised that it took a long time until I felt 'normal' again - about 3 months. Be gentle on yourself and take it easy. Lots of fluids and rest and a little soup to keep up your strength.

I agree with thelegohooverer I remember when I had flu in my 20s it was quite shocking how ill I could be. The old saying that you know you have flu you wouldn't pick a £20 note off the floor is quite true. It can also affect you emotionally. You just need to rest and ride it out. Do not try to do anything but eat, sleep and go to the bathroom for a couple of days at least. Doing too much too soon can lead to long covid.

Your SIL is not so lovely if she knew she had Covid and came round to your house anyway. If anyone should bloody feel guilty then she should.

That aside, lego and others have given good advice.

Hello. Sorry to hear that you are feeling so bad.

I am currently recovering from covid and am now on day 25 and am nearly back to normal (just still feeling a bit tired now).

Covid made me feel very unwell for about 2 weeks but I am much older than you. Here are the things that helped.

Rest. Listen to your body. Forget the guilt, you are unwell, TV for kids is fine just now.

Drink. Drink lots of water even if you are not thirsty.

Try to eat a little. I lost all smell and taste for a while. It is nearly back now. I remember eating a banana and it just feeling like gunge in my mouth but you need to keep your strength up.

Take good quality vitamin D and C. Take zinc (respect the dose, don't take extra).

Keep the window of the room you are in open.

Rinse your mouth and gargle with apple cider vinegar mixed with a little water. I found this helped me not to cough too much.

Also drink small quantities of apple cider vinegar mixed with water (it is full of probiotics and is antiviral and anti bacterial and certainly won't do you any harm).

Sleep, watch happy stuff on TV.

When you feel able go outside and sit in the sun.

This will pass. Good luck.

You have my sympathies, i had covid last year, and I could not have looked after children, I couldn't even make a cup of tea.
Tell DH he will have to look after the DC even if it means taking time off work. This is not a bad cold, it is much worse and you need to rest.
DH should be isolating anyway, so he'll just have to crack on with it.
It is scary, just make sure you drink lots, take vitamins (Vit D in particular) and stay in bed. No way should you even attempt cleaning!

I have chest infections that floor me for months with every single cold, so you can imagine what that’s like when you have a little one that brings home every bug. I don’t think many people realise how tough it can be. All I can say is to be gentle with yourself. If everyone is fed, you’ve done well. You are doing your best and that is enough. Your children will be okay with that.

Mind the co-codamol though. It contains paracetamol, don't take paracetamol if you take co-codamol. Also it can be addictive if taken for a long time.

Please try to ease back on the paracetamol. Sounds like you're heading towards dangerous quantities.

Antihistamines will help with the dizzy spells. The gp told me to take them and I was thinking what the hell how will they stop me going dizzy but they really did help.

YANBU.

I haven't had covid, but I have had flu. OMG I honestly thought I was dying. If covid is as bad as flu, you cry as much as you want to! Just remember this will pass, you will get better and this one day will all be just a memory.

It probably doesn't help that I keep pushing my self too, as I said I'm very active usually doing everything and I keep trying to push myself to get things done such as cleaning and the cooking ( even tho I can't taste or smell anything so not much point) so that's probably not helping me get any better I guess

No it isn't, let your body rest.

You cannot push yourself with covid, my brother did and developed long covid. Even when you feel better you are going to need to take baby steps and avoid vigorous exercise.

No advice but just to say I’ve also got it currently and have had one dose of Pfizer as well. The lack of smell or taste is SO SCARY. I never considered how scary it is, I think the removal of this sense is playing havoc with my mental health - low key anxiety from no sense of smell - it’s a big part of how we connect with the world. I had covid last year as well but that was much more coughy and I kept my sense of smell, I would absolutely swap those symptoms. I’m just trying to stay calm and not panic but keep finding myself having absolute anxiety spirals about different topics. But just to say you’re not alone and take care x

@LobotomisedIceSkatingFan

Please try to ease back on the paracetamol. Sounds like you're heading towards dangerous quantities.

I've only took 1 dose today and only 2 doses yesterday as I am trying to ease it down. I know i said every 4 hours but I'm only taking it the amount of times you are allowed to take it in a day if that makes sense. I have only had one dose today though if anything just to help with the head and ear pain/ pressure. I usually never take paracetomal or any thing like that for anything and I always try and make myself get through things without it but the head and ear pains I can't cope with.