DH horrendous cough

[justbananas42]

DH is on day 4 of isolation and his cough is really terrible. It’s practically non stop and he’s wretching occasionally as well. He also feels very under the weather, like he has a case of flu or something. He’s 44 years old and double jabbed with Astra Zeneca. I’m worried

Thanks @heldinadream.

DH says he feels very up and down - just as he thinks he might be turning a corner, things go downhill again He’s spent the day sleeping on the sofa and in bed and says he’s feeling very weak. He’s drunk a fair bit of extremely dilute orange squash, but is still off his food. I think the cough is a bit better but not hugely. It’s day 8, I can’t believe he’s still so unwell.

My mental state is not good - I’m exhausted (DH’s cough has been keeping me awake) and so worried that he won’t recover.

@justbananas42 what are his oxygen levels like?

@justbananas42 I've got two close friends, both double vaxxed, both got covid recently and were very ill with it but both have now recovered. They were ill for weeks and one of them at least was extremely worried she wasn't going to recover but she has. It's such a nasty illness - but your DH has been vaccinated and as far as I can see (I'm no expert) this is the biggest factor now for recovery. 8 days isn't much. He needs to rest and do nothing really. It's really good that he's drinking squash, it's a few calories and will keep his stamina up a bit. Anything that gets a few calories into him - soup, juice, even sugar in water. That 'turning the corner' feeling is good. But it really ebbs and flows this illness. Have you tested his oxygen levels recently? Worth keeping an eye on them.

And please take care of you, too. Rest as much as you can and make sure you eat and get a break if you can, bit of down time, crap comedies are good for taking your mind off things.

what are his oxygen levels like?

@Trixiefirecracker He was 98 this morning, so at least that’s something. He was 96 the previous day, so it’s actually a slight improvement. He managed to eat a small portion of oven chips for dinner too. He’s been sleeping quite a lot, which I hope is helping.

@heldinadream that’s really good to hear about your friends’ recovery. I barely had any symptoms apart from ongoing loss of taste and smell, so feel I got off lightly! But of course I feel horrendously guilty that I then gave it to DH. We thought we were being careful but obviously weren’t careful enough.

I know what you mean , regarding the sleep and worry . DH now on day 23 , cough still there and feels awful again today . He struggles to sleep when it starts .
Good and bad days , picked some cough syrup up from chemist yesterday after getting 2 hours sleep Sunday .

I know it won’t stop it but hoping it eases it a little, ,he’s 50 oxi readings have been fine . Heard the cough can linger for 6 weeks . He has been fine eating and drinking . He probably needed to have more time off work to be honest as went back day 12 but we have our own business. Weird one day feels good and you think great .

Just keep an eye on oxi readings , hope he’s feeling better soon and you manage to get some rest .

It’s probably good that he’s sleeping. Lots of rest is great, how are his vit d levels? I’d be tempted to get him to take some supplements, vit D and high strength vit C. Fingers crossed he’s on the up.

@Trixiefirecracker yes, the doctor we spoke to via 111 recommended taking a daily multivitamin, so we’ve got some of those.

How's he doing today @justbananas42?

@heldinadream thanks so much for asking. It’s day 9 and I’m pleased to say he’s been quite a lot brighter today - he was pottering around the garden earlier and has managed to eat some salad. He’s still coughing and still very weak but does seem more like himself.

The only thing is, he’s not peeing very often despite drinking a fair amount of squash. I’m wondering if he’s still dehydrated as he barely ate or drank a thing for about a week.

Great news!

I'm so glad he's improving - pottering round the garden sounds really hopeful, he must have a bit of spare energy to do that.

Re the dehydration - best way to know if he's dehydrated is how dark the pee is rather than how much of it - if it's dark try and get him to drink more.
Hope you're doing ok yourself. It's so stressful looking after someone and worrying about them like this. Take care of you, too.

Thanks everyone. Sadly he’s gone downhill a bit again today - he’s feeling quite weak again and is sleeping lots. He also woke at about 5am with a massive coughing fit. I was hoping we had turned a corner yesterday but it seems not

Hope you're doing ok yourself. It's so stressful looking after someone and worrying about them like this. Take care of you, too.

@heldinadream thanks. I must admit I’m really struggling mentally.

Do people still take a turn for the worse and end up in hospital at this point? He first came down with Covid on Monday last week, so 11 days ago.

What's his oximeter reading now @justbananas42?

So sorry you're struggling.

Sorry to hear he's suffering so much. My GP has told me that lots of people are ill for weeks but usually the first 10-12 days are worst then you start to feel a bit better.
Your DH is very ill, he probably won't need to be hospitalised, but keep a watch on him and ring the GP for advice as often as you need to.
Be prepared for him being quite weak and exhausted for several weeks as he gradually recovers.
You are being a fantastic support to him, he's lucky he has you.
Look after yourself 💐

I was up and down with Covid, some days better than others. I would advise your DH to try and not over do things on better days - hopefully that is just why today isn't as good.

You can get medical advice if you feel you need it at any point.

I called my GP 4 days in for advice on managing my asthma. She referred me to the Covid Monitoring Service my local NHS trust has and they checked in on me daily for the first 18 days or so. I also had 111 arrange antibiotics about a week in as I had a chest infection.

As I'm asthmatic they trusted my judgement re: chest infection. However, both 111 and my GP said there are clinics for Covid positive people in their isolation period. So if they felt someone with Covid needed to be seen they can refer the patient to one to be assessed.

So if you're worried, please do speak to your GP/111.

Right at the beginning, day 10 was when people could go rapidly downhill, having thought they were getting better. I remember speaking to a neighbour who's a gp and she said it could be quite sudden. Obviously this was without vaccination when people would have that massive immune reaction.

Take good care, OP. Keep a close eye on his oxygen levels and don't feel bad about calling 111 if you are worried.

Thanks all. Stupidly we haven’t done an oximeter reading today - we will do one tonight.

The codeine has worked a bit on his cough (I think?) but he’s still waking once or twice a night and having horrendous coughing fits. I can also hear him coughing now

Oximeter reading now is 94!!! I’m trying to persuade him to ring 111 now but he won’t.

I would take another reading in ten minutes and if it's still 95 or under I think I would call 111. Just for a second opinion.

Actually I've just been reading the NHS oximeter booklet (online, excellent) and it says to seek medical help if the reading is 92% or less. It also says to take readings three times a day, at the same time of day and note the readings. This way you can monitor his progress. Keep going OP, you are doing a fab job.

95-97 is around normal I think but there’s so much varying information on the internet I would ring if you are worried.

Thanks all. I’ve just taken his temperature and it’s 38.4C. We did another oximeter reading and it was 95. He’s insisting he just wants a bath then bed and doesn’t want to call 111 until tomorrow. Why is he so darn stubborn?!

@SorryPardonWhat thank you for that info x