I can't "give" myself long covid can I?

[Chocolateteabag]

Help me!

FIL is convinced that I will "give myself long covid" if I "do too much"

I had Covid the week before Christmas - bad head cold, still a bit of a cough on my chest (but I have had pneumonia so have a bit of scarring from that)

I run - normally 3-4 times a week 5-15k each time

I've been out for a couple of runs since Christmas Day and FIL has been "worried sick"

Surely you either have long covid or you don't?

We don't know the mechanism.

You should rest after being ill and swop running for brisk walking for a few more days.

It's not just long covid but the cold air to the lungs, the strain on your heart and circulation will be taxing your body more than usual.

You do need to rest to let the virus run its course and recover but if you feel better then yes do whatever you want. You will either get long covid or you won't and post viral fatigue is not a new thing.

I think there is the suggestion that if you try and work through you are more likely to develop long covid. But I cant remember who it was.

So yes it has been suggested you really are best trying to rest

I don't know about long covid.
But I do know that when suffering from any illness you can absolutely hinder your recovery by trying to do too much too soon. So I don't see why Covid would be any different.
Listen to your body, exercise if you feel well enough, but don't push it and be gentle with yourself.

Anecdotally I have seen people saying that trying to "push through" fatigue may put you at higher risk of developing long Covid. I think you should listen to your body. If you're finding your runs much harder than usual, you're probably trying to do too much too soon.

Long COVID is a catch all term. If you are talking about the post viral fatigue element then yes, there are suggestions that you can increase your likelihood of this by overdoing things after an illness, esp an illness like COVID. I suspect their is an element of genetic susceptibility too.

I too thought that people that tried to power on through were more at risk of developing long covid. I'd suggest taking more time to recover than you think you need. I do quite a lot of running too, and went for an "easy" run shortly after my isolation ended, and I ended up knackered for about 3 days. I think it set me back a bit.

Ideally people should rest to fully recover after any illness but it isn't always that easy.

the original personality type associated with chronic fatigue syndrome was type A people who tend to be highly motivated, active and likely to push through illness and over-exercise or over-work themselves when they need to listen to their body...not that its that simplistic at all but all of us need to be mindful and take care of our body in the post viral phase ,COVID can have a impact on heart function so that's why its best to work back up to normal exercise gently.

An anecdote for you.... when I was younger (15) I had a really bad bout of glandular fever, followed by a year long bout of post- viral fatigue (now fashionably dubbed "long covid".) The doctor at the hospital who treated me said the reason I had had the post viral fatigue so badly, was because I didn't rest properly (true, I worked long hours and pushed myself hard even as a teenager). I know it's only an anecdote but I do think it's possible rest might be important with illnesses that are known to cause post viral fatigue, as Covid does.

Nothing fashionable about long covid.

I think it makes some sense that if you do too much without enough rest, you'll harm your recovery and make yourself vulnerable to post viral issues, yes

Fuck of with the "fashionable" bullshit @JovialNickname. Long COVID for me is perminent organ damage and MAST cell activation syndrome, nothing to do with pvf at all.

Well yes @Porcupineintherough - that IS long covid. You genuinely have it. Feeling tired & ‘foggy’ for a few weeks is post viral fatigue. And those whinging on about it are negatively impacting those who genuinely have long covid.

The amount of threads on here.. it’s been two weeks & I still feel tired or still have a headache, is this long covid? NO!

@Bobholll

Well yes *@Porcupineintherough* - that IS long covid. You genuinely have it. Feeling tired & ‘foggy’ for a few weeks is post viral fatigue. And those whinging on about it are negatively impacting those who genuinely have long covid.

The amount of threads on here.. it’s been two weeks & I still feel tired or still have a headache, is this long covid? NO!

the NHS is currently defining long covid as signs and symptoms that persist for more than 12 weeks post covid and aren't explained by an alternative diagnosis. this group is actually comprised of sub- groups...some people are like porcupine in that there is demonstrable organ damage or other sequelae usually related to hospital admission and treatment but the other bigger sub group is those who very much fit the post viral fatigue/CFS/ME profile where they probably never even saw a GP when they were ill and tests wont show anything. As such it highlights the importance for proper diagnosis and service provision and its not helpful to fall into the trap of thinking people only "genuinely" have it when they have diagnostic proof of damage . I do agree however in that I get a bit perplexed by the people who are posting about "long covid" after only 2 weeks or so.

I think if you rush back to exercise before you’re properly recovered then you can set yourself back.
I think with Covid and running you need to be sure for example, the lungs feel clear. I’m a runner and I’m taking longer than I normally would to get back to running. Even though my main symptom was fatigue I think Covid can cause inflammation that we can’t see (myocarditis can be an issue for example). My heart rate was much higher than normal for a while after I recovered.

I’m thinking of easing back in to running at the weekend and keeping a close eye on my heart rate. I’ll run much slower that I normally do. I do think you have to be careful and not overdo it.

Though this can apply to any respiratory illness. I gave myself a nasty chest infection once by rushing back in to running after illness and really pushing it too soon.

Thank you to everyone for your replies - I had not really given it enough consideration I realise. I will take it slowly - RED January off the card for 2022

I dont think you are wrong to exercise. I just dont think your in laws are wrong to be worried.

I remember prior to covid getting a mild cold. There was a feeling if you could push through it you probably should and youd feel better.

I dont think covid is the same. If you get to the feeling that you need to push through that us probably where you in fact need to stop. It's kinda throwing many of our exercise instincts into reverse. You need to leave something in the tank.

Worrying about something doesn't mean you shouldn't do it, even if that worry is real.

What I am doing is just cutting distance and intensity with running.
So first week back do 50% of my normal distance and easy runs.
Then week 2 up it a bit more and so on. Think I read that after Covid you should take about 4 weeks to slowly get back to your normal running distance.
I’m over a week recovered now and I’m waiting until next week to start. Had mild Covid with no lung issues. If I had more serious symptoms I’d wait a lot longer.

If you feel up to running and feel ok after the runs, then I'd say that's ok. Like others say, listen to your body.

I've seen advice from physios suggesting having 7 days of rest after last symptoms are gone (gentle exercise only) then easing back slowly. The Running Channel on YouTube have a good video on running after COVID.

I actually did RED January last year as part of my Covid recovery. I tested positive 10 Dec 2020.

I did 5k very slowly each day to begin with, which was much less and much easier than normal for me.

It did take the full month before I felt I was back to fitness, but it set me up for an excellent running year with several lifetime bests during the summer.