Long covid - how long until you finally felt better

[AColdDuncanGoodhew]

I'm now four weeks post Covid and have been signed off work a further four weeks.

I'm asthmatic but very well controlled. Shortness of breath and chest pain/tightness started on day 3 and have never gotten better. I've had antibiotics and steroids, I've increased my inhalers, I've been off work but I feel I'm getting nowhere.

I'm trying to relax and just take each day at a time but I'm really frustrated with how little I'm able to do. I get up every day and get the kids to school but I need to use my inhalers a few times during that, then I spend most of the day at home on the couch. I can put on washings and hoover but I need to rest in between or use my inhaler.

I have an active job, im a nurse on my feet for 11hrs a day, I can't tolerate a mask at all just now despite wearing them throughout my career and more with the pandemic so I'm concerned about that. I couldn't work where I currently do without one, nor would I really want to.

I'm worried about how long this will potentially last, I know noone has the answer but just wondering how long people felt like this, how long they've been off work or if they've been able to go back.

[quote HundredMilesAnHour]@middleager I totally understand. I work in a high pressure, fast paced job in Financial Services and right now I'm just not capable of doing it. It is so VERY VERY frustrating and I have shed many tears over it. For a while I was worried sick that my brain would never recover and I would feel like an idiot forever. But I am improving, it's just much slower than I'd like. My employer won't let me do client work yet as I just can't operate at the speed required or under that level of pressure. I'm hoping by that will change soon but I feel like I'm just treading water as well as damaging my career.[/quote]
It is so frustrating. I am pleased you are slowly recovering. I'm concerned my employers are just letting me loose on work that requires some big, often fast, decisions, so think I'm going to have to address it. They don't understand that I'm not currently able to do this.
In fact, I'm not even sure they believe me. It's really demoralising.

My colleague had covid in March 2020 and has never fully recovered nearly 2 years later :-(

I caught covid in July 2021 and still suffering with long covid 7 months later. I used to run between 3 and 5 days a week, running between 5-10k and loving it. I wasn't able to run for 2 months after covid, and I've been very on and off with it and most I cannot do is 5k 3 times a week, but I need a sleep after I've done it as it floor's me. I have flare ups where I feel extra unwell but when it's just regular long covid I just feel mildly shit! Exhaustion, muscle and joint aches, memory is much worse, brain fog. Its a shit show tbh and it's been a battle with my mental health.

I am really struggling with work
It's like somebody has taken away part of my brain.

I'm scared I will lose my job and home. It's so hard to get a GP appointment too.

Does anybody know if I went private if they might refer me to an NHS memory/Long Covid clinic?

@middleager how long since you had Covid?

It was September. Really knocked me about, but the memory issue seems to have worsened, which is scary.

I've tried to access help, and did get signed off with Long Covid, but I'm just limping on re my brain fog. I've asked work if I can access the Occupational Health team but nothing has been done. HR manager dismissive throughout as I wasn't hospitalised. Tried to tell me it might be menopausal....

Go back to your GP and request to be referred to the local Long Covid clinic. I can give you lots of sites and research that you can send to your HR manager. If you want to DM me I can let you know who I follow etc and that might help. Definitely push the GP for a referral especially if your symptoms are worsening.

Oh and my memory got worse before it got better. Now it’s ok as long as I’m not overtired or too stressed so don’t panic but you need support and further investigations.

I don't know if I'd class it as long covid but I felt exhausted for about 3 months, and it took about that long for my sense of taste to come most of the way back (still not 100%). Weirdly I wasn't especially ill when I had it - just very tired - I've definitely suffered more when I've had some colds.

Palpitations and chest pain took about a month to resolve.

@middleager

It was September. Really knocked me about, but the memory issue seems to have worsened, which is scary.

I've tried to access help, and did get signed off with Long Covid, but I'm just limping on re my brain fog. I've asked work if I can access the Occupational Health team but nothing has been done. HR manager dismissive throughout as I wasn't hospitalised. Tried to tell me it might be menopausal....

I was September too. It was a struggle until just before Christmas when I made had a jump of improvement then I plateaued again until the start of this month when I made another jump forward. I'm not 100% yet but doing much better with brain fog - as long as I make sure I don't get over-tired.

I starting doing these exercises from Jan. I don't know if they contributed to my brain recovery but they did at least make me feel like I was taking some control of my life back.

www.cognitivefxusa.com/blog/cognitive-exercises-for-post-concussion-syndrome

I'm peri-menopausal and was on a NHS waiting list to see a menopause specialist (as the symptoms - bloody brain fog and insomnia - have been seriously impacting my work performance). Then Covid happened so when I finally spoke to the specialist, it was impossible to know what was down to long Covid and what was down to sodding menopause. So now I will talk to the specialist again in March when I hope I'm past most of the Covid brain fog at least. Either way, I do think the brain exercises above may have helped. Worth a try!

I've been lucky as work have paid for me to see a private GP and I've been under the supervision of Occupational Health. OH recommended brain exercises and physical exercise. I exercise 5-6 days a week and actually started within a month of Covid. It was awful, soul destroying actually, at first but my fitness/strength has really built up and it has definitely helped me. For the first 3+ months though I was incapable of retaining what my gym coach/PT said to me. I couldn't even count my own reps. Even when I gave it 110% concentration. The brain fog was that bad! 5 months after catching Covid I'm finally capable of counting my reps and chatting at the same time. The gym has actually been a really useful way of measuring my brain fog and training my brain.

HR manager dismissive throughout as I wasn't hospitalised

This makes me really angry. How bad you actually get Covid has ZERO correlation with whether or not you get long Covid and how bad the long Covid is. Seems your HR manager knows sweet f.a. about long Covid.

23 months… pre-vaccines though 2/3 of the vaccines made me worse…

OP I totally get the frustration. What I learned about recovery:

-only do 50% of what you think you can do
-NEVER push through fatigue / tingling / shakiness/headaches
-see a respiratory physio to get breathing beer control
-eat small meals and often
-go to bed earlier and have a short nap where possible
-meditate. Quickest way for a ‘reset’ for me. Even 15mins helps me.
-work out your baseline of activity and then only increase by 10% a week.
-accept any and all help offered
-reduce housework and social expectations drastically. Shower on alternate days only if you can get away with it
-accept that this isn’t it forever and that you will get better it’s just very very slow
-look at your spending… in case you have to go off sick without pay. What can you do without… ?

If you’ve got POTS then follow those guidelines too.

Hope this helps.

One of my colleagues has been off work 4 months so far with no sign of coming back
My cousin had covid last May, still hasn't fully recovered

@AColdDuncanGoodhew don't be too hard on yourself and don't worry about long term. It's been four weeks.
I had spent 8 days in hospital and I was still barely able to stand at 4 weeks, needed a lie down after a shower. The advice I was given was to pace yourself. As@HundredMilesAnHour said
only do 70% of what you feel capable of. Any more than that and it will set you back further.
I suffer from RA which has fatigue as one of the symptoms so I have had some experience of it. Never plan to do more than one "thing" in a day. There may be a time of day when you feel better eg morning or afternoon, so time stuff you have to do for then.

It's easy to think you aren't making progress so instead of comparing yourself to normal or to yesterday compare with a week ago and you will see tiny steps of improvement.

This thread is sobering. I’ve never tested positive (except for a faint line on a nasal-only test) but I am wheezy, have heart flutters, have had atrocious heartburn and am knackered. I also catch cold after cold after cold.
I’m a teacher so have been heavily exposed for years now.
I’m awaiting the results of an antibody test as I’m starting to think it’s long COVID ☹️

Gosh I've missed a load of messages. I had bloods taken and pulmonary function tests yesterday and have a chest x-ray coming up soon too.

Going to the appointments wiped me out yesterday and I had to taken painkillers afterwards. I just sat on the couch the rest of the day and went to bed at 9:30am, still feeling the effects today. It's really soul destroying but at the same time I feel like such a fraud. I wish I could just get over the guilt of being off work.

I need to take everyone's advice and just stop. If I wake up and feel okay I try to do everything in one day, all the housework that's built up etc and then it wipes me out for days again.

I've just realised too the almost daily headaches I've had for weeks are likely linked too.

9:30pm! Not am.

@Phyllis321

This thread is sobering. I’ve never tested positive (except for a faint line on a nasal-only test) but I am wheezy, have heart flutters, have had atrocious heartburn and am knackered. I also catch cold after cold after cold. I’m a teacher so have been heavily exposed for years now. I’m awaiting the results of an antibody test as I’m starting to think it’s long COVID ☹️

Having underlying conditions does not necessarily lead to long covid. Some who get very mild covid get it and others like me do not. I have RA, asthma, another lung condition and a heart condition. I am CEV and qualify for 4 vaccines. I was very ill with covid but 100% recovered by 3 months.

Sorry, I wasn’t clear in my post. All my physical woes have started in the last year. No wheezing, heartburn or endless colds before then.

So .. my antibodies test came through today as ‘high’. I feel oddly relieved.

That's good @Phyllis321 in that at least you have a reason as to why you feel terrible. I get why it's a relief

I understand you relief too @Phyllis321 can I ask how you went about getting the antibody test? My mum thinks she is suffering long covid too, but never tested.

Very nearly 2 years now. Definitely improved a lot, it’s just been very gradual and up and down. I don’t know if I will ever be completely “better” but it’s mild enough now that my life is fairly normal, - I just have to be careful about not over doing it and I watch my diet. I used to be very sporty but I’ve largely written off the idea of getting back to that.

I actually got better after catching Covid for a second time. I had Covid for the first time in March 2021 and then again this December (not sure if Omicron or Delta). The second time seems to have given my immune system a huge boost. Maybe it's similar to the people who mad some recovery from Long Covid after a vaccine or booster? I wasn't expecting to feel better after a second infection though.