Long covid diagnosis

[QueenofLouisiana]

Had mine today, 5 months after covid. I’ve been given some advice, but there not much to say really.
Has anyone found anything that has helped with the fatigue, heart palpitations or brain fog? At this point I’m up for pretty much any suggestions- as woo as you like!
Thanks.

I had Covid in 2020 when Long Covid wasn't a thing. My symptoms ended up lasting 14months. I spent many months thinking I would never be the person/mum I was before. All I can say is time and rest. You will get better, it just takes a while xx

My partner suffers with long Covid and has participated in a number of studies that are currently looking into it. His is made worse by drinking alcohol, straining himself physically and stress.
They did say to him to train to get his fitness up but keep heart rate below 130 bpm whilst exercising.
He couldn't even walk up the stairs 5 months after Covid however almost 2 years on he is miles better and continues to improve. The recovery is gradual and non-linear though in his experience. Best of luck to you, hoping you feel better soon :-)

QueenofLouisanna it's rubbish isn't it. I'm 4 months in and feel like I'm just waiting and existing. Work aren't sympathetic anymore as I'm not making progress, and my gp advised me to "push through" the fatigue and breathlessness and exercise, which of course made me feel far far worse

I’m 11 weeks post covid. I keep hoping it’ll go away but it’s not. I had been managing to very slightly and gradually up my weekly steps week on week but suddenly today I’m much worse again. I hate it. I just want to have the energy to do things and make plans without worrying whether I’ll be well enough. Work have been very flexible but it’s been going on so long now I feel guilty that I’m not working at full speed yet.

Sorry, just remembered you were asking for tips… I don’t have any but I’d like some!

Same as @user1471509171 only thing is time, rest, pacing strategies and gentle pushing yourself once past the acute stage and yes, it does make you feel worse afterwards and you have a few days of feeling rotten and unable to do much but each flare up gets milder and milder. I couldn't work for a year (NHS) but am over 60. Even now nearly two years later i am still seeing improvements surprisingly. Only over the last few weeks I've noticed that I'm not getting breathless as easily and the post exertional headaches have nearly gone........ Finally😅

I'm going through phases of not wanting to read anything about Long Covid as it scares me, to days when I just want to know as much as possible about what is turning my body into a wreck. I'm taking loads of vitamin supplements, and am starting taking anti histamines from today as they are supposed to calm your system so your mast cells can do whatever they're supposed to do? (the Covid brain fog is having a massive effect on my memory so I can't actually remember the medical theory!) I was doing really simple yoga stretches and pushing myself to do a short walk each day. I'm now accepting that my body is not benefitting from either as it's too much, so I'm going back to doing as little as I can to allow my system to concentrate it's energy on recovering. I'm a lone parent, so resting is a challenge.

Rest, pacing and breathing exercises for altered breathing function. Good luck!

My DS has Long Covid (17 months post infection now) so you have my sympathy. Rest is definitly the key as pushing yourself will only mean crashing for the following few days.

Things that work for DS -
Vagus nerve breathing exercises
Reduced hours at school
Insight timer app on his phone so he can fall asleep listening to relaxation music
Low gluten diet

Specific things for my DS -
Putting on weight to help combat the fatigue
Making sure he eats snacks between meals so his energy levels don't drop
More fluids and salt as he has developed PoTS (low blood pressure/high heart rate) so he's in danger of fainting

The vagus nerve breathing is all about stimulating that nerve which in turn helps your body gets the deep sleep it needs. DS's problem is that he can sleep for 12-14 hours and not feel refreshed becuase it's the wrong kind of sleep.

Cold water immersion is supposed to help with this but DS hasn't tried that yet. To be honest he's so underweight that that might do him more harm than good.

DS has been on an online NHS Long Covid course and one of the presentations was all about starting to exercise so I think he's going to start that during the Easter holidays. It starts with 10 mins walk on the first day so I think he'll cope, just nervous of pushing himself. All this coming from a boy who used to do an hour or more of sport every day pre-Covid!

At the 2 year mark here, March 2020.
It’s just been time mainly for me. I’ve tried every supplement at the start as I was desperate. It’s got better with time, but still not 100%, worse pre period and around ovulation.
I take anti histamines daily, haven’t drank alcohol or coffee in two years, alcohol has a really bad affect for me and sugar makes things worse. I’ve also followed a low histamine diet.
One thing that seems to be helping a lot and has helped a lot of people is fasting, there’s a group on Facebook which is really helpful,
Good luck and so sorry you’re going through this, it *Does get better, bit by bit.

I've been unwell for 2 months, and it's looking like long Covid. One slightly random thing I found is that humming activates your vagus nerve so you feel more relaxed (I'm sure it does more complex important things too!) When I am feeling awful, I can make myself do ten minutes of the loudest, low-pitch humming I can manage (either while listening to music or bizarrely, I can do it watching TV!) I do seem to feel better afterwards. Also, another very random thing I've just discovered, my breathlessness is much easier with my feet up. So sitting on the sofa, if I tuck my legs up I feel much better.