Severe emotional distress with Covid? August 2024.

[LisaRenee]

So… third time round with this bugger Covid (ding ding) every time I’ve had it I have experienced a bout of low mood, crying spells, anxiety attacks…unpleasant, but this time round…my god I feel on the edge.

Has this strain affected any other women so aggressively? I cannot shake the depressive feelings three weeks in, still breaking down in tears for an hour or so over nothing, feel real despair, awful low mood and lingering joint pains, severe fatigue, sore gums and tinnitus.

No real fevers or gastro stuff this time, seems more achy, extreme exhaustion and neurological and emotional in nature. I’m looking for reassurance that it is in-fact the Covid making me feel like this and I’m not stark raving mad! And please tell me it subsides, 3 weeks in is deeply unpleasant.

Oh and another weird thing for me was the leg twitches when I sat down in the evenings, it drove/ drives me mad.

Sorry for the triple posting but in terms of what to take to help, a high dose Omega 3 fish oil supplement will definitely not harm.
Specific to Covid psych side effects-
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0889159123002726

Overall inflammation-
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10575807/

Mental health symptoms much, much better today. Can't be just down to some sunshine. Lasted 7 days....

hey @Grazie234 can I ask how long you felt bad this time? And have you tried the fish oil capsules?- I'll certainly give those a try.
Hope recovery is taking place for all on the thread. I'm week 10 and have had a really horrible couple of days moodwise mainly, but also some snuffles, tooth pain, fatigue (which has never left). I don't know now if this is covid or just general unwellness as kids have cold but I've felt so depressed over last couple days- just horrible! I've woken up feeling desperately sad- also was shouting and swearing in sleep-yikes!! I'm completely not right and it's scary- feel like I might have to have psychiatric help but I don't want to get stuck on something. I'm sure this is illness based rather than a "me" thing but god it's shite on the mind!
thanks for letting me vent.

@BustyCrustacean Sympathies 💐 My mental health symptoms have improved but are just below the surface iykwim. My baseline anxiety is much higher than usual. The thought of doing some things creates massive anxiety, tight chest, nausea for example. I'm taking a mega omega-3 and also a high dose Turmeric/Curcumin supplement (also anti-inflammatory) I'm thinking of it as brain inflammation causing these symptoms.... and doing some breathing exercises whenever I feel the anxiety surging. Also total rest. Easier said than done I know.

Vent away - these symptoms are scary and this seems to be one of the few places where they're recognised...

aw, thanks @colouringindoors it's lovely to feel heard. I'm glad you've had some better days but understand that whole anxiety/depression under the surface- god how I do! even when I'm having a better day, something (my mother!!) could easily throw me off. Right now, I just want a window of feeling a bit better and I'll know this isn't how it really is- it's just been relentless over the last few days. I do hope you keep going forward and I will look into those supplements. I wonder if it's a middle aged woman thing, all this. I had my ovaries out 4 years ago and it blindsided me mentally- I do wonder if that all doesn't help with illness resilience.

Well women 40-60 are most at risk from LongCovid and are generally doing far too much for everyone else. I had an extremely demanding summer with DS GCSE, professional exams, work.... wondering if part of the reason I've been ill for so long is that I overdid it...

Are you on HRT? Oestrogen plays a big part in how good - or not - my mood is. It maybe you need to adjust?

I'm having to cancel work (am part self employed) and that's doing nothing for my stress levels...

thanks again @colouringindoors didn't know that women my age more at risk of long covid- as you say, could be other life stuff battering us as well- or could be oestrogen- or both!! I've had 4 years of trying to take different forms of oestrogen HRT but I've had to give it up as made me feel worse, which is really disappointing. In all honesty I haven't been robust mentally for a very long time but I do feel that covid and meno have taken me to new lows. I don't even work at the moment so I can only appreciate how hard it must be to juggle kids and work. I want to but I'm not in any fit state and covid's just floored me! Thanks for allowing me to vent :) I think I'll give it one more week then consider an antidepressant- one without too many side effects- if such exists!

Lots about this issue on Twitter

eg

https://x.com/ejustin46/status/1844550635473010954?t=q0I3DRqb1EAL4vo7VUl_tQ&s=19

Lots of evidence for Covid reducing Serotonin levels and chronic neuroinflammation

Colouring indoors
Thanks for posting this. But I can't get into my X account.
Would you be able to post a copy of the article at all? Or summarise it for me. I'd really be j retested in it.
Thanks
Liz

Oh, and I'm on Sertraline. What's the connection between sertraline and inflammation? Covid symptoms?

Thanks for this. I've had covid 3 times in 7 months and I didn't connect my depression & anxiety around those times to this. It was horrible, and I hope you're OK.

https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(23)01034-6?rss=yes&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter Covid assocd with reduced circulating Serotonin levels

Investigating the ROLE of SEROTONIN LEVELS in COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENTS Associated with Long COVID-19
https://cmj.ac.kr/DOIx.php?id=10.4068/cmj.2024.60.3.141 lower Serotonin and tryptophan levels in blood

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-45072-9 lower Tryptophan due to inflam meant less Serotonin.

There's quite a few other research papers listed too. Maybe worth setting yourself up as a new user on X @Lizzbear

My own mental distress symptoms have calmed down thankfully, but still not at all well. (Taking high dise Vit C, D, Omega 3, Curcumin)

Just had (almost certainly) Covid and felt exactly like this, honestly didn't consider Covid being a factor and thought my hormones were haywire.

I'm about 3 weeks on though and feeling back to my usual self luckily.

Colouring indoors
Thank you for posting the links.
I've had issues setting up an X account.
It takes me through all the set/up. And then says I'm not recognised!!

Afternoon all; DD21 and I tested positive last week, I'm on the mend but DD is still very unwell. We both had varying degrees of feelings of despair, I got a bit panicky, we've not long moved into a temporary house we are not keen on and DD tried to start uni (so that didn't go well, managed 2 weeks now 2 weeks off!)

So an anxious time made worse by these symptoms. GP has prescribed DD some antibiotics due to mucus being orange (!!) going to see if that does any good. I'm really surprised how she's struggled with it though? How come I got better within a week and I'm 62?

Hi @GoingDownLikeBHS it sounds like your dd has a secondary infection- hence antibiotics which would delay recovery. Also you may have more immunity than her. Hope you're both recovering ok

@colouringindoors so you think she shouldn’t have the antibiotics? 😬

No, no, i missed a comma - def have the antibiotics. Any secondary infection would mean you're ill for longer and that colour mucus is not healthy!!