Sick and tired of being sick and tired

[FiftyNotNifty]

Aching face, sore throat, shaky, nauseous, and the worst part of all, absolutely exhausted. Like can't stand up tired.
This used to happen to me every 6 mths or so, now I'm on my 3rd dose since December. I have absolutely no energy.
When I'm well I'm very well...exercise regularly, sleep well, eat a decent diet. Just start enjoying feeling good then wham here it comes again.
I got antibiotics last time, which did help, but that was only a month or so ago and I'm back in bed again.
Can anyone advise?
Or help me with what to say to GP?
I hate that this is my life now.

Im so sorry, me too. It’s just so shit, isn’t it.

With doctor, I guess explain symptoms and specific impact on your life.

I’ve had two bad ‘flares’ since January. The first was three weeks, the second is coming into its third week. What’s annoying is that my baseline is so low now. Even when I recover, I never completely recover.

When did yours start? Mine was May 2022. I had Covid for the first time that January and I do wonder if it’s connected at all. I’ve had almost two years of debilitating fatigue and being unwell.

I did a Covid lift yesterday, a faint positive appeared a few hours after I took the test. This had happened three times before when I’ve been run down. Not felt like full on Covid, just fatigued and ill, sweating, aching. Faint Covid positive on test.

I've tested positive for Covid 5 times over the time period that Covid has been a thing. I didn't test last time I was ill, and GP said it most likely wouldn't show up anyway, as if it was Covid, it would be a newer strain.
I was very ill at the time of the 1st lockdown, before testing was a thing, but I'm presuming that's what it was. So I don't know if it's had some sort of effect.

I'm so sorry to hear other people are suffering like this too. I'm whole heartedly sick of it. And as I say, I feel pretty good in between times, enjoy being fit and exercising. But I think i only managed about 2-3 weeks of normality this time instead of 2-3 months.

I am so sorry to hear you are all feeling so poorly.
I have this too, as a direct result of Covid. I have Long Covid and it's dreadful.

At the moment I feel awful as I usually eat a gluten free diet and I accidentally glutened myself on Saturday.

It's awful and I am so sad as I don't get enough time off with my DW.

If your symptoms persist it might be worth asking for tests.

I hope you all feel better soon

I am suffering from this as well. I’ve only had Covid once. However I had the virus that is doing the rounds recently and just feel completely debilitated several weeks later . Lots of strange symptoms. Covid test was negative but I’m sure it’s Covid related. I do wonder if it is connected with vaccines.

I know loads that have/ had this me included. I'm 99 % sure it's another strain of covid..but no one is testing..
We get told its bronchitis/ pneumonia/ virus etc etc.
It's horrific and letting up.
I wonder if anyone is " working behind the scenes " because l think it will be outed as a new strain .

Yes I agree with this.

My GP was quite blasé...I realised while in the waiting room I hadn't tested and felt terrible...he wasn't borherwe and just said it's probably a new strain which the old tests won't detect.
I have tons of tests leftover as I had to test regularly for work at the time.

I had this too and the doctor said it's basically Long Covid. I also got Covid multiple times. I wasn't on HRT and didn't feel I needed it but latest research shows that women of our age are suffering more with Long Covid and they think it's something to do with lower oestrogen levels.

I started HRT in December. Didn't really feel it was doing much but at the end of February they added testosterone and that's made a real difference to my health. I feel stronger than I have done in a year.

I was so consistently ill that in October last year I thought I was going to have to give up work. I still can't exercise at all but slowly and surely my energy and my health are returning. It was a very very long journey here and I'm making it sound simpler than it is.

If there's one piece of advice I can give you, I would stop exercising when you think you're feeling better. Looking back on it, I thought this was good for me but actually my body needed a lot more rest post Covid.

This is my worry @HappyFifties , i love exercise and it keeps me sane, really need it mental health wise.
I don't push myself, it's all quite gentle, but I am wondering if it's a good idea. But that's to be weighed up with the mental health side of it.

Oh i am on HRT, just oestrogen. Will ask re testosterone, as I definitely feel the effects of the oestrogen have plateaued.

This is my life with long covid and it's shit. 😕😕

@HappyFifties its interesting what you say about stopping when you feel ok when exercising. I was watching some online stuff about pacing and it resonated with me.

I’m really caught in a boom and bust cycle - when I have good days, I just really want to do so much and then end up exhausted, angry and depressed when i push too hard.

It sounds a lot like M.E

@FiftyNotNifty I totally get it. I was the same. I can tell you my last run was on August 24th 2023. I can't tell you how much I miss it. But what is far worse for mental health is waking up every day feeling like you're ill. I wish I had rested more. I'm not saying I wouldn't have been as sick as no one can say that. But it has taken me this long to even be able to walk without feeling dreadful! Essentially that being sick every month catapulted into being sick all the time. It feels counter productive as we are taught that exercise is good for our health but sometimes it just isn't.

@LawrieForShepherdsBoy it's horrible isn't it. It's very hard to stop yourself doing it too! If I look back I can really see my progress but day to day it just doesn't feel like it. And some weeks I've definitely gone backwards

Be careful. I started like this but then the gaps in between the flares got shorter and shorter until my life is now one continuous flare with no relief unless I eat an extremely restrictive diet. I have very little life any more - I’ve lost 4 years to this with each year being progressively worse. The first year I exercised a lot during the times that I felt well and I think that actually made things worse in the long run.

Thank you all, appreciate the replies. Going to get back to GP. Can I ask what your diagnoses are? (Apologies if you've said, I can't re-read and post on the app at the same time!)

I don't have one other than potentially Long Covid/post viral fatigue.

You need to rule out other things like Thyroid problems, auto immune conditions and vitamin deficiencies and other conditions. Long Covid and conditions like ME are diagnoses of exclusion - only once everything has been ruled out do they consider it. Definitely get some full blood tests done first.