Struggling to recover from cold virus

[spiggydit]

I managed to catch the horrible cold virus just as I was recovering from Covid. A week or so of a horrible chesty cough, sore throat and headaches which is slowly improving. However I'm struggling to bounce back and whenever I try to go back to normal levels of activity (nothing beyond going to shops and light housework) I'm left exhausted and symptoms return.

I know the obvious answer is to rest more - but wanted to understand if this is a particular feature of the current soup of bugs or worse because I'm in my early 60s - though usually fit and well.

I know 3 people currently like this. There has been some nasty bugs going around, which they caught after already being floored by covid.
One was admitted to hospital overnight, another one has been back to the dr 3 times. The response has always been ‘it can just take time to recover unfortunately’. None have been able to return to work yet and one has been ill and wiped out for 7 weeks so far!
I’ve just started with something and feel dreadful so you have my sympathy. I hope you bounce back soon.

I know the obvious answer is to rest more - but wanted to understand if this is a particular feature of the current soup of bugs or worse because I'm in my early 60s - though usually fit and well.

I don’t think your age has anything to do with it but more you are minimising the impact of having Covid and then no sooner do you start to recover but you then get a cold on top - no wonder you’re so exhausted still, that’s enough to make someone 30 years younger struggle.

Incidentally my DD and her partner in their 30’s caught Covid in the autumn and were absolutely floored with it, it certainly wasn’t a mild virus for either of them and took a good 6 weeks before they started to feel back to normal.

Eat well, try and get good sleep in, gentle walk and lots of rest when you feel you need it.

There seems to be a lot of lingering illness around at the moment.

My 16 year old was absolutely floored by flu around 3 weeks ago. She's still far from feeling well again. Lingering cough, phlegm, tiredness, lack of appetite etc.

It's tricky trying to get the balance right between rest and some light activity.

I hope you feel better soon.

My son who is 11 has been similar, normally bounces back within a few days, even from Covid, but has been off f school for over a fortnight and missed all of the end of term with a horrible temperature, hacking cough, sore throat, etc - absolutely exhausted. He's still not over it now and we're on day 18.

We have been to the GP twice (he also had a stiff neck at the beginning and temp up to 40 and so I was really worried about meningitis) but there doesn't seem to be anything beyond just horrible viruses and needing to wait and rest.

I know what you are going through. I’m on my 5th week of illness. Every time I get a bit better and try to subsequently do something, and by something I’m talking a bit or laundry, housework or walk to local shop, I wind up back in bed. There’s no bouncing back from it at all. It’s very frustrating and upsetting.

Covid on it's own can cause this, so not surprising you are struggling after two viruses.
Lat time I had covid in May I was only ill for a week but it was 5 weeks before I felt back to normal due to extreme tiredness and fatigue

I've been ill for 3 months now. Still no idea if I had Covid or not. Had some tests at the doctors - all normal.

Thank you for the reassurances and I'm sorry to hear people have been unwell for so long. I'm hoping I'll recover quickly but knowing other people have taken a longer time to get better is oddly reassuring and gives me permission to rest more!

Big lesson for me is to stop being that workplace martyr who carries on regardless.