Covid for 4 weeks & still bed ridden. Anyone else had prolonged severe illness without hospitalization
Posted , 209 users are following.
Hi,
I've had Covid19 for 4 weeks and if I had the energy I'd be tearing my hair out.
I've had 2 sets of prohylactic antibiotics to safeguard against bacterial infections, my temperature has been up and down but never higher than 38 the entire illness.
I've had severe neuropathy during the illness and some kind of night seizures accompanying the other more well publicised symptoms that mean my sleep is terrible also.
I went to hospital Day 14 after a week of seriously thinking I'm on death's door and my blood oxygen was good enough to be sent home for follow up at the Covid Hubs where they basically just take temperature, pulse and oxygen levels.
I was prescribed a 2nd course of antibiotics there as my temperature was still up and they are checking in on me every few days.
Meanwhile I am having one better day, then another terrible day, then a better day then a worse day..But 'better' is still bed ridden, just means I can breath well enough and not too dizzy to make myself my own cup of tea, have a shower and engage in some small talk with my family.
Everytime I have a good few hours I think, that must be me getting well now, but no, 4 weeks later and the last 24 hrs my breathlessness has been worse than it was for the previous 5 days..Am about ready to shoot myself.
Is there anyone else that's experienced being so ill with this virus outside of an ICU setting where it's carried on this long?
Even ICU patients are recovering in 3-6weeks .
Cannot understand why I'm not getting well yet.
I have no underlying health issues and I'm in my 30s.
I don't know if I still have Covid or if this is post viral inflammation and fatigue..There is no way of knowing as they are not testing community cases. Every doctor just says it's definitely Covid but I have no idea if I've passed the peak of the illness or if i should still be worried it could get worse.
Just feel it's going on forever.
Be great to know if there's any non hospital stories of people being sick, as in still unable to do a thing this length of time.
Thanks!
19 likes, 5383 replies
Littleflower26 Res35
Edited
hey everyone.. im now week 9.. felt a lot better week 7 and done too much.. now a week and a half into a set back.. 2 days ago i went to a and e for a chest xray at my docs request.. my breathing still being tight and having a history of pneumonia he felt it warranted a check.. i very reluctantly went and sat in the covid a and e for 4 hours.. everything cane back clear.. Today i have woke with very hot sore eyes.. I am not completely freaking out that i have caught it at a and e.. it feels like i have the start of conjunctivitis.. What i want to ask id if anybody had issues with eyes very late in recovery?? I am really worried that this is an early on set symptom.. But hoping it may be another late stage thing.. any advise would be appreciated xx
Lulu2020 Littleflower26
Edited
Hi Littleflower
Welcome to the group! Sorry to hear you have been ill like the rest of us. I personally have not had this but have a feeling I have seen someone else mention this and I know people who are weeks into recovery and having random symptoms crop up so I wouldn't worry too much - I have been to hospital for tests, X-ray, CT scan etc. about 4 times and I know it freaks you out a bit but am sure you are fine - you are probably just run down - I got a cold sore for the same reason around week 8. Hopefully someone else on here may also be able to put your mind at rest.
Interesting you overdid it and had a set back - getting a balance of light exercise and rest seems to be what we all need. Excellent that your x-ray came back clear.The main chit chat of the "regulars" is on page 66 feel free to jump into the conversations there - everyone is super supportive and we have collected a lot of information/tips between us.
All the best,
Lx
dane15 Littleflower26
Posted
Hey,
Had the same question a few days ago...woke in the middle of the night with a very watery eye and stinging. This was week 12. GP said conjuctivitis and prescribed antibiotic drops. Didn't take them as it seemed to calm on its own. Have had random bouts of stinging and teary eyes throughout. Still slightly itchy at times but thankfully not bothering mostly.
susan48029 Littleflower26
Posted
Hi I've had sore or watery eyes through this as well.
susan48029 dane15
Posted
Think also pollen very high as well
stuart68c Littleflower26
Edited
Hi there, I have had sore eyes the last week or so, maybe a bit longer. It wasn't something I paid much attention to as I wasn't sure if my eyes needed a retest or whether it was pollen, but when we had the sustained period of good weather and high pollen count my eyes were fine.
I have tried not to connect every single thing that feels strange or different with me to the illness as it could just be other stuff happening, and it's easy to get a bit paranoid after what we are all going through, but who knows. Seems a few of us are experiencing it, so maybe its a thing. Yesterday my left eye was particularly watery, not had that before. I am just past week 12.
Welcome to the forum by the way.
dawn84999 stuart68c
Edited
Hi ,welcome to the group.
Sorry to hear you are getting new symptoms.
I'm now 8 weeks and 4 days.
My eyes have been quite bad throughout, definitely more blurring ,more tiny veins and they feel quite heavy ,its like the whites are less bright and there's a thickness to the natural moisture in them.
I also had a couple of sharp stabbing pains in one eye a few weeks ago.
x
Sorry Stuart that was for Littleflower...but Hi anyway 😂
stuart68c dawn84999
Posted
😂 Hi Dawn, it was interesting to read you. Seems there might be something in the eye symptoms.
Have a good evening.
dawn84999 stuart68c
Edited
😂 it doesn't conjure up the greatest image of me does it .
Enjoy your evening too 😊
rlwings dawn84999
Edited
Hi Dawn... Just to let you know that I remember having that stabbing pain in one eye too! It only lasted for a few minutes then went away. I remember it because it was unusually painful. I didn't think it was Covid related until I read your post. Wow, this disease can show itself all over the body... I don't remember exactly which week I felt the eye stabbing, but today I'm at 13 -14 weeks and things have been improving steadily for the past 3 weeks or so. Relapses are further apart (10-14 days) and when they occur they are shorter in duration (2 days) and of much lesser intensity. 😃
dawn84999 rlwings
Edited
Hi,
Yes it's very strange isn't it,I've had random sharp pains here and there all over my body but the eye ones were particularly painful .
When I went to A&E the doctor did ask have I had sharp pains elsewhere after being checked for chest pains and I said yes lots...even had one in my left calf which lasted about 10 secs.
He seemed to think that they were all covid related but anable to give an explanation.
I've now counted 31 symptoms I 've had since this virus !
So pleased that you are making great progress with relapses being short lived and much further apart that's very encouraging 😊
I can definitely see improvement now , slow but steady .Mornings are still the worst for me but my breathing is so much better at the moment and that's always been my main worry .Just need to find my limit with the walking to properly judge how well I'm doing. x
Littleflower26 Res35
Edited
thanks very much everyone.. I guess looking up conjunctivitis and seeing that it can be a very early sign had caused me to panic.. despite the fact that i would be fairly sure what i have had since mid april has been it.. the trip to a and e has caused all sorts of what if's.. .. especially what if what i have had wasnt it and now i have gone and got it after 3 months isolating.. i appear today to have stye in eye.. so probably a lack of sleep/stress thing.. heres hoping it will pass..
Littleflower26 Res35
Edited
thanks very much everyone.. I guess looking up conjunctivitis and seeing that it can be a very early sign had caused me to panic.. despite the fact that i would be fairly sure what i have had since mid april has been it.. the trip to a and e has caused all sorts of what if's.. .. especially what if what i have had wasnt it and now i have gone and got it after 3 months isolating.. i appear today to have stye in eye.. so probably a lack of sleep/stress thing.. heres hoping it will pass..
mike95383 Res35
Edited
Hello everyone, well wishes to all those suffering longterm symptoms. I found this forum yesterday and its lightened my heart and mind to see that I'm not alone in my symptoms and frustrations in dealing with this illness. I'm a 24 year old man from CT USA, and I first got infected with the rest of my family over the Easter weekend. That Tuesday I had body aches and fatigue but nothing else, not even a fever. The next day my airways felt inflamed and burned a bit when I would breath. Then on Thursday, it seemed to go away and I felt so well that I did my normal cardio routine. That might have been a bad idea though, because that evening I got that feeling of an illness coming on. Friday morning, i was congested, and from my nose to the back of my throat felt raw and dry and i totally lost my smell and taste. I had some sinus pressure and fatigue as well. After week or a week and a half, the rawness, sinus pressure, and fatigue went away. I tried exercising again, and thats really when the really long term symptoms started. I've felt very fatigued, my heart feels like it thudding very hard constantly, my chest feels tight like someones pressing on it, and cant breath as deeply in as I used to, feel breathless especially in a mask, and Ive got strange feelings in my right lung, sometimes like a tickling feeling, sometimes like a side stitch, usually under my pectoral but it moves around. Yesterday I felt it on my left side for maybe the first time. Went to an urgent care on May 15, they did an EKG and a cheat xray which came back clean so they sent me home. I started feeling a little bit better (maybe because some of the anxiety was lifted?) and tried exercising yet again; i got through a week before I started feeling worse again. I've been worrying that it has been my exercise causing these relapses but it seems that many people have them without it. Like many others have said, the anxiety and depression of this has been the worst part for me. Exercise has been my stress relief and leisure for a long time, and being unable to do it has been a huge mental toll. I mean I was doing an hour of intense cycling every day after work and felt great right before the illness. Now I get tired during a long but leisurely walk. Hopefully it really is just a matter of time, though I'm getting worries before this really is the 11th week for me. Maybe the PCP I'm seeing later this week will have some answers.
jim90098 mike95383
Posted
Hi Mike,
Hello and welcome.
Sorry to hear your news but you've found a whole raft of people in the same boat.
I too am on week eleven as from Thursday and honestly thought this would have been well and truly over by now seeing as I dodged the hospital bullet. How wrong was I!
Have a good day,
Jim.
mike95383 jim90098
Posted
Hi Jim and thanks for the welcome. Agreed about feeling like we "dodged" anything at all. I was so cocky about it all, even when the body aches started, because I was young healthy and fit. Its been a very humbling experience, and I echo what others have said about the mental trauma from this potentially taking a long time to heal as well.
mkqq mike95383
Posted
I think you exercised one too many times.
I'm still wondering about a possible fateful decison I made 2 days after my fever ended. I was keen to get back into my normal routine so I went to the gym and did a light workout. That night the insomnia started and I've been struggling ever since.
Even today I'm wondering would I still be in this position if I didn't go to the gym on that day.
susan48029 mike95383
Posted
Hi Mike welcome as you can read we all have had the same symptoms I'm on week 13 now and slowly getting there fingers crossed but still have that tickling feeling on right side and mucas, gentle exercise like walking might be the best way forward and rest afterwards.
Rufio222 mkqq
Posted
Yep Mkqq, right before it got really bad was the same day I did a run around the track.
Rufio222 mike95383
Posted
Greetings from NJ Mike. Welcome to the club.
Rufio222 mike95383
Posted
Hey Mike I read your initial paragraph more thoroughly. I am 31 and usually very healthy. I have had that same chest pain, but on my left side. It sounds the same as you described. Dull, weird, moving around under the pectorals, like nothing I ever felt before. It felt like I was having a heart attack, but I have also had normal ECGs and xrays. I am just kind of learning to live with it. After 3 doctors saying they don't know what it is but just rest, my fourth doctor finally suggested that it is likely costochondritis, which is inflammation of the tiny muscles behind the ribs. It is common after viral infection. Something I tried last Monday that has helped was PEMF therapy (pulsed electromagnetic field). It made the pain go away for a few days. I am starting to feel it again today so I made another appointment for tomorrow. Hopefully a few more appointments doing that will make it go away permanently, because the constant chest pain over the last 2-3 months has been very scary.
mike95383 Rufio222
Posted
Thanks Rufio. Seems like we're both victims of our own exercise ambitions. The fact that I could have done this to myself by not resting for long enough is a bitter pill to swallow.
How have you been doing lately? Tried exercise at all after that fateful day? I felt well enough physically and mentally to go for a walk yesterday for the first time is a while. It went okay. Before bed I dug up and took some B-6 and Zinc and today think I feel much less breathless.
Rufio222 mike95383
Posted
All I have been doing as far as exercise is walking the dog for 20 minutes a day. It took a long time to get to just that, and I am still not 100% comfortable. I dropped 30 lbs in two months from being unable to eat so still very weak physically and mentally.
mike95383 Rufio222
Posted
Sorry to hear about your struggles, Rufio, I know exactly how you feel. Especially about feeling like youre having a heart attack. I used to have ventricular tachycardia, and part of these symptoms has been similar fatigue and chest pain as I had then, even though my recent EKG was clean.
Glad that PEMF provided some relief. How does it work? Are there pads they put on or is it wireless? Maybe Ill suggest that to my doctor myself.
And ditto about learning to live with it. Last couple days Ive felt better but not sure if im just getting used to this as my new normal or if its actual improvement.
Rufio222 mike95383
Posted
Just don't overdo it yet! I was feeling good for a few days, then went on an extra walk. I am paying for it now.
The PEMF is two rubber circular tubes that are hooked up to the machine. The tubes are about as thick as a hose. The two tubes connect around your back. You place your arms through each tube and wear it like a jacket. You hold the tubes close to your chest over the affected area. The nurse turns the machine on and you feel the electrical pulses on your chest, about 2-3 pulses per second. The strength of the pulses are adjustable. It should be enough to feel it, but shouldn't be hard enough to hurt. You feel them pretty good at first, but then as your body gets used to it, you barely feel them at all. I did this for 12 minutes each session and as soon as I walked out of the doctor's office I felt a significant improvement. I went again yesterday and as I type this I don't feel the chest pain at all.
mike95383 Rufio222
Posted
I'll try not to! Thanks for that description. I actually have a small TENS unit meant for muscle aches and such that uses sticky pads. I tried applying it to my chest in various places and maybe felt some relief in the moment but it hasn't carried over to today. Im curious if along with the chest pain, have you felt like you're not able to breathe in as deeply as you want to? Thats my most annoying symptom, so it would be great if the PEMF helped you with that as well.
This morning I didnt feel great, but after taking 200mg of L-Theanine, a natural extract from green tea that Ive taken for anxiety in the past, the discomfort in my chest has really gone down. I took it just a mood booster but it seems to have had a physical effect. Might be worth a try. In some posts people have said the same thing about CBD which is interesting.
Rufio222 mike95383
Posted
I only had some trouble breathing for a short time... maybe 3 times and each lasted about ten minutes. I laid down on my front and that helped. Also spirometers help with expanding the lungs.
maciej12002 mike95383
Posted
Hi Mike,
I have a question regarding the L-Theanine, how long before you noticed any improvement in your symptoms after taking it, please? I just read really interesting tests regarding this amino acid in asthma treatment and will try it tomorrow.
Thank you
Maciek
Res35 mike95383
Posted
I'm glad the forum helped Mike.i only started to feel fully better since week 12 but in 2 weeks recovery has accelerated more than it did the previous 12 all together!
susan48029 Res35
Edited
Hi res glad your feeling alot better, I'm feeling alot better now as well only the fatigue left but even that is slowly going. Let's hope we've come through this and out the other side now 😘
Res35 susan48029
Posted
Glad you are improving too Susan!