Struggling with Long Covid. Anybody else?

[All-Rounder]

I think I had covid in early March 2020, about the same time as the public was informed of the pandemic. I didn't go to a doctor; husband is a retired doctor so he monitored me, and most doctors were refusing to see patients then anyway because the doctors were afraid of this novel virus.

Long story short, my sinuses and lungs were bad for about a week but my stomach was a mess for several months after the initial illness. Much of our immune system is in our guts, so I assume my body/gut was trying hard to fight the virus. I've read that as many as 30-50% of Covid patients have problems with their stomachs and digestive systems much more than respiratory problems. I ate the BRAT diet a lot then - bananas, rice, applesauce and toast - and ate plain poached chicken breasts for protein.

I'm vaxed, boosted, and plan to get the new omicron booster when it becomes available. I wear a N95 mask at the grocery store and other indoor places, many other people are still wearing masks here, and I don't care what other people say about it. I don't want to get sick again.

I hope you get well soon. Hang in there, try to eat foods that don't upset your stomach, and keep wearing a mask regardless of stink-eyed old and young fools who think they are immortal.

Yep when they found out as I was into ER in 2019 they put their masks on and were scared and moved the other people in another room quickly.

I got scared too, like am I gonna die or what am I suffering from.

People are annoying and they can influence to borrow their thinking. Catching covid if I'm catching their thinking.

Thats a high percentage for increased digestive issues in people with covid.

Now especially being sick, I don't want to mix up my viruses and get additional ones to weaken me. At least I can go outside.

 

[All-Rounder]

Yes same here. It started in August 2019 and lasted through to End of November. I had throat, ear, and sinus infections, one after the other, with no respite in between. Eventually had to go see an ENT specialist who only prescribed me even more antibiotics and couldn't figure out what it was. Then got sick again with a cough that took a while to go away, in Dec-Jan.

Was pretty convinced it was Covid related even though it wasn't made known until later.

Wow, thats a long time practically August through to Jan. No time to feel joy in actually being illness-free.

Mine was in December 2019 too, caught it from my pregnant work colleague. She had the worst sounding persistent cough. Because she was pregnant she was worried she was gonna lose the child again so I had to do the majority of the work. She was not letting the boss know about her pregnancy either.

 

[All-Rounder]

The three days were Thurs, Fri, and today. My pets were all fed on Thursday when I fell sick. There's lots of water around the house for them including water fountains for the cats and several big bowls of water for my dog.

I was able to get up and feed them all today. None of them seemed terribly hungry. My dog still won't leave my side.

It's possible that your dog knows you're not feeling well anymore, they can notice changes as they aren't as illness expressive or communication expressive as we are, so they notice body language and changes.

Perhaps he's feeling anxious and wants to help soothe, however the best thing for him would be to learn to detach and go do his thing also not be too close to you as you're in quarantine. As humans we can decide how a dog is behaving, how a dog is feeling in some situations by guiding them. They don't know what decisions to make in some cases. So it's better if he starts acting normal again and feeding, as it's not a situation where you're dying or where it helps you by him grieving needlessly.

You have the power, you are the one who can put an end to his over emotionality, and help him. Keep him outside your room or body block him (walk into him) when hes coming in too close so he's getting away. Do not back away from animals, as that taps into the instinct to chase. Claim space instead, move forward, not backward, when you want them to go away. That's a learned communication animals know.

If there's anyone around can they work him through commands to work his mind or maybe play ball with him, find something to take his mind off and do activities like cup guessing games? Having a different attachment can help him if he's too overly involved with you.

We can't sit them down and talk to them so we need to communicate other ways that grieving is not accurate to what's going on. Once they see they don't have to do anything, and you have control, they'll feel less stressed and burdened with decisions and active caring and worrying. If they get it then they can go chill and settle down away from you and maybe even eat.

@Luca Any suggestions for this dog?

 

[All-Rounder]

I had diarrhea after my 4th COVID vaccine shot, but only for a day. I was exposed just days later when my dad got sick from a coworker who just returned from a vacation. I had sore throat one evening, and I beat it by gargling antiseptic mouthwash the next morning. My symptoms were gone.

I had severe stool problems for many months that bordered on diarrhea, it was intestinal bacterial overgrowth, I have IBS. I finally got an appointment with my GI again, and he prescribed antibiotics (Xifaxan/rifaximin 550mg). Took those 3 times a day for 14 days. On day 8 I got solid stool at last.
It's very expensive here ($2k for the course), so much so that my insurance refused to cover it. Luckily the doctor's office had samples to cover my course at no cost to me.

Exactly what was prescribed to me, Rifaximin. 200mg twice per day, 10 days I think. I was also prescribed a rehydrator which made me go to the restroom often, and possibly something to prevent liquid stools. Theyve all been expensive, but not as bad as in your country. Those costs are terrifying.

Right now I'm taking hydrating salts, makes all liquid be processed by the kidneys however being so long on these things makes me worry about the overwhelm and health of my kidneys.

However after the antibiotic treatment the symptoms have restarted, not as severe and scary as theyve been, though.

I've taken 2 types of probiotic pills, yogurt but rarely as it is not suggested for loose stools, drinking pickle juice every day 1-2 spoons.

This illness is destroying my teeth too, sweet or not biscuits cover the teeth, sweet bananas and other fruit like melon and peaches, energizing drinks as they have ingredients commonly found in hydrating salts, juices and drinks, lots of sugar and salt to make up for the loss of those things.

Clear carrot soup is disgusting. These diets can be torture.

 

[Owliet]

I had Covid back in March and the only things I could say that lasted longer was the cough and this perpetual fatigue feeling. I also had some severe allergic reactions during the summer as I felt it was difficult to breath during really high pollen days and whilst I have allergies, they’ve never been that bad until after having Covid.

 

[All-Rounder]

I had Covid back in March and the only things I could say that lasted longer was the cough and this perpetual fatigue feeling. I also had some severe allergic reactions during the summer as I felt it was difficult to breath during really high pollen days and whilst I have allergies, they’ve never been that bad until after having Covid.

It's very strange, Covid brings out the worst in man.

 

[Owliet]

It's very strange, Covid brings out the worst in man.

Eh? I don’t understand? What a strange way to comment.
I'm also not a guy, so thanks for assuming...

As for My Experience with Covid, I also had to work although at home and took 2 weeks to feel like I could sit up without feeling dizzy. I had to be prescribed with energy boosters from my doctor and anti congestion medicine. I’m not pretending that I had it as bad as some others had /have but the fatigue and the expectation to work with a bunch of kids afterwards was at Times all going because I did feel like I was forced to go back before I was fully recovered. As for allergies, I did notice the difference.

 

[All-Rounder]

Eh? I don’t understand? What a strange way to comment.
I'm also not a guy, so thanks for assuming...

As for My Experience with Covid, I also had to work although at home and took 2 weeks to feel like I could sit up without feeling dizzy. I had to be prescribed with energy boosters from my doctor and anti congestion medicine. I’m not pretending that I had it as bad as some others had /have but the fatigue and the expectation to work with a bunch of kids afterwards was at Times all going because I did feel like I was forced to go back before I was fully recovered. As for allergies, I did notice the difference.

Man is used to signify Humankind.
I was not assuming your gender.
I believe myself to be part of the mankind. And part of the ones Covid brings out the worst of.

I was not expecting this precise misunderstanding to happen anymore, I was gonna say "That's strange" but it usually gets people reacting to it and thinking I'm saying it about their experience or themselves, not Covid. I thought that by using "it's" it will disable that possibility for the misunderstanding to occur. My bad, I don't know yet a better way to phrase that one.

 

[Owliet]

Man is used to signify Humankind.
I was not assuming your gender.
I believe myself to be part of the mankind. And part of the ones Covid brings out the worst of.

I was not expecting this precise misunderstanding to happen anymore, I was gonna say "That's strange" but it usually gets people reacting to it and thinking I'm saying it about their experience or themselves, not Covid. I thought that by using "it's" it will disable that possibility for the misunderstanding to occur. My bad, I don't know yet a better way to phrase that one.

I see. It might be a glitch in my translating then...Although “humankind“ is probably a better word to use such As With “humankind’s response to covid was not all positive and showed the worst and best in people”. That way you avoid misunderstandings because not everyone can always understand what you mean. Although the phrasing itself was a bit suspect because it was interpreted like you were making light of it, especially with the laugh emoticon response made by your friend. So more context also doesn’t hurt either.


as for the allergies getting worse , I did go to the drugery for advice and they had been Noticing a similar Occurence. I don’t know if it’s linked to just an exceptionally high pollen season but taking anti histamines was helpful enough

 

[All-Rounder]

I see. It might be a glitch in my translating then...Although “humankind“ is probably a better word to use such As With “humankind’s response to covid was not all positive and showed the worst and best in people”. That way you avoid misunderstandings because not everyone can always understand what you mean. Although the phrasing itself was a bit suspect because it was interpreted like you were making light of it, especially with the laugh emoticon response made by your friend. So more context also doesn’t hurt either.


as for the allergies getting worse , I did go to the drugery for advice and they had been Noticing a similar Occurence. I don’t know if it’s linked to just an exceptionally high pollen season but taking anti histamines was helpful enough

Sometimes the sound and different vibe of words get the better of me. "Man is ..." is sorta biblical and also English-scientific that's a bit dated it feels like, so it may be more funny or artistic. I tend to assume that people will not assume, and if they will, that I can explain it.

 

[Owliet]

Sometimes the sound and different vibe of words get the better of me. "Man is ..." is sorta biblical and also English-scientific that's a bit dated it feels like, so it may be more funny or artistic. I tend to assume that people will not assume, and if they will, that I can explain it.

Wouldn’t “mankind“ also work as well? If you’re going for the out dated feeling?

 

[All-Rounder]

Wouldn’t “mankind“ also work as well? If you’re going for the out dated feeling?

That's true. But then it loses its caveman vibe. Therefore it can risk being less cute, and autistic and becomes elegant and superior, and requires more thought.

 

[All-Rounder]

Wouldn’t “mankind“ also work as well? If you’re going for the out dated feeling?

Wouldn't a female picture be a better image for your profile if you're trying to convey you're a girl, or mind being misinterpreted as a guy?

 

[Tarkus]

Post-COVIDer here.

I sorry about your tummy situation, I have a friend that has experienced something very similar -along with harcore pain-, he is much better now btw.

In my case, it's been a year and I still have the chest pains and breathlessness.

I feel that doctors are not obsessive/empathetic enough, I've told them my symptoms and they are dismissive...

This seems to be pretty common from what I've read online.

Also, my von Willembrand factor and factor VIII are higher than they should, but my hematologist did not answer my question about their relation to Post-COVID:

- "Factor VIII and VWF(Ag) were elevated in 26% and 18%, respectively, and support a hypercoagulable state in some patients with PCS." and

- "These findings suggest possible ongoing microvascular/endothelial dysfunction in the pathogenesis of PCS and suggest a role for antithrombotic therapy in the treatment of these patients."

https://ashpublications.org/bloodad...6/Impaired-exercise-capacity-in-post-COVID-19
It's sad to not be able to trust medical professionals, I have severe health anxiety and this situation is not helping at all lol.

I hope you get better and btw I'm here for you or anyone who needs to talk about this type of situations, it can be hard to be autistic and deal with them.

(Note: I'm not a native speaker)

 

[Ronald Zeeman]

So much we do not know about Covid. I may have caught it, a couple of times over the years weird rises in temperature lasted one day each cannot explain. was this Covid? hair cut needed to remove mask for a minute to cut around the ears. virus air borne. Visited brother wife teacher, she just recovered from testing positive. he never vaccinated. both times my temperature shot up few days latter, no issue with my wife, very strange. do I carry the gene are my wife and brother immune. So much more to learn. maybe I should put together a separate temperature chart.

 

[All-Rounder]

Diosmectite [Smecta] has helped my digestive issues more than anything I've tried.

 

[Mary Terry]

Thank you, All-Rounder. I wish I had known this when I likely had covid in March 2020. My worst symptoms were gastro, not respiratory, and apparently many others have experienced the same thing.

 

[All-Rounder]

I mix it with Imodium [Loperamide] and it's better.

 

[Streetwise]

i never had the vaccine and im not going to get it, i have infections regularly, dont get antibiotics either but ive been like this for 16 years couldnt cough at all for the first year went into premature menopause for 6 months lost 4-5 stones in 6 weeks,have very mild kidney problems-bubbles in urine .