. It would be very handy to have an antibody test and know for sure what has been going on.
Readily available in the UK in various places like this:
https://www.summerfieldhealthcare.co.uk/corona-virus-testing/
Readily available in the UK in various places like this:
Isn't there a problem that none of them have been particulalry accurate?
And unless there's persistent immunity as a result then its unfortunately pointless anyway.
Still inching back towards some sort of normal here. My HR is still elevated and relatively modest strolls - under an hour - wipe me out next day, but the shortness of breath is mostly gone as is the cough. Not riding the bike yet, it seems pointless. No training effect, but runs down the battery.
Anyway, this is interesting for anyone going through as very slow recovery process from what is / probably is / might be Covid-19. Seems like a significant number of people are experiencing prolonged symptoms that go way beyond the 'official' one or two week recovery, but I guess we knew that already:
Having had many of the symptoms and taking 5 weeks to feel almost back to normal, I was 99% sure I had the virus.
This week my employer paid for us to take the anti-body test........it came back negative!
Still no clearer as to whether I've had it but either way that might suggest no immunity if no anti-bodys detected
I was about to post that article @badlywireddog
Again matches my experiences of whatever I’ve had. Albeit on an actually shorter time frame.
Although I guess he could have written that in one of the “I feel ok now” windows
What test did you use Gav?
@69er_Gav Which test though? Some give far more reliable results than others!
Today is the 8th week "anniversary" of my first day of feeling really rubbish on Saturday 21st March, four days after I came home from work to my better half coughing continuously (the day our first of two isolation periods began, we went back to work after 14 days but she had a bad relapse after a week and was given antibiotics while being off for a further ~2.5 weeks, during which I was told to isolate again to protect her in case she didn't have COVID-19 during the first isolation period).
The short version is, despite never getting more than relatively mild symptoms compared to my better half, I'm still not completely over it (I'm still struggling to try to get back the fitness I lost) and neither is she.
Some days I've been able manage a sub 25min effort in the past couple of weeks around my lowered FTP of 280W compared to 294W in Feb, but other days I've felt so wiped out I've not jumped on the turbo at all, while other days I've tried to ride at race pace and my legs/lungs have given up after ~10mins. Before all of this, I could go at race pace for up to several short events on a day and throw in a structured workout, sometimes after work shifts where I've covered ~6 miles, sometimes doing back to back days. At the moment, not a hope in hell!
My rather depressing "power and relative effort" chart, seeing my winter training from Jan to end of Feb go up in flames, which includes my cycle commutes and deliveries by foot at work...
Some days I’ve been able manage a sub 25min effort in the past couple of weeks around my lowered FTP of 280W compared to 294W in Feb, but other days I’ve felt so wiped out I’ve not jumped on the turbo at all, while other days I’ve tried to ride at race pace and my legs/lungs have given up after ~10mins. Before all of this, I could go at race pace for up to several short events on a day and throw in a structured workout, sometimes after work shifts where I’ve covered ~6 miles, sometimes doing back to back days. At the moment, not a hope in hell!
If it makes you feel better, the last time I rode a bike my power output at 120bpm was an average 70 watts for 20 minutes and I spent the next two days recovering from the effort. Before all this, my FTP was a little shy 0f 300 watts 🙂
Bit of an update and something of a revisit of some older posts.
I've never really trained to a power or relative effort - or trained really. Experiences of virus on power are back in the early pages. I was more shocked at the massive drop than anything else for what I thought were mild symptoms. It just didn't seem to fit right with what was being said about the virus at the time.
What I've worked out over the past couple of months - my body is on trickle charge. Energy levels build and improve week on week. It is also really easy to chew through the whole lot in one go if I'm not careful. Probably the biggest factor in improving was being put in Furlough at Easter. Not having to focus on being able to actually get through my work to hit a deadline and move to resting.
I don't like sitting still but have really forced myself to do this a lot. It has paid dividends although I still have to remember to do this to prevent chewing through the energy reserves. Although these are now higher they are not to previous levels.
One of the advantages of being in a small community is I've been able to get out and walk twice a day. Yes - breaks the rules - honestly I feel little and often exercise has helped get my fitness up. Not sure how I would have been able to do it living in anything other than a really small village. Even then it's been a case of going very early and very late in the day to avoid meeting people. These gentle strolls have made a big difference. I now wish I'd stuck on strava for each walk - just so I could look back at how my walking has changed. I now feel just walking about is pretty much normal. Did take a walk up a small fell the other day. It highlighted my fitness is not what it was but it will come back.
On the bike I'm now upto 14 rides on the bike post worst symptoms - what is working for me is riding to a beat. Putting the emphasis on keeping to or more correctly below a heart rate. In my case 110bpm - worked out through trial and error. Not an approach I recommend because it was a fine line between making a mistake and being OK. Mistakes generally being having too high an expectation / or thinking oh I feel good and trying something. The other thing is time between rides - three to four days seems to work. Whilst riding actually just focusing on the ride - not the speed / movement / end - punctuates it with rests. Taking more time out to stop - take in the views, look at the flowers, enjoy the clouds.
This week I have found I am naturally rising to holding 115bpm with comfort and being able to go over 130bpm without gasping or getting back home and feeling unusual. Originally I thought I'd try one of the Zwift FTP building programmes at the start or May, then I thought June, right now I'm thinking just keep in the bottom half of Zone 2 on HR. The theory being not trying being the new trying and over time what I can do by not trying will increase.
Whilst breathing cold air is not the unpleasant experience it was a couple of weeks it is still causing a little discomfort. The return of cold air this week reminded me I was finding this an issue.
With the return to the outdoor and plenty of people having been inactive and having Covid I am wondering what impact this will have. Especially when recovery for some of us is about not running before you can walk.
What I’ve worked out over the past couple of months – my body is on trickle charge.
I'm treating my fitness like a badly discharged mobile phone battery. If you keep hammering it without allowing it to charge up fully, you just end up with... a badly discharged mobile phone battery. Small steps.
If it makes you feel better, the last time I rode a bike my power output at 120bpm was an average 70 watts for 20 minutes and I spent the next two days recovering from the effort. Before all this, my FTP was a little shy 0f 300 watts 🙂
It's amazing how varied COVID-19 impacts different people!
I know I got off quite lucky compared to many, but I feel mightily pissed off at having a second successive of winter training written off, moreso this time because I pushed myself to my own brink in the hope of this year trying to make up for a really disappointing outdoor season in 2019.
Having only joined the "cycling for fitness gains" bandwagon just over three years ago, time is not on my side at 46 to keep punishing my body and trying to improve sustained power on top of what is currently a pretty physical job as a postie in these "stay at home, order the world from the internet times" we are in compared to a normal spring.
One of my random aims is to get a "95% of 20min" figure of 300W+, I hit 298W in early March 2019 and 294W in early Feb 2020. Trying to now improve my current 280W by another 20W feels like mission impossible, every relative good day is typically needing three easy days recovery. From how things have gone in the last couple of weeks, I might even struggle to keep hold of what I have now.
Probably one of the more unexpected things - which I've remembered as I'm sat in my kit ready to go for a road ride. I get a little bit anxious - probably slightly more so today as it's the first cool / windy day.
On FTP - I went from just over 200 to not being able to hold much above 60-80watts. Latest trip to the Zwift, having avoided it for weeks, over the 100watt barrier for av power. Even went over 200 watts without my heart rate going daft. Just climbing up out of one of the undersea tunnels so nothing major.
One of my random aims is to get a “95% of 20min” figure of 300W+, I hit 298W in early March 2019 and 294W in early Feb 2020. Trying to now improve my current 280W by another 20W feels like mission impossible, every relative good day is typically needing three easy days recovery. From how things have gone in the last couple of weeks, I might even struggle to keep hold of what I have now.
Maybe backing off for a few weeks and letting your body recover properly would work better than banging your head against a viral ceiling, particularly given your job. Your goal seems a bit arbitrary as well, but really, it sounds like you need a rest. Sure, you may lose a few watts, but you'll get them back once you're properly well again. Honest 🙂
Having only joined the “cycling for fitness gains” bandwagon just over three years ago, time is not on my side at 46 to keep punishing my body
Nick Craig is now 50, I think, and still competitive at elite level. Just for perspective.
Just going back to trail and error - in working out what I was comfortable with for a HR. I came in too high on the first rides. Thinking 120 was fine - a whole day of unusual followed. Should have come in at 100. I have seen articles saying your body will know when it's ready to go. I found this to be true but also I had had a reset. I worked this out by thinking go would be back to normal. As with everything about the virus there is a new normal. With hindsight I should have gone for just into zone 2 on HR. And with even more hindsight - even this could have been a risk without even knowing what my HR had been doing just basic gentle walks. In otherwords I have found a way that seems to be working for me but that doesn't mean there aren't risks and I was just bumbling my way out a situation without knowing or understanding them.
piemonster
What test did you use Gav?
Posted 7 hours ago
It was the Abbots antibody test. This is the blurb I was sent after i'd already been tested
I am delighted to announce that the Abbots (USA) Laboratory analyser ANTIBODY test for SARS-CoV-2, that we are providing to patients at The Health Equation, through The Doctors Laboratory, received Public Health England approval yesterday, Thursday 14th May 2020. Abbotts say the specificity of the ANTIBODY test is between 99.7 and 100%.
The Abbots Antibody test joins the Roche Antibody Test as the only 2 PHE approved SARS-CoV-2 ANTIBODY tests in the UK. Whilst the UK Government said in their press release that the ROCHE test was 100% specific, Roche themselves say it is 99.8 to 100% specific. At the moment Roche are only providing their test to the NHS.
Specificity is one thing, but surely in your case you care about sensitivity?
The Abbott 'have I currently got it?' test that they've been using in the White House a lot is apparently a bit dodgy!
Day 41 here.
I'm now at the point where I feel basically fine, so long as I don't do anything - as noted by others, you push yourself just a bit over the line and take three steps backwards as a result.
I am working from home (desk job) and am probably going to attempt 37 hours next week. Still only doing a 20 min walk each evening though, but might try half an hour one of these days!
My neighbour is now up to 8 weeks in. He runs and races regularly, and was training 6 days a week before CV. Hasn't been able to go for a run yet, although he's now looking reasonably chipper.
Thought about a ride this weekend, still have a bit of a cough and a sore chest. So I have not. Will reclaim the turbo for something gentle. I’m walking the dog a bit. But need to rest in the afternoons still if I am honest.
I’m not worried about fitness loss, I’ve been laid up for three months at a time with little issue. It’s the cumulative loss as I need about 12mo for my objectives. No 12hr TTs this year I fear.
For reference, I was training at 400Km/week in January and February with a plan for assault on the trike 12hr TT title. Bah!
I'm pretty good, back at work full time (desk job from home) but also getting randomly knackered / chest issues (best I can describe is it feels 'hollow' and each breath feels a little lacking in O2)
And getting that feeling you get the day before you come down with something but never actually coming down with it.
This seems to happen at random, other times I'm fine. Riding around 10-13 miles mostly around 120 bpm but wouldn't want to push much further / harder. Agree with the earlier posts about feeling like I have an energy battery and need to keep within it.
Will be fascinating to get the antibody test and I'll be confused / annoyed if it's negative.
I’m just coming out of something that seems like a relapse. About 3/4 days.
Malaise seems to be the right word, sore throat, cough.
All very mild, but 2.5 months in.
The other side to this, it could easily just be stress which is something that’s affected me before. But not with the sore throat, cough.
I posted in the bike forum last week about ongoing symptoms. Basically developed aches and pains at the beginning of April, followed by sore throat and cough. Cough got progressively worse and then I stared having breathing difficulties. Called 111, had a call back and advised to isolate on 16/04. Few days of bad coughing, extreme tiredness and difficulty breathing.
Started to feel more human a week or so ago so went for a bike ride. Knocked me straight on my arse. Doing my local loop which can be an hour or two door to door depending on route. Took me over an hour to do less than a third of the shortest route. Had to get off and push a few times which has never happened before. Cut short and came home.
Since then the cough has come back, numb hands and feet and no energy. Had this week off work and planned to spend time with family and do some household jobs, moving the shed amongst others. Instead I’ve spent every day sleeping. One short canal walk with my son each day and I’m ruined.
I know how lucky I am compared to a lot of people, but this is taking its toll on my mental health. Riding and other exercise help me keep depression and stress at bay and I can’t do either. Really struggling and there is no help out there. GP just said symptoms can take a bit to go away. It’s been nearly two months now.
Read this earlier and it made complete sense.
https://apple.news/AaKku9g9QS9qcQgheu5e8cA
I just want the cough, shortness of breath and extreme tiredness to piss off now. Every day tasks are very difficult to perform. Apologies for rambling, just needed to vent.
Keep venting funkmaster, it’s what the threads for.
It does seem like there’s a very long tail to this. Along with my short relapse I got Covid Toe back albeit less so than the first time.
No fever, or any noticeable heart rate or breathing issues. Some a few days of cough, fatigue aches and pains with Covid Toe just after. Odd.
For the first time in what feels like an eternity, I was able to do a short Z2 road ride after each work shift this week Mon-Weds, even throwing in some very short Z5 efforts up small inclines last night without feeling completely drained today.
Even now, I'm torn whether to pop out for a very short one, having hidden away from the sun all day... I don't cope with heat well at all, must have drank ~3l of fluid while delivering in the midday sun yesterday for ~5 hours.
Still getting aches around the ribs, almost feeling like a relapse, but less frequent now than this time last week.
I was going to attempt a canal towpath bimble now the kids are asleep but just don’t have any energy at all. In bed now, it’s ridiculous 😀 coughing and chest aches lots.
Thought I'd had it, see post 3, wife and son had definite symptoms a week or so later. I lost sense of smell. Antibody test today (provided by company) was negative. Would have been much simpler if it was positive! Confused again.
Been feeling short of breath now for 9 weeks as above its like any deep breathing is just hollow, seem to yawn slot too. The first few weeks I had weird pains / aches in my chest but they went away but came back this week for a couple of days. I also have a weird feeling in my throat but overall I just feel short of breath, my GP thought I had a punctured lung but this was over the phone. Anyway I have since been for a check up in hospital chest x-ray, ECU, loads of other tests and all came back clear. The two doctors say everything points to Covid but they are only 95% sure this was 3 weeks ago, I have went to being pretty much riding everyday to not being on a bike for 4 weeks now, I tried to keep going but the tiredness and really bad breathing finally made me stop. It is just like a game of snakes and ladders up feeling better then all the way back down.
I know how lucky I am compared to a lot of people, but this is taking its toll on my mental health. Riding and other exercise help me keep depression and stress at bay and I can’t do either. Really struggling and there is no help out there. GP just said symptoms can take a bit to go away. It’s been nearly two months now.
I'm somewhere around week 10 of whatever it is I have - began fittingly on Friday 13 March. Have backed right off and mostly what I have left is ongoing fatigue and a HR that's still around 20bpm high than normal, but dropping slowly. Not coughing any more. The tingling fingers. Weird chest pains mostly. High altitude shortness of breath. Random adrenaline surges. Covid (probably) insomnia. And acid reflux.. have all mostly buggered off for now.
My GP, who has been ace, says I'll know when it feels right to get back on the bike and I'm inclined to believe him. Right now it feels like anything more than a ten minute stroll is likely to knock me back into grimness.
Anyone suffering a glacially slow recovery who wants to sanity check what they're going through might find this FB group useful. Lots of shared odd symptoms and experiences:
ps: I found meditation unexpectedly helped with the frustration of not being able to ride. That and wariness of causing long term damage, though ECG, chest x-ray and blood tests all come back normal.
Thought I’d had it, see post 3, wife and son had definite symptoms a week or so later. I lost sense of smell. Antibody test today (provided by company) was negative. Would have been much simpler if it was positive! Confused again.
Suoerdrug are selling them now, if you want to potentially confuse yourself further. I hear you btw. Givem how screwed up I am and how weird my symptoms were, if I didn't have covid-19, there's something else badly wrong with me. Watch this space 🙁
Thanks for the link I’ll check it out. Going to get back in touch with GP again as my chest is quite painful tonight and the hand and feet numbness is getting worse.
I found meditation unexpectedly helped with the frustration of not being able to ride.
I agree with this 100%. Before I got COVID I was suffering from Post Concussion Syndrome - a few months of fatigue, not being able to get out of bed some days, etc. If I hadn't been lucky enough to have been tested then I'd probably have put my symptoms down to that & seasonal allergies.
Anyway, my point is that I've found meditation to be really helpful with both PCS and COVID as it's helping me keep my lack of riding in perspective.
That, and my son learning to ride his balance bike.
I've had a shock this morning.
A SECOND positive Covid-19 test over 5 weeks after the first.
I tested positive on 13th April and was off work for two weeks with general feelings of exhaustion, headache, loss of taste and smell etc. No cough or temperature. Resumed work on 28th April and have felt ok but tired. Other colleagues at work who had it have all reported the same.
This Wednesday was in work when I started to feel dreadful. Shortness of breath and headaches, tiredness. I only booked a test after some quite extreme nagging from colleagues and honestly thought I was wasting time and resources but went straight away.
Just had a positive result at 5.30 am today just as I was about to set off to work. Shocker. Currently at home awaiting some advice but I'm guessing I'll be off now until I have a negative test. FFS.
What advice do you expect? 😆
You're not leaving your home until at least next Wednesday, cancel your cross-country dash to your second home or caravan later for the bank hol weekend. 😉
Just had a positive result at 5.30 am today just as I was about to set off to work. Shocker. Currently at home awaiting some advice but I’m guessing I’ll be off now until I have a negative test. FFS.
You probably know this already, but the second positive test may mean that you're simply still shedding inactive, but still recognisable, virus particles as your body cleans itself out rather than you still being infected with the virus in an active way and being infectious.
The symptoms you're getting seem par for the course for a lot of us if you push yourself a little too hard during recovery. For a lot of people, the idea that you simply have this thing for a few days and get over it in a week or two is just not the case. Even my partner who had the mildest of symptoms for three or four days was still getting heart rate spikes on the bike / running weeks later. It's a weird virus and they're still learning about how it affects us.
I think we're 5 weeks on and my wife still has the anosmia.
The Mrs had a test come back positive as did four others that work with her. And she says nearly 20 people in the care home she works at have died. Hospital was sending patients back.
She has had zero symptoms a week on but did have a temp three weeks earlier and isolated then too.
Me and jnr did the drive through test this week, both came back negative.
Current advice seems to be we still need to isolate but she no longer needs to!
You probably know this already, but the second positive test may mean that you’re simply still shedding inactive, but still recognisable, virus particles as your body cleans itself out rather than you still being infected with the virus in an active way and being infectious.
+1
Not viable virus, just the proteins of dead virus.
Good explanation here:
We are 99% certain we both had the virus back in mid March. I had never felt so unwell and we both had the same symptoms apart from my breathing issues, which were scary.
We both had the loss of taste and smell, mine for about 4 days, but my partners taste and smell has not returned, so the loss has been around 10 to 12 weeks.
Anyone else still have the loss of taste and smell over a long period of time?
The GP said that it should have returned after about 2 weeks, since then she did have an appointment with the ENT in September, but that has just been cancelled as they are now fully booked??!!
My missus still has the anosmia. She will get the occasional whiff of bubble bath or something, but the next day it's gone again. That's been a couple of months.
Recovery continues for me, overall I would say I can handle where I am at. It's not stopping me from doing most of the things I want but activity does require thought and planning. No get out of jail free reserve energy tank and getting it wrong has consequences. Pushed a bit to hard the other day as HR was at the top end of Z1 for the rest of the day.
Had a major uplift in fitness at the end of May. Have done some large road rides - 75miles being the biggest one. It takes longer to recover but that is probably more a fitness thing. I have now got my full HR range back. Not gasping the top end of Zone 2 anymore or finding the prospect of Zone 4 frightening. O2 levels still randomly move around between 94 - 99 but mostly at 95 - 96. Annoyingly my peak flow is down and staying down.
Oooh, a blast from the past. I'm much better than I was, like OAP still having to allocate energy really carefully, but my RHR has gone back down to something more like its normal high 40s and most of the symptoms have bogged off, though I'm limited rides to less than 90 minutes and at a steady base sort of pace - even so I quite often get a few hours of post-rider elevated HR and fizzy spaciness.
Sometimes progress seems glacial, but but if I look back two or three weeks, I'm definitely on the mend. In very general terms, people with the 'long tail' thing often seem to improve after around week 12, which matches my experience of it. Anyway, I ordered a new mountain bike frame to cheer myself up, though it may be a while before it gets ridden with any sort of conviction :-/
I exceeded my limit with a longish ride this week and paid for it the next day with shallow breathing and fatigue. Felt fine while I was out though and on balance it was worth it. I'll try to stick to sub 2 hour rides. 5 weeks post virus.
I might be finally be making some progress, I've managed consecutive 100+ TSS days these past two weeks exclusively from power meter figures (rather than using estimates from my cycle commutes and deliveries without power meter or hrm), first time since before isolation back on 17th March... Even managed practically back-to-back short Zwift races last night at 1931 and 2020 with a ~10min recovery gap inbetween at 0.98 and 0.93 Intensity respectively, not managed that since way back in Feb IIRC.
My missus still has the anosmia. She will get the occasional whiff of bubble bath or something, but the next day it’s gone again. That’s been a couple of months.
Did your partner have a covid test?
Did your partner have a covid test?
It was one day too late for the test by the time they contacted her. Two of her colleagues were ill at the same time and tested positive so we're as sure as we can be.
After my second positive test in May (5 weeks after the first one on April 14th) I ended up going backwards and had a return of all my symptoms and spent a further two weeks basically feeling sorry for myself.
Work made me have a third test before they would let me go back which I got the result of on 4th June (negative).
I'm now back at work just 4 hrs a day but have ridden in a couple of times at a very gentle pace. Even that has wiped me out though and I felt shattered by yesterday.
It's going to be a long road back to full fitness.
today is 69 days since I first had symptoms. I am now capable of strolling, at a very gentle pace, about a mile and a half.
This week I made the mistake of doing that two days in a row, and felt rotten the day after. Today I am forcing myself to just sit around the house doing nothing...
I thought it might be useful to add a few things here. One is that approximately 10% of those with covid-19 according to the Kings London tracker app, develop a longer form version of the virus that can last for weeks with recurring symptoms including fatigue, chest pain, sometimes SOB etc. There's increasing awareness in the media now, but precious little research available so far, though hopefully that will change.
There are some good FB groups for those with ongoing symptoms including a good UK-based one for those who prefer to avoid feeling like they're in an ongoing episode of a US hospital drama:
Also there's some great information on this group where a respiratory specialist, who's a member posted some detail on how covid-19 impact the lungs in milder cases - think inflammation that reduces efficiency of gas exchange, but without showing on x-rays. Her belief is that there should be no long-term damage, but it will take a while to heal:
One other thing that's becoming apparent is that quite a lot of long-haulers - and people generally - are testing negative for antibodies, including folk who've had positive antigen tests already. The theory is that the initial response of t-cells is enough so anti-bodies not produced. More on this YouTube video:
today is 69 days since I first had symptoms. I am now capable of strolling, at a very gentle pace, about a mile and a half.
This week I made the mistake of doing that two days in a row, and felt rotten the day after. Today I am forcing myself to just sit around the house doing nothing…
I know that feeling. I did too much last week and am having a super easy week to recover. Having to recalibrate what constitutes a meaningful effort - clue, not much at the moment. But at least my HR is somewhere closer to normal after 14 weeks of this crap 🙁
Thanks for that vid BadlyWiredDog. Madame is still convinced she's had the virus and unconvinced by the negative antibody test hence my "unless" a few days ago.
Thanks for that vid BadlyWiredDog. Madame is still convinced she’s had the virus and unconvinced by the negative antibody test hence my “unless” a few days ago.
There's an article somewhere suggesting that as few as 10% of those contracting covid-19 actually develop antibodies. That seems on the low side, but it does seem to make a nonsense of the idea that the antibody test is 'a game-changer'. It also seems to be less straightforward than 'if you don't have antibodies, you don't have immunity'.
At the moment the consensus seems to be moving towards the view that a subjective diagnosis by a doctor has move validity than a positive test. Even if the antibody tests were 100% accurate, which they're not, all they tell you is whether you have the antibodies tested for rather than whether you've had covid-19.
It also makes you wonder where the lack of antigen testing accuracy leaves elite sport as well. It's all very well testing all your staff and players every two days, but if your test is only - as has been suggested - 70% accurate, what value does a negative test actually have.
Bit of a conundrum here and this spans a few threads.
The Wife returned to work yesterday, she’s a TA at a primary school. This morning she’s had a phone call to say someone in her “bubble” has CV19 symptoms. So she’s now having to self isolate, at least until this person’s test result is back. One bloody day of schools returning!
Sensible head on means that my household is now in isolation. But the NHS111 advice is to only isolate if you or someone you live with has symptoms or a positive test. That means we are free to carry on as normal until we have symptoms.
This seems a very lax approach, but on the other hand one person having symptoms could mean vast swathes of people self isolating for a small chance that the 10th person in the chain “could” have been exposed.
So I’m now sat in limbo, work doesn’t want me in until the test result is known, waiting for someone else to do the right thing and get tested ASAP.
Its been about 9 weeks since I was discharged from hospital after my 9 nights on COVID wards. The first 3 weeks were pretty tough, the next three were okay and the last three have been fine. I reckon I'm back to full fitness but lockdown and lack of opportunity to exercise hard make this difficult to test. I'm riding my bike most days, working full time and decorating a house, all without any apparent ill effects.
I had a follow up chest xray which showed pneumonia is all clear with no sign of any damage. I also headed up to Edinburgh last week to give them 600ml of my blood plasma. From that I'll find out if my antibody levels are high as, if they are, they'll be calling me back to donate more. The staff there said antibody levels seem quite random and do not really marry up with the severity of symptoms. That view is based on quite a small sample though rather than any research.
Critically though, the opportunity for sympathy at home is now long since passed and I can no longer use my Coranvirus excuse for anything. So no tea in bed in the mornings for me any more.
I managed a 1 min walk 10min jog x 5 yesterday, I've gradually upped it starting from 1min , very pleased with progress but it's a long way from the 20-30 mile runs I was doing pre covid
Critically though, the opportunity for sympathy at home is now long since passed and I can no longer use my Coranvirus excuse for anything. So no tea in bed in the mornings for me any more.
Im genuinely sorry to hear this, have you tried some over dramatic swoons/wobbles down the hall way..... 😀
How are people generally feeling here?
Been a while since I posted, partly due to having mild symptoms and work being genuinely bonkers, seems like a few are still really struggling?
Thanks BadlyWiredDog, will check those links out.
Day 74 - had an antibody test and a chest X-Ray this morning. Appointment for an ECG tomorrow.
Meh.
Ten and a bit weeks for me since my first positive test (April 13th). Had a relapse after five weeks and was still testing positive on May 20th.
I had a negative test on 1st June and have been back at work since 4th june, albeit on reduced hours.
I can have two or three ok days and then get hit with horrendous fatigue. For me I know if I'm going to have a rough day when I get that metallic taste in my mouth and a fuzzy concussion feeling in my head and neck.
When that hits I barely have energy to sustain a conversation. Shortness of breath, confusion, memory loss and the worst headaches I've ever experienced.
Weirdly, an old scar on my hand is constantly tingling after about 7 years where I've barely thought about it.
Properly **** off with it now.
I’m about 18 weeks since I had what might well have been Covid. First couple of months were rough-v tired. Have been doing a fair bit of riding but still having periodic waves of massive exhaustion and loss of taste. Really weird. Only lasts a day or so then I’m fine. Cheat still tight on RHS at same time. I was properly ill but not in hospital as I thought it was Flu. Sadly no tea in bed ever.
Still struggling here. Cough and shallow breathing has now been around since the beginning of April. Antibiotics were prescribed a fortnight ago as GP thought I’d picked up a secondary infection. They seemed to be working as the cough got better. Started again two days ago and I almost blacked out from a coughing fit last night.
The fatigue and high heart rate when doing the most mundane things is still the worst part. Even a gentle mile walk on the canal towpath is leaving me shattered. Concentrating at work is extremely difficult and I can’t do any exercise. Really starting to adversely affect my mental health now.
Had a phone call with GP again today and they still think I’ve had coronavirus. Blood tests on Tuesday to rule out anything else. They are going to do the antibody test too, but GP basically said it is useless and utterly unreliable. She also mentioned that some insurance firms are refusing life insurance to people who have tested positive. Don’t know how much truth there is to that, although it would not surprise me. Advised to continue to take it easy and rest, rest, rest. Said even when I begin to feel better, short walks for a few weeks before attempting anything else.
I know people have lost their lives to this and that others are suffering with other horrendous illnesses, but this is really shit. Three months of feeling like a knackered pensioner at high altitude. The GP was most concerned about my mental health due to history, the fact that I came off antidepressants (after five years) a week before lockdown and a few other personal things that have happened recently.
I’m struggling basically. Sorry for the rant.
I’m struggling basically. Sorry for the rant.
You've got nothing to apologise for. I'm in a broadly similar situation, but maybe a couple of weeks further up the road from you and it's bloody awful.
You are also absolutely not alone: the Kings tracker app data suggests that 1 in 20 covid-19 sufferers have long-term symptoms and we're generally people who had relatively mild symptoms initially. There are lots of us out there and the media and medical establishment are starting to realise that.
There are two very good UK-orientated FB groups with some good information and supportive people:
Covid UK Long-haulers:
Covid-19 Support Group #covid1in20:
Quite a few people on there who are fit, active cyclist or runners and going through a very similar experience with a lot of the same symptoms and similar timings. Your GP sounds good, she's also, if my experience is anything to go by, spot on with the advice to just rest as much as you can. I spent a month just walking 400m a day round the local recreation ground after a 40-minute flat stroll knocked me out for three days.
The antibody tests btw are getting a bad rap for accuracy, there are people who tested positive for the antigen now testing negative for antibodies and the theory is that the tests were calibrated using hospitalised patients and so aren't sensitive enough to detect lower levels of antibody. Or even that milder cases are sometimes dealt with by the body's myeloid response and antibodies are never actually produced. And if you do test positive, it doesn't really help.
Stuff that's helped me mentally is meditation using the Headspace app, EFT Tapping Therapy - to my amazement - and trying to schedule things that give me some little joy into every day, even if it's just eating something nice, speaking to a mate on FaceTime or siloing an hour to read or watch gratuitous nonsense on the telly. If you can, I'd see if you take some time off work, I don't know how you're managing that, it would wipe me out.
Sorry, I feel massively inadequate here. What I can tell you is that you're about three weeks behind me and somewhere near the point where my heart rate dropped slowly back to something closer to normal, which was at about 12 weeks, which is the point where people quite often do seem to improve. Resting really hard - I spent a lot of time in a hammock slung across the back of the house - made a really big difference to me. I did the coughing thing after going for a walk at 3 am in 5˚C. I'd maybe ask your GP for a chest x-ray too, but be aware that minor covid damage seems to only show up on a CT scan.
Hang on in there, it will get better. It's a proper crap illness and just because you don't die or end up on hospital, doesn't make it any less difficult.
Oh, those FB groups are good, but also check out the Asthma UK / British Lung hub for specific help, they do both phone and whatsapp support:
https://www.post-covid.org.uk/
Hang on in there, it will get better. It's a proper crap illness and just because you don't die or end up in hospital, doesn't make it any less difficult.
This time last week, I was quite happy to have done two ~120TSS days back to back. I then badly misjudged how I felt after Friday's Zwift Racing "leg loosener" workout, being rapidly left for dead in a Crit City race which I bailed out of and then confirmed my legs were wrecked by only just getting through the first two blocks of Emily's Short Mix to end up with ~60TSS for the day.
Since a couple of very short gentle rides I did on Sunday afternoon and evening, all I've done this week is work shifts and moderate cycle commutes.
I started another block of annual leave today and despite taking it easy since last Friday, the last thing I felt like doing today was jumping on the turbo (or doing fish tank water changes, or fitting fresh drivetrain bits and tyres to road bike).
It's only been three weeks since I came back from my last leave block, yet I feel shattered from how busy it is at work compared to normal, but it feels so strange to still having to tone down my ride intensity and frequency ~3 months from when mild symptoms began.
I'm making progress, but it's slower than I'd like and I've still yet to climb some of my favourite local hills this year for the first time, nevermind having a try or two at challenging my 2018 times... Or visit some of my bucket list new climbs for the year such as Milland Hill or Ventnor esplanade to Down Lane! 🙁
My wife and I both work clinically in hospital and have just had our antibody tests. Both positive. We’ve both been almost completely asymptomatic and haven’t had any time off.
My wife re-calls one run she went on (March 23rd after checking Strava) where she really struggled, did a slow mile or so before turning back and that’s all she can think of. I really can’t think of anything significant. Had a bit of hayfever type symptoms which I get anyway, but no cough, fever, loss of taste or smell, fatigue.
Pretty crazy. Our kids almost certainly Have had it too then. It feels really odd. On one hand very reassuring, but also feel a bit guilty if we’ve passed it on. Social distancing at work has been impossible at times. Hopefully socially been ok. I don’t know of anyone we know who has been ill. I’ve let a few people know who I’ve seen just in case.
Very surreal day.
We’ve both been almost completely asymptomatic and haven’t had any time off.
I was literally oozing virus for a week before going into hospital, I was then discharged before being readmitted. No social distancing at all in our house so inconceivable that my wife and kids avoided it. No symptoms whatsoever. If they have had it they didn't realise it.
So I'm somewhere at the end of week 15 of suspected - clinical diagnosis by two different doctors - covid-19 with all of the classic long-haul symptoms thrown in. I felt a lot better around week 12 which is when I lost most of the obvious symptoms and was left just with general fatigue, occasional chest pain and tingling in my hands and fingers. Got cocky and overdid it slightly and had a week of feeling serious fatigue, proper tiring walking to the bathroom and back stuff.
If anyone's interested, a feasible long-haul explanation seems to be:
1. Mild to moderate covid-19
2. T-cells wipe out virus, but go into over-activation afterwards attacking your own body and causing inflammation.
3. Eventually this dies out and you're left in a post-viral condition with your body diverting all its resource to fixing the damage.
If this is right, the relapses where your body seems to have more of the original viral afters is actually a mechanism where your body reproduces the original symptoms of the virus to get you to stop and heal. It's basically a not very subtle message.
I'm no expert and that's cobbled together from a few sources but it rings true to me. If I get tired, I get weird, baseless adrenaline rushes, which I had from the start and don't seem to be related to anything real, just a thing. My HR doesn't even go up, they are fake. Mostly I am proper, viral tired, but I don't really feel ill any more, my RHR is down to 48bpm instead of being around 90 and I'm optimistic that with some proper, focussed resting, I will eventually mend enough to very tentatively start doing things again.
From my last post things seemed to be going generally forwards - getting riding, still having to watch my HR zones then it went a bit unexpected. Not sure if I picked up a bit of a cold or what but had a viral response to something and now feel like I've time tunnelled back around 5-7 weeks on fitness. Just felt like a normal 'dry' cold was going to start up but had around 48hrs of bad muscle aches. Thighs still feeling it now - which was one of the last symptoms to go from before. I had got the point where my resting HR had gone back under 60 and I could handle full range of HR upto maximum. Lesson of the week seems to be assume any bug will wipe out more than normal. I'm not going for relapse in conditions because it definitely felt like my body was fighting off something this time as opposed to April / May where it was just roller coasting through the bingo card.
Got my antibody test results back yesterday and it says I have had it. No idea when, since this started I've done my usual community nursing job, been in the Covid community testing car before we took a break in testing and behind the Covid door in A&E for a few weeks. Would hate to think I spread it, but equally relieved that I don't recall any symptoms at any point.
Thanks very much for sharing your stories and all the info on this thread folks, it’s been very helpful over lockdown while I was recovering.
How are you doing now @fasthaggis? This place and a couple of the FB groups have basically kept me vaguely sane.
BadlyWiredDog
Not too bad now thanks, but for a while it was a bit of a roller coaster ,yo yoing between feeling glad that I had had what I thought was a fairly mild infection , to worrying why it was taking so long to feel ok ,then being ambushed by all these strange leftovers symptoms . During lockdown I was sticking to short walks and indoor cycle trainers when I could manage, but for ages It did feel like one step forward two back. Although the lockdown forced me to rest much more than usual ,being stuck indoors for so long gave too much time to overthink/imagine things, so it was good to read about others going through a similar experience and some of the reasons why I have been feeling the way I was. Hope everyone manages to get back to their old selves soon, take care.
@fasthaggis - good to hear you're on the mend. I am improving, but it sometimes feels glacially slow. I have to occasionally stop and remind myself sometimes just how trashed I was, say four weeks ago, which gives me a bit more perspective on things.
Day 86. Feeling quite ropey today - logged off from work at 3pm and went to lie down on the sofa. Managed a short walk round the block (1500 steps) at a very slow pace. Feel like I've gone backwards these last few days.
Had an antibody test - negative. ECG was fine, chest X-ray was fine (that was a big relief), most of the bloods were fine - in fact there seems to be almost nothing to suggest I've been ill at all. Apparently there's thing in my liver which is at a higher level than usual, but that's it (it's always been on the high side, now it's a bit higher again). The doctor is going to send me for a liver scan to rule some stuff out.
A couple of other people I know who've had similar symptoms have also had negative antibody tests - seems pretty odd! But then my GP did say that she doesn't really trust them.
Pretty fed up with it today. I was definitely feeling better than this two weeks ago. My neighbour said he started to improve significantly after about 12 weeks. Yesterday marked 12 weeks for me so I've been really clinging on to that bit of hope!
@doris5000 Sorry to hear you're having a bad few days. I had a proper uptick at around 12 weeks, but overdid things slightly and spent the next week or so getting over it. I'd seriously take it really easy, like much easier than you think. It's very, very easy to go over the edge and knock yourself backwards, just be cautious. I'm week 15 now and mostly just very tired with some tingling fingers and hands thrown in.
On progress, it's better to think back to how you were, say, two or three weeks ago than expecting daily upward progression, The way it seems to work is that you go up and down on a daily basis, but the overall trend is towards recovery. It just takes time. My tests are all good too btw, including chest x-ray, but that doesn't mean your body hasn't taken a kicking. Right now it's trying to repair and asking you not to do too much else.
The antibody testing is dubious on all sorts of levels. Some people may not have produced antibodies, but still have some sort of t-cell memory resistance going forward. Some may have produced low levels of antibodies which fade rapidly. And the tests were developed and calibrated used hospitalised patients who likely have very high levels of antibodies, because their illness was severe.
There's supposed to be a better test in development from Birmingham Unversity, but if you can be bothered, this is a good summary of what's happening for now:
Hang on in there and try to be patient. Oh, fwiw, I've found CBD Oil really good for general mood and wellbeing. Along with meditation, something I never thought I'd say, really liking the Headspace phone app.
Maybe we need a recovery thread on here, but the FB groups I linked to are good for info and getting a broader picture of what's going on with your body.
Day 100! [trumpet fanfare]
How is everyone doing?
I found weeks 13 and 14 to be a bit of a struggle - a definite regression. Had to sign off from work at lunchtime and go back to bed at least twice. Coming out of that again now, although had some chronic brain fog yesterday, couldn't concentrate at all.
Still, the fact that I feel better today than I did last week means I can be reasonably optimistic, even if I don't really know if I feel better than I did a month ago!
A bit (somewhat) scared of the reports now coming out that immunity might only last for weeks rather than years - might explain why my antibody test (at c. 10 weeks) might have come back negative?
I'm week 18 now and getting mighty narked off. Appear to have slid back from last week. Only real change is that I've gone back to work (after 3 months furlough) and it seems the general stress of dealing with numpties is affecting my symptoms (chest and fatigue).
Booked in for a telephone consult with the chest specialist practice nurse and she's not been able to get hold of me as my phone seems to be diverting everyone to voicemail and when I call back she's on another call. So I'm doubly narked now.
I'm riding at least once a week, but I need to be careful not to over do it. The frustrating thing is I'm ok during the ride, but the next day I'm rubbish! Just lounging around feeling tired and sleepy. The heat also seems to be affecting me badly. I used to be fine in it, but anything over about 25 degs now and I'm also rubbish!
It's depressing reading these reports of cognitive disruption and long term complications, but I have to remind myself that this is the press, and they will distort a story to get sales / clicks. So most likely it is not nearly as bad as they are portraying. For most at least.
But what really scares me is getting this again. I'd got of lightly with a brief trip to a&e. God only knows how I'd cope with it again as I feel a lot less robust after nearly 5 months of recovery.
Sorry for the rant.
Interesting vid from Dr John the other day about it's effect on blood vessels and how it's not just the alveoli in the lungs filling with fluid stopping gas exchange but also the small blood vessels in the lungs (which carry the gasses to/from the alveoli) and elsewhere getting inflamed, causing micro clots which add to the overall inability to exchange gasses. Well worth a watch.
A bit (somewhat) scared of the reports now coming out that immunity might only last for weeks rather than years – might explain why my antibody test (at c. 10 weeks) might have come back negative?
The antibody tests are a can of worms - pick from: some people don't develop antibodies, the tests have a flawed threshold because they were calibrated using blood samples from hospitalised patients etc. This is quite a good overview fi you're interested.
The other thing to bear in mind is that antibodies aren't the be all and end all of immunity. There's quite a lot of stuff out there suggesting that the body produces memory t-cells, which recognise the virus again and take it out fast plus are much longer lasting. With SARS-1 they were still apparent 11 years later. Apparently there's a Swedish study where only 15% of those tested had antibodies to covid-19 but 30% had these memory t-cells.
Day 100! [trumpet fanfare]
How is everyone doing?
Well, iCal says Day 125. I'm improving slowly albeit at a depressingly glacial pace. Mostly I'm just very tired in a post-viral feeling sort of way. The tingling in my fingers is gradually fading, I think it's basically nerve - or nerve sheath - healing and things that I suspect are down to the autonomic nervous system, are starting to work properly again. My HR is back to near normal.
I still l get occasional brain fog when tired, but it's improving. I'm doing a lot of resting plus very gentle short strolls. Also building up a new FlareMAX as a statement of intent. I've never eaten so healthily in my life, I seem super sensitive to all sorts of stuff, so I've dropped processed sugar, caffeine, processed foods other than pasta, lots of fresh stuff, no alcohol.
I've seen suggestions that 4-6 months is expected time for recovery, but the lack of detailed, research-based information into long covid-19 is quite unsettling. GPs don't really know what's going on or have any convincing treatment protocols bar playing whack-a-mole with treating symptoms. Hopefully that'll change, but this whole thing is a bloody nightmare.
No-one knows what the long term health implications are, but I've had a clear chest x-ray, two normal ECGs and full bloods, which are fine bar B12 and Potassium being towards the lower end of normal. All of which is reassuring.
Sounds like you're on the mend 🙂
Saw some news today that a rash might be the only symptom of infection in some cases.
Mrs Dubs went to the doctors with such a rash in early March, told it was "just a virus" it will probably go away. It did.
I had an eye infection and general malaise a week or so earlier.
If that was it, we got away incredibly lightly. I'm hoping we've still got some resistance as she's back to school full time in September (absolute germ factory) and I'll probably have to go back to getting the train into work.
Yep I had it back in March.
Knocked me off my feet for 48 hours and I was back to normal within a month.
In that time at night in bed I could feel my lungs repairing themselves... Such a weird feeling.
No tests back them of course, but I volunteered to donate blood plasma and the results came back that I had had Covid19.
So I'm donating more plasma this month to try and help the fight.
The wife had it too as she passes it on to me but she wasn't tested, but it hit her worse than me, but all ok now.
We don't want it again though
Sounds like you’re on the mend 🙂
I have good days and bad days, but the broad trajectory is upwards. It would be nice to know what's going on with long covid though. GPs don't really have the faintest idea and even consultants seem to be making educated guesses.
I’ve never eaten so healthily in my life, I seem super sensitive to all sorts of stuff, so I’ve dropped processed sugar, caffeine, processed foods other than pasta, lots of fresh stuff, no alcohol.
Yeah, I'm going down this road too. My booze intake is now about 3 units a week, caffeine is almost out of the equation, and sugar will be next. I haven't noticed any particular sensitivities to anything (except booze), but I figure if I'm getting tired doing the slightest thing, it's probably best to give my body as little to deal with as possible, and let it focus on getting healthy again.
