Covid Recovery - Exhausted - Atrial Fibrillati...

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Covid Recovery - Exhausted

Utballa profile image
31 Replies

Hi,

I tested positive for Covid on July 15. Symptoms were mild at first, felt more like allergies. On July 15 I lost my sense of taste and smell, then the tightest in my chest and exhaustion hit. I took Paxlovid and have had a round of antibiotics and steroids to get rid of this virus, but it’s taking it’s sweet time. I am exhausted daily and it’s frustrating trying to get from Point A to Point B without wanting to collapse. Pressure in my head…I have been to every doctor under the sun…x rays show that lungs are inflamed. Any suggestions on supplements I can take or anything I can do to improve lung capacity? It hit me hard this time and I am struggling to keep up. Hopefully I can recover sooner than later.

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31 Replies
mjames1 profile image
mjames1

It can take time. Be patient. Consider seeing a respiratory therapist for evaluation and home breathing exercises.

Jim

Utballa profile image
Utballa in reply tomjames1

Thank you Mjames1! I am willing to try anything at this point.

Aegean56 profile image
Aegean56 in reply tomjames1

Agree...some have said incentive spirometry exercises were very helpful

Utballa profile image
Utballa in reply toAegean56

Thank you Aegean

caroash profile image
caroash

Hi so sorry to hear your suffering like this,one if my family members has suffered after Covid. I can tell you about a few things that really helped firstly for the inflammation I would recommend an omega 3 supplement by Pharmepa(restore) they are on Amazon,helps with inflammation and brain fog.You would have to check with your doctor that they are okay to take with your other meds. Also Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is amazing for post Covid. I'm in UK and there are centres that offer a reduced rate for chronic illnesses £50.00, really works on a cellular level and aids recovery. There is also an anti histamine called Fexafenadine ,when people were in hospital with Covid they used this to reduce inflammation caused by the virus and research shows it helps the body after Covid too,it really helped me. Again you would need to check with your doctor,but should be okay as is an antihistamine. I took it for about a month and helped my aches and pains and lungs too.X

CDreamer profile image
CDreamer in reply tocaroash

IF you can get HBOT - it really helps but that in itself is very tiring and a big commitment. I took it for 12 months for an autoimmune condition and it was very helpful. In UK almost impossible to access but much easier in US and insurance companies love it in US as it’s not considered expensive treatment.

caroash profile image
caroash

Also get your Vitamin D blood levels checked,if they are low it affects your recovery and immune system. Mine always drop very low in the winter, Vitamin D3 acts like a steroid in the body,so when low affects mood, energy, immune system and bones and joints. X

CDreamer profile image
CDreamer

Best remedy = rest and recuperation and stop! The more you try to do stuff the less your body has the energy to recuperate and heal.

I had similar and had pneumonia with COVID and I would say at least 3 months before you begin to feel better and even then tiny steps to learn to function without exhausting yourself - and it is exhaustion! BUT your body is doing this to you because you won’t STOP!

Inflammation = Resveratrol has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, glucose and lipid regulatory, neuroprotective, and cardiovascular protective effects,

BUT don’t expect miracles and think months for recovery, not weeks!

Utballa profile image
Utballa in reply toCDreamer

You are so right CDreamer! It definitely tests your inner strength. Thank you.

jeanjeannie50 profile image
jeanjeannie50

I had covid and pneumonia together late last year. I too would recommend vitamin D3 alongside K2, C and zinc. I have read of people being cured with Ivermectin, a drug that's usually given for worms and other parasites in places like Africa, but that drug is controversial and difficult to get hold of here in the UK. I see you are in the US so it may be available there. If you should seek this out make sure you get the one for humans not animals. I cannot recommend it personally as I don't know enough about it, but it may be worth doing your own investigation

I hope this link below about it will work for you:

google.com/search?rlz=1C1AS...

Jean

pusillanimous profile image
pusillanimous in reply tojeanjeannie50

Ivermectin for Covid went through a phase of popularity in South Africa (so did quite a few things:) But the FDA has not approved it for viral infections, and studies have shown that to have any effect at all on viruses requires 100 times the recommended dose for humans, it have gone out of fashion here in SA - it is however very effective against parasitic infections like River Blindness and for worms particularly in horses and livestock.

secondtry profile image
secondtry

Sorry to hear this. I note you are in the States and maybe you already know about the information provider backed by top doctors covid19criticalcare.com

BevCynfelyn profile image
BevCynfelyn

I've had AF for 6 years, it's now considered permanent because I've had the 3 cardioversions my local health board will allow. Each 1 has given me over a year without AF. I went back into persistent AF over a year ago. I was hospitalised at the end of March with pneumonia. HR upto 180 but BP fairly normal. Constant cough afterwards.

Then in May I got covid. Literally too ill to get out of bed for 5 days GP wanted to send me back to hospital but compromised with him doing daily visits for 4 days instead.

Over 3 months later still extremely weak. It's aggravated my arthritis so I'm now walking with elbow crutches. I've had a CT scan two weeks ago and due to have a bronchoscopy next week to see what damage has been done.

Ive now been off work since April. (I'm a vicar, and no, I don't just work Sundays!)

If anyone says to me that Covid is very mild now..... I'm likely to use very un-vicar like language!!

Ppiman profile image
Ppiman

Our two neighbours, healthy and in their70s had a truly bad time last year with covid and were shaken by it expecting it to be a mild virus. They are now fully recovered but it took a while. My brother still mocks it as some kind of "deep state" con. Argh!

If you feel especially poorly, and you think it's gone on too long, how about asking for a CT or MRI scan to show why these things are happening and how long recovery might take? Those are unlikely to be offered except privately, these days, I realise but the NHS should agree to checking for blood counts, inflammatory markers, kidney function and similar.

Covid is mostly now a mild condition for the majority, but not for all.

Steve

Margareta3 profile image
Margareta3

See here for a lot of helpful information:

covid19criticalcare.com/tre...

tokenwelshman profile image
tokenwelshman

I'm coming up to two years with long COVID now. If you catch the virus you have a one-in-ten chance of it developing into long COVID, ie chronic disability with no cure. Anybody who claims this virus is mild has no idea what they are talking about.

I've tried a range of supplements, I'm not convinced they have made a huge difference, but there's (inevitably) a huge community of people who are suffering and who are trying things out, so what doesn't work for me may work for others.

My doctor has prescribed beta blockers to try to keep my palpitations and heart rate under control, and antihistamines to control my "mast cell activation syndrome" symptoms. Masking symptoms rather than fixing anything, but it makes life more tolerable.

Beyond this I take:

Aspirin (anti platelets / heart health)

N-Acetyl L-Cysteine (NAC) (converts to glutathione - to aid crashing)

CoEnzyme Q10 (immune system)

Vitamins (B complex, C, D2, Zinc, Selenium) (immune system)

Magnesium Taurate (palpitations)

Herbal sleeping aid (Hop Strobile, Valerian and Passion flower)

5-HTP (inflammation / sleep quality - converts to seratonin / melatonin)

Nattokinase (breaks down micro clots in blood)

I am trying to get some Low Dose Naltrexone which apparently reduces inflammation. Not easy to get hold of in the UK, but I believe it's routinely prescribed elsewhere and often has positive effects.

Good luck with your recovery. I hope you feel better very soon.

Utballa profile image
Utballa in reply totokenwelshman

Thank you so much for your input. I will ask my doctor about these supplements. I am glad you are on the mend.

tokenwelshman profile image
tokenwelshman in reply toUtballa

I wouldn't say I'm on the mend - I still feel terrible, always shattered, cannot exercise, cannot do anything useful around the house, constant headaches, cannot think straight, memory is not reliable... and I think I am what would describe as a "mild to moderate" case because I'm still managing to work, I'm not bedbound, I can have a shower and get dressed without needing help, etc.

Other than the prescription medication I mentioned, you should be able to buy everything I listed online, but absolutely you should take advice from your doctor on whether any of them are a good or bad idea for you and your symptoms.

caroash profile image
caroash in reply totokenwelshman

Also I have started drinking golden milk,it's really improved my gut health which In turn helps immunity and inflammation. It's turmeric, black pepper,ginger .There are various recipes.I add cinnamon and cacao to mine and a bit of manuka, mixed with warm milk. I use coconut,but you can use most plant milks.

tokenwelshman profile image
tokenwelshman in reply tocaroash

That sounds interesting - thank you - I will look into that! Gut health has definitely been an issue as part of my long COVID "journey" (if you can call something with multiple crashes a journey), although it seems to have settled down more recently.

caroash profile image
caroash in reply totokenwelshman

You can get LDN through Dixon's chemist in Glasgow,you need approval from a GP and then they will do you a private prescription.

tokenwelshman profile image
tokenwelshman in reply tocaroash

Thanks - yes, I am in touch with them, I'm waiting for something in writing from my GP confirming I have long COVID (!!), after which they can see me privately.

caroash profile image
caroash in reply totokenwelshman

Hi oh that's good then,LDN is so good and not that well known about.

tokenwelshman profile image
tokenwelshman in reply tocaroash

I've raised it with my GP a couple of times and shared some studies which support its use to help long COVID recovery. His response was that even if he wanted to prescribe it, it would get rejected at the dispensing stage because it is "on a list". Don't know if that's true or if he is fobbing me off. He suggested the private route which is when I came across Dixons as an option.

GPs seem familiar with Naltrexone in the context of drug addiction, and this seems to raise an instant red flag, even when discussing its potential benefits at low doses.

caroash profile image
caroash in reply totokenwelshman

Hi yes I think they know about it,but it's sort of off grid for them and I think it's the sort of thing they would have to refer to a specialist for. My daughter had the worst headaches and migraines and the Pharmepa fish oils (restore) cheaper on Amazon were a game changer,high in EPA targets inflammation, health professionals recommend them they are really pure too.

tokenwelshman profile image
tokenwelshman in reply tocaroash

I did read that you shouldn't combine fish oil with anticoagulants due to the risk of bleeding - given I'm already taking aspirin and nattokinase, I chose to stop taking the fish oils that I had been taking. Again I can't say the fish oil (in combination with everything else) made much difference, and I can't say the nattokinase has transformed my life since I started taking it instead, although I am on quite a low dose at the moment.

Having Long COVID and making up your own treatment plan based on advice you read online is a real joy! But it beats accepting my GPs view that "there's nothing we can do".

marcyh profile image
marcyh

Sorry to hear this. The virus has mutated down, as they do, but it can still hit hard. Our family all had it except my husband. Mine was Omicron (Feb 22) and I lost my smell and taste which resolved. I had already fortified myself with Vit. D, C, zinc and its companion, quercetin. When I was sick I took ivermectin, oil of oregano and a nasal rinse.

One expert did a study that showed anyone who had good vitamin D levels did not get a serious case. I would suggest taking a high dose asap.

If you have trouble finding ivermectin, you may be able to get Plaquenil (Hydroxychloroquine) which has been used for decades for Sjogren's and other autoimmune conditions.

Friends of ours from Africa were on other prophylactics (Africa had a wide-spread policy on their own) and although they got sick, did fine.

Utballa profile image
Utballa in reply tomarcyh

Thank you Marcy!

philologus profile image
philologus

There is an alternative way to reduce inflammation and that is by Earthing/grounding ourselves regularly.

There's lots of info on this on the Internet but this might be of some interest to start you off:-

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

I had a mild dose of Covid in February 2022 and then started feeling really unwell in late August with Long Covid (self-diagnosed because no one seemed to know enough to help me.)

I did a lot of research as my breathing was affected, all my muscles ached painfully and I had a constant 'brain fog'.

There was a trial going on at a hospital in the UK using histidine to improve the muscle's oxygen take-up. It made sense to me so I got some and used it for about three months - then had a break from it- and then another three months. In the meantime I was earthing myself as much as possible by means of earthing mats. I had(still have) a mat under my feet in bed and I use a smaller one as a mouse mat for the computer.

I have no idea whether this all worked to my benefit or not, but I gradually improved until I started to feel more like "Me" in late April this year. It could be that I would have improved anyway, but who knows for sure?

My way of dealing with things is to ask myself what Mother Nature is doing - and how I can fit in with that? Try to defy Mother Nature and you will lose in the long term, but work along with her and you've got a chance.

The Road to Health is paved with Good Intestines! :-)

tokenwelshman profile image
tokenwelshman in reply tophilologus

Histidine sounds interesting, thank you - I will add it to my ever growing list of supplements to investigate!

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