After reading this asthma forum I thought I would be safe. My wife and daughter contracted Covid, I believe my daughter picked it up at college. They tested positive and i negative, a week later I had a headaches and a fever got tested the next day and was positive. I have infection induced asthma and I take symbicort as a preventer 2 * a day twice and I have Bricanyl as a reliever. My peak flow is 780, i run 25 miles a week never need my inhaler, my asthma is so mild the doctor questioned I had Asthma many years ago, but had tests and yes I have it.I have been so ill It's been absolutely horrendous the Covid and and the Asthma mixed together, I've had a chest infection before and the asthma flares up and I'm better in 3 or 4 days but this just hits you like a bus and it strangles you're lungs and you can't breathe and literally can't function. I couldn’t walk 5 feet without feeling weak getting out of breath and my heart rate going through the roof. Yes I bought a oximeter which measured oxygen and bpm. Look what Covid had done to people. ( still don’t understand why China isn’t being punished for this )
Doctor said if I was overweight and smoked I would have been in hospital. He said my fitness has got me through this.
I’m currently blowing 600 been off work and it’s 12 days since I tested positive starting to feel better. Still coughing and can’t get my breath.
The doctor issued me with antibiotics and prednisone which I’m hoping will fix me.
Good look everyone.
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Stespc22
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Thankyou for sharing, I hope you get much better very soon.
C-19 seems so unpredictable, I guess everyone just has to balance their own priorities and do what is best for them.
My family have all shielded with me since March. (My asthma is severe and uncontrolled.) I regularly wonder if we are doing the right thing, it seems so unfair on them. Hearing experiences like yours helps to reassure me that we are doing the right thing for us.
Don't forget though that (a) one person's experience is not what will happen for everyone and (b) that there is a huge difference between feeling rough for 2 weeks with peak flow that's still 75% or better of best (indicating the asthma isn't compromised more than with any other infection) .... and being in ITU or even in hospital with it. So of course the op wasn't well but the initial fear was that asthmatics would all end up with severe complications.....the fact that a controlled asthmatic has faired no differently to a non asthmatic (a non asthmatic friend is in exactly the same position right now) is evidence that supports the research that, for most asthmatics, the risk of complications is no higher than non asthmatics.
Of course severe/uncontrolled asthma could be different.....but equally that's not to say it will be.
From what you say you might have caught a stronger variant. I have often wondered in those who test positive if they inform the person which contracted strain they have?
Hi , very pleased that you and your family have all recovered from Corona 19 so well . It really is no different to flu and this should reassure others I hope .
According to the National Institute of Health, in a severe year, around 500,000 people globally die from respiratory infections caused by the flu. Covid is already at 1.5 million deaths in less than a year with some experts estimating it's several hundred thousand deaths higher due to misclassifications and improper government tracking. There are also millions of people left with lingering symptoms and problems after recovery. I myself had heart issues for several months after recovering from covid because it attacked my heart so severely.
It's not helpful for any of us to minimize this pandemic.
I am so very sorry that you suffered so badly. You're absolutely right though. This is nothing like the flu. Myself & my 8 y o daughter had Covid back in Mar last year & it's starting to look like we have bad lasting symptoms. We've both been diagnosed with suspected Asthma & are on inhalers & my daughter on Montelukast. Nothing atm is controlling my symptoms & it's so scary. The flu, this is not & it makes me so angry to hear people say this. I'm 46 & apart from childhood Asthma which went, have been relatively healthy. My little girl though has been left with this & that's not fair. She's only 8. I'm grateful we're alive though. I hope you are feeling better now.
Hi Griffon I would disagree with you entirely that this is no different to flu ? After 13 days since my positive Covid result and I’m still in bed for the last week or so this is is so out of character for me.I’ve had the flu before and it doesn’t effect you this way I have been hit with this tsunami of Covid /Asthma. ( yes I thank god I didn’t need the hospital but I was close )
It effected my strength my breathing my functioning as a person, I felt disillusioned confused and at one point watched the tv and couldn’t remember what I watched.
Not many people who have Asthma will agree with you that it’s just a flu sorry ! The point everyone on this forum wants to try and understand is if people get Covid does it effect us differently to a non asthmatic and I would agree with my GP and say yes it does and I’ve felt it. It’s common sense, it attacks our lungs and strangles them which for me was a scary thought, panting for breath coughing constantly sweating, feeling hot uncomfortable. The whole experience for me has been awful and I as I said previously I run regularly and I’m very fit.
I don’t know how long it will take me to get back to normal, I’m still coughing, still hurts when I take a deep breath. I continue with my temporary supply of prednisone and Antibiotics.
If anyone ina similar situation can advise me that would be great thank you.
I look forward to the Covid vaccine soon next year I hope then we can return to normal again.
As others have said, people have different experiences. While I don't agree that COVID is no worse than seasonal flu in terms of deaths and intensive care admissions (pandemic flu is a different matter), both seasonal and pandemic flu can and do make people feel as you describe, and worse.
I have had real flu twice in my life and both times hit me hard despite being healthy before with mild to very mild asthma.
I got flu in 1999 (I think there was a UK epidemic then) and felt absolutely horrible for 10 days unable to focus on TV/books and just generally crappy, lying around with no interest in anything. I was a healthy 14 year old apart from mild asthma but I nearly passed out at the start of it before I was able to stop and rest, and wasn't able to do much for a while.
I also caught H1N1 in the 2009 pandemic, which as flu and overall pandemics go isn't up there with the worst. I was healthy before with very mild, hardly noticeable asthma that I thought had gone away. I didn't need hospital but I felt absolutely shocking for 10 days hardly able to do anything but lie there, couldn't follow TV at all and had a dead brain. I then spent a further month with no appetite, having to walk very slowly, feeling crap if I overdid it even slightly. My asthma came back and got gradually worse after that and it's now severe and atypical.
I don't want to catch either flu or COVID; I have had a flu jab and will be getting a COVID jab as soon as it's offered. I'd prefer to avoid any potential for lingering aftereffects that even some previously healthy people are getting from COVID, and any further effects from flu after last time. As a severe asthmatic however, I am reassured by the reports that intensive care or death doesn't seem to be as much of a risk for asthmatics as they initially thought it would be in March.
I spoke to one of the nurses off this site today who very kindly phoned me back after about to go into a meeting.She was both very helpful and professional and offered me some good advice about my Asthma.
You ask about oxygen levels ? Mine is currently 97 however I was advised today don’t use the oximeter as it’s not a great way of measuring your asthma and it’s the last thing to go. You readings, oxygen/ bpm everything could be perfect but inside you could be having a asthma attack so please don’t rely on it.
My peak flow is improving. I blew 680 today yesterday this was 550. My normal flow is about 760 so I’m hoping with this improvement I’m starting to to improve.
caught covid in the first wave ,that was nine months ago.my god,still not feeling right.ran three times a week,kickboxed twice a week cannot do anyof it at the moment,used to blow the doctors peakflow monitor right to the end ,and bounce back blowing 650 to700 now.horible virus. Take everything slow,and don't rush,if you do rush ,you will set yourself back weeks ,take care.
That’s not what I want to hear lol but thanks for your advice, I will certainly take it easy. How are you feeling now ?I guess this long Covid could be a problem for me.
Good advice about the oximeter. Keep resting! I was knocked out for about a month when I had it. It's like a rollercoaster. Some days I'd think I was getting better and then the symptoms would come back with a vengeance the following day (I've heard many people say the same thing). So keep taking it easy, getting tons of rest and fluids, and monitoring your vitals (BP if you have a machine for it, heart rate, breaths per minute, oxygen) and try not to get discouraged if the recovery goes a bit up and down. Definitely call your GP or go to the A&E asap if you get severe shortness of breath.
Would you say you have fully recovered now and are back to your normal self, I feel tired walking downstairs and seem to be coughing up a lot of phlegm.
I had it in April so it's been several months but the virus attacked my heart quite a bit so I had heart issues going into the summer and autumn. My lungs were ok by the end of April. But we all have it so differently! Keep track of your symptoms and keep a log if you can so you can review them with your GP-
Hi there. So sorry to hear you suffered so badly. Can I ask how did they know your heart was attacked badly? The reason I ask is I had Covid back in Mar last year & I still really struggle to breathe & meds do not seem to always control it. I'm wondering if they missed something. Hope you're feeling better & they have managed to help you.
I'm so sorry to hear you are still struggling. That must be so frustrating. My heart symptoms started when I had covid--my pulse would race from 90-120 in just a few seconds and I had palpitations. This went on for days (I was pretty sick for three weeks).
Then I had pericarditis which caused crushing pain in my chest and back that felt like a heart attack (scary!) so I went to the cardiologist and had an EKG, a scan of my heart, and I wore a Holter monitor for 24 hours. The result of all the tests was to show that I had some heart inflammation. I was pregnant during that time which was anxiety-provoking but the symptoms gradually went away after 3-4 months.
Now my pulse is weirdly low and I'm trying to figure out what's causing that but I think it's probably an issue with my adrenal insufficiency [caused by taking too much prednisone for asthma] not covid. I hope this answer helps, let me know if you have any other questions. Might be good to get an EKG for your peace of mind (?) Take care-
The best score doesn’t matter. It’s the % for your best that does. So many factors affect your best score for PF than it is pointless comparing or being jealous of the score. The % measures the airway narrowing - this is what shows the asthma. For more on PF; healthunlocked.com/asthmauk...
Sorry. It’s just a sensitive topic for those with higher than expected PFs. Cause it makes you feel like people don’t believe how poorly you can be even with a ‘high’ score. For example your 390 best, is about 62% my best and I’m usually symptomatic. And having high best can cause issues getting care cause ‘PF is ok’ when they look at the number, but they don’t look at the percentage. So anyone saying someone with a high best PF is ‘lucky’ doesn’t understand the issues that comes with it. And we always hear ‘I wish my PF was that good’ all the time - again reinforcing the idea that we can’t be that ill if that’s our best score.
As I said best means nothing, it’s the percentage. If you are currently at 100% PF I am jealous cause my lungs are at 75% (470) despite steroid and ventolin 😅
Peak flow is individual, and the personal best reading doesn't mean your asthma is better or worse. Some people can have a lower best reading and minimal or no asthma issues or even no respiratory disease at all. Others can have a high best, well above predicted, and still have severe asthma. I would happily swap my high personal best for better control.
Also, I don't know if you're male or female but I get the impression Stespc22 is male, which means his peak flow will generally be higher.
Im a man yes lol. I don’t want to lose sight of the fact the reason my Asthma flared up is simply down to contracting covid14 days ago.My Asthma is always under control so I guess I’m fortunate in that respect.
I upped my steroids from 30 mg to 40 mg today and what a difference it made.
I’m feeling a lot better now and the breathless is becoming less and less, just a bit of a dry cough and I’m not producing as much mucus as I have been recently.
My peak flow out of 3 attempts was 720 so it’s improving and l hope I’m through the worst. However guys I’m still taking it easy.
I want to thank everyone on this forum that has commented on my posts with positivity and fantastic factual information.
Again a massive shout out the the Asthma nurse I spoke to yesterday.😃
Glad you're beginning to feel better. I know you are still taking it easy but keep doing that. The post viral bit of an infection or illness can be hard, especially for people who are normally really fit - you feel better and want to do stuff which is great but it can easily set you back. A friend (who isn't asthmatic) had similar sounding covid in the spring - she is a runner and once she started feeling better she did too much too soon and really set herself back. Not to say you shouldn't do anything - just maybe don't go for a run tomorrow or something!
Indeed I couldn’t agree more and I will be taking it easy.This whole episode scared me quite a bit and the fact all the simple things we take for granted in life wasn’t available was un- nerving.
I won’t be going for a run until the middle of January and even then it will be a brisk walk then build into a slow jog.Thanks again for your support.
It’s been over a month since I had Covid and thankfully recovered. My peak flow is back to normal and I feel ok. However most days I have a cough and have to cough quite a bit and the phlegm is clear so no infection, sometimes I feel a slight tight chest. It feels Asthma related, similar to what I had when I was first diagnosed with Asthma 10 years ago.I do strongly believe it’s a long Covid symptom.
I continue to take my symbicort morning and night ( preventer inhaler ) and maybe out of habit use the Bricanyl.
I’m thinking about speaking to my doctor to ask if I need steroids.
It might be worth a discussion with your GP - or perhaps the AUK nurses first? It's so difficult to know whether it's post covid or asthma - or asthma caused by the covid. If it's the latter, it may be they'd want to try and additional preventer treatment rather than steroids (if it's not an acute flare as such). Just thinking out loud here so I may be wrong! But AUK might have more experience of people trying to untangle the post covid/asthma stuff (which might give you a footing to go on with the GP)? Your GP might be really good of course - though I suspect some would immediately hear a symptom and plump for asthma or long covid without unpicking the most likely for you - and so going down the wrong road. If that makes sense?!
Hi there. I am so sorry you're really struggling so much. I too am really struggling with my breathing after having Covid over a year ago. Your description of how you feel is spot on. It's terrifying. I can't believe I still feel this bad after all this time. My 8 y o daughter had it too. We have both been diagnosed with suspected asthma & are on steroid & reliever inhalers. My daughter is on Montelukast too as hers wasn't under control. It seems much better now. My medication really doesn't seem to be helping me at all & the Asthma check they did on us both was useless as they can no longer listen to your chest due to Covid. The irony of it. We're only there because we had Covid & the same thing is preventing us from getting the help we desperately need. What upsets me the most is that you go through patches where you feel almost back to normal but then you hit hard again. I know it's coming now. What I don't know is why. Hope you start to feel better soon. It's such a battle.
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