I thought you might be interested to know how coronavirus can affect people with hypothyroidism and Hashimoto. I have both.
My husband works at the hospital. After dealing with coronavirus patients and many of his colleagues going off with coronavirus, 10 days ago he became ill. He is diabetic and has asthma. Symptoms included to begin with: severe fatigue, frequent urination, dry mouth and thirst. Later on joined by dry cough, spikes in temperature and shortness of breath.
I got ill 2 days later and had 3 pretty awful days of fatigue, chest tightness and never ending headaches. As my normal temperature is 35.8C, it only rose to 36.9 a few times. I also had some cough but very insignificant, none of the chocking coughing fits people write about.
My husband also uses nebuliser and oxygen we got on Amazon, he says it helps him. Yesterday, his oxygen saturation fell and we called the ambulance but it turned out the oximeter I bought on Amazon was showing wrong readings, and he was OK - no need to go to the hospital.
We are battling on, not out of the woods yet. Can anyone advise on what we could possibly do to help ourselves to combat extreme fatigue (in his case more than mine). We are both really concerned about that. He is struggling with this most of all.
Thank you in anticipation and stay healthy and safe. Before we fell ill, we used high doses of vit C, D and zink. We also did breathing exercises.
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Yulia2010
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I wish you both well.This is a terrible virus . I have no idea how to combat fatigue other than by rest and trying to do a little more each day .This was what I did after each 6hour chemo session wiped me out.
What doses of vitamin C, D and zinc are you taking? From what they have been reporting, vitamin C has to be at least 1 mg and some have needed up to 3mg daily. As for Vitamin D, 2000 to 4000 IU daily has been recommended but I would take at least 5000 IU in your situation (some people even need more on a daily basis when they’re not ill.) As for zinc, I imagine at least 30 to 50 mg daily should be sufficient. Higher doses of zinc (15 mg and above) can make you nauseous or ill, especially on an empty stomach, so I would suggest taking them right before eating or in between bites of a meal.
You can add vitamin B12 to that list for energy, I can’t recommend the appropriate dosage for combating the virus but it’s usually recommended to take 1000 to 5000 mcg daily for B12 deficiency.
Another supplement that may help combat phlegm/mucus and coughing is N-acetyl cysteine (NAC). The daily dose for that is between 600 to 1800 mg, depending on individual needs.
And, of course, stay hydrated. Water is going to be one of your best friends now....if it’s not already.
Thanks so much for taking time to reply, LivingWithHT. Before we fell ill, I was taking 8,000IU of vitamin D as I am always slightly deficient and 1mg of vitamin C plus also Magnesium Citrate 100mg, Selenium 100IU and Zink 15mg. I am now taking 2mg of Vitamin C. Everything else is the same. Simon was previously taking 1mg of vitamin C, 1000IU of Vitamin D and 15mg of Zink. Now he is taking 3mg of vitamin C plus all the rest in the same quantities ass before. Many thanks for the recommendation regarding NAC and vitamin B12. Will certainly try this and we've got them at home, so no need to buy!
You’re welcome! I would recommend your husband up his vitamin D intake. I also forgot to add that it is usually recommended to take NAC with vitamin C for better absorption.
Try not to fret if after all that, you both still find yourselves still tired and drained, it’s only expected during such a time. It’s okay to rest often and “be lazy” for a little while.
I found the following fairly recent information (11th April 2020). Hopefully there might be something there of help:
Dr James Gill, Locum GP & Honorary Clinical Lecturer, Warwick Medical School, said:
“At the front end of the health care service we continue to struggle with increasing numbers of COVID-19 infections and the sad loss of life which is associated with an alarming proportion of those infections. But there is a growing need for information on the longer-term care for patients who have contracted the coronavirus and thankfully recovered.
“As SARS-CoV-2 is a novel infectious agent our understanding of the infectious stages of the COVID-19 disease has had to rapidly evolve. We also have a steep learning curve to follow with regard to caring for patients who have survived the COVID19 infection, as patients continue to experience feelings of fatigue, shortness of breath and reduced exercise tolerance.
“It is absolutely correct that vast amounts of resources are being poured into treating new patients and attempting to control the current pandemic course. But we also need to cast an eye to the future with consideration on how best to care for patients, both in the post-acute stages of COVID-19 and on leaving the hospital or recovering at home. What is needed for the successful rehabilitation after a post COVID-19 infection – if anything?
“To put things into perspective, undergoing a hip replacement operation is certainly a physical challenge for a patient’s body, but it is the post-surgery care – recognising and responding to post-operative complications, such as wound infections or blood clots, in a timely manner, along with the patient’s rehabilitation at home – which results in the operation’s success.
“We understand post-operative surgical care in terms of pain management, physiotherapy input and nutritional advice, all of which combine to make the recovery a success. There are few problems in medicine where the best management plan is ‘take a pill now go away’; and that is likely to be just as true with COVID19. The medical community currently has limited information regarding the best route to full recovery for post coronavirus infection patients, but it is highly likely after a hospital admission that an integrated care pathway will be required, looking at the patient as a whole person, not just a biological organism that experienced a respiratory problem.
“Thus, there will be patients in need of step-down care whether in the hospital before discharge home, or after a recovery in the community with primary care support. That additional input will likely be multidisciplinary in nature, recomposing respiratory review, physiotherapy and nutritional team advice, and likely psychiatric support as they regain their health.
“The current assumptions around COVID-19 planning in the UK – and as we’ve seen, such assumptions are highly likely to change – are that 50% of patients admitted to hospital will require no further input on discharge. 45% will need some form of low level medical or social input for recovery, and a predicted 5% of patients will require more focused, ongoing intense rehabilitation.
“We may be able to draw guidance from similar infections, whether that be annual influenza case recoveries, or the closely virologically related SARS and MERS when it comes to long-term case outcomes.
“Let’s take a look at the SARS cases recovery. One year after recovery, two thirds of patients had some evidence of mental health impact, including depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress1. From this we can extrapolate that patients recovering from COVID-19 should be advised to actively engage with mental health services, whether directly or via home-based approaches. Two effective online resources that COVID-19 patients may be directed to are headspace.com – currently free for NHS workers, but also for parents and patients experiencing increased health anxiety post infection it may be reassuring to access whenshouldiworry.com.
“From the physical side of things, again looking at SARS cases, 27.8% of patients demonstrated persistent changes on chest X-rays 12 months after their recovery. Whilst post-infection lung function was within normal range for those patients, they also demonstrated reduced exercise tolerances2. That finding of normal lung function testing post SARS recovery is important, as it has not been possible to draw a convincing connection between pulmonary function and post infection reduced exercise capacity3.
“The lack of correlation between normal lung function and post-infection reduced exercise tolerance suggests that there may be more subtle changes underlying the functional impairment some patients have experienced, possibly suggesting a facet of post viral fatigue affecting patients. In such cases a combination of physical interventions such as physiotherapy and graded exercise programmes may provide benefits. Additionally providing clinically validated mental health interventions such as CBT, good nutrition and possibly antidepressants may be an active part of recovery4. Graded exercise tolerance and mental health support interventions and could likely be extended to patients who are recovering from COVID-19.
“Breathing exercises are actively encouraged post operatively and could probably be advised to recovering COVID-19 patients as well. If we look at the types of breathing exercises that have been used after major surgeries, no difference in benefit has been found when using an incentive spirometer – essentially a game-like device to blow a ball a round – or simple deep breathing exercises5 with either approach giving a benefit to the patient in recovery. Thus, it would be quite reasonable for similar advice to be extended to the post coronavirus patients, in the hope of producing a short term benefit in improvement of their breathing. Many surgical departments have freely available breathing exercises on their patient pages which can easily be accessed by patients6.
“As for nutritional support in recovery, simple advice ensuring consumption of five fruits and veg a day should be advised, along with increased intake of high quality protein to provide resources for the repair of muscles which will have been taxed considerably during the course of the COVID19 symptoms. As the focus in the post-acute phase is going to be on the recovery of a patient’s respiratory function, cessation of smoking should be encouraged along with avoidance of ibuprofen where possible.”
I would get him to sleep propped up on several pillows to help with his breathing. I had to do this in January when I had a very nasty flu bug. At one point I could not breathe so called 111 and they called an ambulance to assess me. I think I might have had the coronavirus because my symptoms were very similar to what I am reading about in the media. If you look on my profile page you will see a thread I started in January about this.
Many thanks for the recommendation, Lora7again. The doctor who called us back when we first called 111 also told us to sit and try to sleep propped up on several pillows. This really does help. That and the nebuliser.
I had to have steroids for 5 days when I was sent to A & E by my GP because my lungs were inflamed. I think I might have had it because I believe it has been here a lot longer than the government is telling us. I did recover but both myself and my husband were coughing for over 6 weeks. We just couldn't get rid of the cough and the high temperature. I have never had anything like it before because it was not like a flu bug at all.
No just a chest x-ray which showed inflamation. They did test my TSH which was 0.28 because the blood test was taken on the afternoon. I told the Doctor it was very low and he said it was ok because he was following NHS guidelines as usual.
Yes, someone on this forum helpfully posted a link to an article regarding coronavirus and thyroid. It seems it's best not to have it that suppressed when fighting infections. Mine was 1.48 or so at the last blood test. I find cortisol is very significant for me - more than TSH. If it is high or low, I never feel good.
If mine gets to 0.80 I feel unwell so at the moment it is 0.38 and I feel well. Besides the TSH is a pituitary hormone and it is the T4 and T3 that counts.
We are all different and I know people who have had a suppressed TSH for a very long time and feel well. Mine was suppressed for over 2 years and my GP thought I had the menopause!
I am not on any medication at the moment and if you look on my profile you will see my T4 is at the top of the range. I am on my second remission from Graves' disease and I feel very well at the moment.
I know it won't last forever unfortunately my last remission lasted 4 years and then I was unwell for 3 years. I wish there was a cure but the medical profession don't seem interested in helping people with thyroid disease. I know the NHS are doing a wonderful job at the moment but I wish they would do more to help us. I tried to get my local MP to ask Matt Hancock about NHS guidelines and you can see the letter I got in reply on my profile page if you scroll down and look at the thread. It was very disappointing but expected.
Just wanted to send best wishes to you both. I am into my 5th week with suspected coronavirus. You are probably in the most intense stage. I also found sleeping propped up helpful. My breathing has been much better since this point, but i continue to get chest tightness and pains, fatigue and intermittent low grade fever and sinus-type headaches. It is a very up and down journey, where i have felt better and then worse again. Hopefully you will be in the quicker recovery category.
My chest pain went on for 2 months and I nearly went back to the GP because I was worried something else was going on. They never once mentioned the coronavirus because it was in February and nobody was really aware it then. Last night I received a survey from my online GP services about the coronavirus so I filled it in and told them I would be interested in being tested to see if I had the virus in January if it became available.
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