Fatigue again, covid recovery, does it make you heart rate rise, unless you rest?

[natswright]

Did a lot today, now heart rate goes up to 100 when i talk!! drops when i rest after being about 80 all day

Is this typical of what others experience?

[Bevvy]

I honestly believe you are over thinking things. You seem to be picking up on every “new” thing and worrying about it.You have very recently been extremely unwell and need to give yourself time to recover. The best you can do is eat healthily, rest but gently do things and build up what you are doing, take any meds you are still on and give yourself some TLC. Do things that are self care for example lovely warm bubble baths, hot chocolate and so on.

I think you need to try to get your anxiety under control and start believing that you will (as many others have) fully recover. A positive mindset will also aid your recovery.

[natswright in reply to Bevvy]

oh, not anxious this time, just curious. I do tend to understand things more though as it helps me deal with anxiety

[CDPO16]

I tend to agree with Bevvy. Take it easy and focus on what you are able to do and not on what you can't and physical and emotional issues you are experiencing. It is early days for you and what others experience won't necessarily apply to you.

[natswright in reply to CDPO16]

I am, camomile tea just made, heart rate dropping, ok now, after 1 hour lie down

[natswright in reply to natswright]

heart rate shoots up as soon as i move, bit worried as been like this for 4 hours now. have to be still to get heart down

[Alberta56 in reply to natswright]

That's the way to do it.

[Troilus]

Hi Nat

Yes, heart rate fluctuates and naturally increases when we move. It comes down at rest, but also worrying increases it. A heart rate of 80 at rest is not dangerous, more likely an indication that you are worrying that your heart rate is 80!

Your body has been at war with a very nasty invader and is now feeling battle weary but it still has jobs to do.

Your job is to let it get on with its job by not putting unnecessary jobs in the way. So you need to rest, relax and take fluids on board.

Put your monitor in a draw and watch a rubbish film with your feet up.

[natswright in reply to Troilus]

Wish I could, but it's midnight, I need sleep, but don't feel tired. Oddly covid does the, you never get that I'm ready for sleep feeling. As it stands, if I move or sit up, heart rate jumps to 130, but it does recover if I lie down.

Going to get little sleep tonight I feel.

[peege in reply to natswright]

From now on cut out all caffeine , carry on resting & work on cutting out naps in the pm allowing better sleep at night.Don't hesitate to contact your GP surgery or their respiratory nurse, they should be looking after you after being hospitalised with covid.

[natswright in reply to peege]

Got ya, no pm naps. My GP surgery emailed me last night and I have explained the problem I had. They are open today, but just a few hours. My GP will call me on Wednesday to see how I am though.

I think they are starting to realise just how vulnerable I am! I'm pretty much their only long covid patient

[peege in reply to natswright]

And so they should, thats good news at last. 👏👏💐💐

[Alberta56 in reply to natswright]

They must be on a learning curve too.

[Bevvy in reply to natswright]

Hi natswright can I ask who told you that you have long Covid ? I would have thought it was far too early to make such a diagnosis. You are only a week out of hospital and are still recovering from original Covid infection which you were seriously unwell from. It will take time to recover from that and that’s to be expected.I would hope that as time goes on you will recover more and more but not have any lasting side effects from Covid.

I have a long history of ME/CFS and they wouldn’t diagnose that so quickly after original infection (I have no doubt as to what virus started my issues) so am just surprised. Also I have a friend who has long Covid and she was a number of months from infection before they started saying long Covid. She does seem to have had reasonable advice from long Covid clinic.

As said let’s hope no lasts effects occur with you and you continue improving week by week if not day by day.

[natswright in reply to Bevvy]

Doctor told me, while i've only been out 9 days, I've been recovering since the 7th Oct in hospital. I have been refered to the long covid clinic.

However, diagnosis is hard and it could equally be post viral fatigue and the fact that i've been in bed for a month very ill

[Bevvy in reply to natswright]

Oh thanks for your response. I hope you find clinic helpful.

[MusicalBreath]

Nat hi - just to be aware (you may well be already) that breathlessness/anxiety/tachycardia etc post Covid very different causes and symptom picture to folks with chronic lung conditions such as COPD - are you linked in with your local long Covid clinic ?

england.nhs.uk/2020/12/long...

They may be able to refer you to ENO Breathe project specifically for people post Covid eno.org/eno-breathe/

The absolute best website support comes via long Covid physio - Darren has had Covid and then recovered from long Covid

longcovid.physio/ sure you know about this too longcovid.org/resources/pat...

It’s very disconcerting having a sudden illness like this when you have been well & takes a lot of readjustment especially around pacing & trusting & being with the uncertainty

Resting without screens or stimulus important - gentle colouring in or crotchet nothing too brain frying good - even watching telly can be taxing

I know it’s boring and the not knowing is scary so hope you get some reassurance from a long Covid team that pacing and using the spoons technique helpful (ie if you do a lot in the morning you need to rest in the afternoon - you have no spare spoons of energy!) hopefully over time (like many others) you will improve. I wish you well in your recovery

[natswright]

Brilliant, thanks will take a look. Being a photographer and IT computer person, putting screens down is tough! I wonder if I just took a few pictures with my camera of items in front of me, that would be less dull. What about reading a magazine. The rest periods can be tough, and I know I'm not managing them too well! Ironically a lot of my books and magazines are on kindle! (tablet)

I'll check out those links tomorrow thanks, pacing and all that!

One thing I did want to do is grow some house plants, to photograph. Just to relax and take my mind off stuff

[MusicalBreath in reply to natswright]

House plants brilliant idea! bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0010fzb

[CDPO16 in reply to natswright]

Good idea about the houseplants. There are on line suppliers. I know that this will mean more computer time but if you find some of interest to buy it will be a short means to an end.Are there different images you can take photograph of from your home? I sometimes look out of a window and see amazing cloud formations worth snapping for example.

[natswright in reply to CDPO16]

Yes, once i'm more mobile, i'' be doing that!

[CDPO16 in reply to natswright]

You are doing Ok in the scheme of things Nat and it's still very early days so be gentle with yourself xx

[natswright in reply to CDPO16]

I can do this, its tough, but I can!

[MusicalBreath]

Also note the info to ME/CFS that you have been sent - post Covid not the same as chronic lung conditions in terms of treatment & symptoms so please don’t push yourself with exercise- it’s different and you also have been hospitalised which adds extra complexity - I hope you link up with long Covid physio recommended support groups & a long Covid clinic but most importantly learn to really pace as recommended by others on here who have had ME - spoon theory below! google.co.uk/amp/s/www.bjch...

[Troilus]

Some good stuff there from MusicalBreath. I’d just like to add that when I was taught pacing (I did a graded exercise course to help understand and manage cfs/me), I think the ratio was 1:3. - For every minute of activity you need to rest for three.

[MusicalBreath in reply to Troilus]

Interestingly graded exercise no longer recommended for either ME/CFS or long Covid but would be for post hospitalisation google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theg...

[Troilus in reply to MusicalBreath]

I didn’t do graded exercise. That is what is was called, but it involved no exercise at all. It was all about managing energy levels. I was very sceptical at first.It was about grading activities into high, medium and low. You had to take account of all of the processes involved.

I was trying to knit (note I say trying😁) but when I broke down all of the processes I found it was quite a high energy level activity. Amazing.

I also did a bit of mindfulness and relaxation.

I was sceptical about that too. She asked my to lie on the couch, breathing deeply with my hand on my stomach, empty my mind, and then she started wittering on about lying on a beach, waves lapping etc. I thought, what a load of rubbish - the next thing I knew, was she was gently waking me up 😁😁😁

I found it all very useful, both in managing my cfs/me and understanding it’s effect.

I know there were graded exercise classes running in some authorities, and I am very pleased to see that NICE have dropped them and CBT from there guidance. Did more harm than good, by all accounts.

[MusicalBreath in reply to Troilus]

👍🥳🥰👏to all this

[Troilus]

Hi Nat, back again😁I have thought of a good analogy for you, seeing as you are into IT- to help you get to grips with pacing.

You are now that laptop/IPad with the dodgy battery. So, you need to stop all of the apps running in the background, go into low data mode, and don’t load any programs with high graphics or you will crash! Don’t forget to put yourself on charge regularly for long periods. Dodgy batteries have a slower charge rate!

[Vanner in reply to Troilus]

Excellent analogy!

[natswright in reply to Troilus]

Trying a new strategy, on the hour I take a short break and just chill, do nothing. Then some reading, and maybe a little time on the computer or watch TV.

A lot of this is anxiety still, and it seems to have a mind of its own!

[Troilus in reply to natswright]

Your mind is just trying to work out what is going on. You’ll adjust and your thoughts will settle. Just keep reminding yourself that you are lucky. COVID didn’t see you off, and chronic fatigue, however daunting, doesn’t kill. You will get there in the end.

[natswright in reply to Troilus]

Yeah, I guess i'm lucky, although fatigue and anxiety are scary! Its so hard living alone!

[Bevvy in reply to natswright]

I also live alone and whilst it has its draw backs it also has positives. You will be able to set your recovery at your pace and not have to worry about others pushing you to hard or quickly. You can rest when your body tells you rather than having to push on when you physically and mentally can’t.Also remember you can come here (as you are doing) and continue to get support. Just look at how many responses you have had to your posts from all the different people! 👍

[Bevvy in reply to Troilus]

I also have ME/CFS you have given excellent responses.

[natswright in reply to Bevvy]

Thanks Bevvy, This place is amazing, wonderful people here!

[Alberta56]

It's early days yet, but it sounds as if you are doing all right. Take some photos and post them here. xxx

[natswright]

Here we go....

Macro shot of my fork, helps distract and pass the time taking photos

[CDPO16 in reply to natswright]

Most unusual. Doubt that I would have recognised it as a fork if you hadn't said what it was.

[natswright]

One more....

Pills, always pills to take when getting better. These are vit C

[Troilus]

Try B complex with an extra B12

[natswright]

Just an update...

Taking a 10 minute or so meditation break on the hour every hour when I'm awake seems to be working so far. I also found that listening to an audio book during this time is very soothing.

At last, i'm sleeping better, just waking up once in the night. Still on hospital time so was up at 5am this morning as the clocks go back, but bagged a 6 - 7 hour sleep.

I'm also using the heart monitor graph my fitbit records to see when I was active to I can pace the strenuous tasks better!

Fingers crossed, lets make bed time with little to no fatigue or anxiety!

Anxiety is the killer, really it is and I must beat it.

Right, time for a tasty fish pie and rest while i digest it as that uses energy i've found!!