Thank you for creating it, i know i go off on tangents a lot and sometimes get myself into trouble for doing so but on this occassion you will likely never know how much it's meant for me to have this thread as a sounding board.

For months i've lived with the medical profession rejecting my claims, even my wife has accused me of trying to create reasons why i had the virus, in her words, just so i could say i had the virus.

The latter really hurt but with no means to get proof and no recognition by the medical profession there was something wrong there was nothing i could do to convince her otherwise.

I turned to this forum to express my frustration, i was listened too and taken seriously by all.

Today i was taken seriously by the medical profession and because the medical profession now take me seriously so does my wife.

I'm not massively impressed with my wife for not believing me but i'll get over it, i always know when she realises she's been wrong, she goes incredibly quiet... we'll pick up that discussion tomorrow when she finds her voice again and put it to bed.

Thank you all.

YW

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I feel like this is going from the sublime to the ridiculous and i wouldn't wish it on anyone, i'm starting to struggle mentally with what's happening to me... don't get me wrong i'm not going suicidal or anything, but i am struggling to cope with what might come next... it's the not knowing what might happen next that i'm struggling with.

To put that into some sort of perspective all my life i've generally been very healthy with no underlying health conditions, other than the odd day off for a bad cold, taking time of work due to ill health hasn't happened to me in the last 30 years.

As you know from my earlier posts i was signed off by my doctor last week for 7 days because she felt i needed a break, on Thursday night i went back to work, i never completed that shift because in the early morning i suddenly went downhill again and had to call my line manager to get some cover so i could go home.

All i did was walk from one side of the park to the other, about 5-600 yards, i had to stop every hundred yards to compose myself because my head felt like it was going to explode and i felt awful, i don't think i've ever felt so nauseous.

By the time i'd finished the 600 yard walk i sat down and hoped i'd be able to recover, sadly not, i vomited and felt even worse.

When i got home i phoned my GP surgery and spoke to a GP i hadn't spoken to before, fortunately he'd read my case notes so i didn't have to go through everything again... i'm not conviced he believed i am post covid but at least he didn't argue with me.

He has signed me off work for another 10 days, stipulating that if after 10 days i still don't feel right i MUST phone him back and ask for an extension of my sick leave so we can discuss and look at other courses of action.

What any other course of action might be will be interesting because even he hinted that he doesn't know...

In the meantime he has signed me off with a "Respiratory tract infection".

If anyone has any doubt that this virus is evil, you are wrong.

Stay safe, be smart, live long and prosper.

I truly hope that things work out for you and that it happens soon without the need for a Nebulizer!

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Doddie, sorry to hear about your continuing health saga. I did a little online research on respiratory infections and found this article that I thought would be of interest to you.

https://www.onhealth.com/content/1/respiratory_infections_causes

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BB
http://barrypatch.net

Sadly sold out so i hope i don't need one anytimne soon either! LOL

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B002V2GT3M/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_BdTsFbW3YPZG0

Thanks Barry, intersting article

Sadly the medics are scratching their heads because this is a new virus and they have no idea what they are dealing with, let alone how to treat the long term effects of someone who was never hospitalised.

In my case i was i not hospitalised yet i have suffered from breathlessness, severe fatigue, joint pains, muscle pains, skin complaint (hives), headaches, nausea, vomitting.
Before February none of the above applied to me.

The list above is is a timeline of the various symptoms i've suffered in order since February when i suspect i had Covid... the list is growing as the months go by and they are becoming more recurrent... the only symtom that's gone and so far not resurfaced is Hives... all the others still persist and are converging on a more regular basis.

Because the medics don't know what they're dealing with, most likely because all the studies currently are centered around hosptial admissions? they have no answers for people like me.

It probably doesn't help that in Scotland numbers of infecions are low compared to the rest of the UK and my local GP's aren't seeing many post covid patients.

I feel like all i can do is try to do is work and when i can't, report my problems to my GP in the hope that eventually answers will be found.

To be honest i'm amazed how far south my health has spriralled in the last three months, i really thought that when i got past May i'd managed to dodge the worst... how wrong that supposition is starting to look!

In the meantime, i believe that it's important for people (of any age) to realise that just because you've had this virus and you think you're on the road to recovery... you might only be beginning the journey to recovery.

I hope the medical team can finally come up with a course of action to improve your health Doddie so you can start to regain your full health.

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Joan Archer
http://crossstitcher.webs.com

Bill

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The blazing evidence of immortality is our dissatisfaction with any other solution. -- Emerson

Another update, not good news but could be worse, i guess.

I had a terrible weekend, Sunday was the worst day i've had yet...

I went to bed on Saturday night at midnight, a late night by my standards these days but i was making the best of actually having a good day on Saturday so i stayed up and watched TV

I woke up on Sunday morning at 10am to a fanfare from my wife proclaiming that the monster lives before midday, because i never wake up before midday anymore that would've been funny (actually i did see the funny side but i was in no state to laugh!) i felt awful!!

I made a coffee and sat down at my pc to check email and stuff, by 11am my head exploded into the worst headache i think i've ever experienced, at the same time extreme nausea returned so i went back to bed... fast forward... woke up 3pm... got up and watched the Grand Prix... 8pm back in bed... 10pm got up... 11pm back in bed... woke up on Monday at 1pm!!!

In a 37 hour period i was awake for only 7 hours... even by my experience that's a lot of sleep, but not extreme given that 8 hours awake in a 24 hour period now seems my norm.

During that time i also developed hand shakes... no, not hello how are you handshakes, my hands shook when i tried to hold a mug of coffee or anything with any weight... add that i also had stabbing pains in my knees when i tried to stand up... imagine knives stabbing down into your knee caps coming from within your thigh muscles and you'll get an idea of how painful that felt.

Yesterday (Monday) was nothing more than a day of feeling slightly better but still yuk, and recovery.

The good news for me is that today i feel a lot better but experience has taught me that tomorrow will will likely be another bad day.

I hope and live for the day that when i have a good day i have another good day... for when that happens i know i'll be recovering.

Sadly experience has taught me that after every good day comes a crash.

Onwards, upwards, and look for the light

I am so sorry to read of your experience, Doddie. I sincerely hope that you are able to get some relief soon. Based on what I've read, you are not alone with these ongoing symptoms, so I do hope that science and medicine prevails and treatment options become available that work!

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stephen boots
Microsoft MVP 2004 - 2020
"Life's always an adventure with computers!"

What Steve said........

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BB
http://barrypatch.net

I agree with the others, I hope that those who should know will come up with a plan that gives relief from the many people who seem to be suffering the after effects of this terrible new virus. I hope you manage to get help soon Doddie it must be terrible to feel so ill when you've been such an active person.

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Joan Archer
http://crossstitcher.webs.com

Thank you all again

I don't want to jump the gun, i certainly hope i'm not tempting fate either, but the last 3 days have seen a steady improvement that i'm clinging onto in the hope that my body is slowly returning to normal.

Since my last post the nausea has reduced to a manageable level, or at least to a level that the meds i was given that were supposed to quell the nausea symptoms are actually now working.

The so called (by others) "Brain Fog" has also cleared to the extent that my head actually feels like i own it rather than it dictating to me what it wants to do and how it feels.
(I've never fully understood what "brain fog" is let alone how to self-diagnose if i have it... my experience has been a constant dull headache that is like no headache i've ever had before, a constant dull ache with occasional fleeting painful internal explosions that leave me not wanting to think about anything in case i aggrevate the situation would be how i'd best describe it.)

Other issues like my knees and muscle aches are still ongoing but i can cope with them and work around them if needed, it is/was the nausea and headaches that primarily stopped me from working.

Tomorrow will mark 3 weeks off on sick leave (and the paltry Statutory Sick Pay we get in the UK), from Saturday i'll begin 2 weeks of annual leave (YAY!! FULL PAY!! lol).

Anyway, i'm hopeful that i'm seeing a glimmer of light that in 2 weeks time means i can return to work, but so much rests on whether my body has finally rejected this damn virus or not?

To close, i should get the results of my chest x-ray tomorrow... i stopped smoking 3 years ago after smoking for nearly 40 years so to say i'm a bit apprehensive about what that x-ray might show would be putting it mildly!!

Onwards and upwards!
(FYI, i've always wanted an excuse to use this smilie, i can't think of a better way to go upwards so now's my chance!) .

Healing vibes and thoughts still flowing in your direction!

Bill

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The blazing evidence of immortality is our dissatisfaction with any other solution. -- Emerson

I hope this is just the start of a full recovery! Say ahhh.

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Good news today, my chest x-ray came back and it was given the all clear

While that doesn't help with a definitive diagnosis for my current ailments i'll take it for at least clearing me of any long term lung damage caused by nearly 40 years of smoking

The downside today is that the nausea returned, not as bad as it's been in the past, more like a reminder that i probably have a way to go before i've beaten this.

Note to Jay:

Smilies are now required to wear masks on the internet, especially when saying ahhh!

Then it's a good thing it's an emoticon and not a smilie.

Good news on the x-ray!

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I just went with what it says on the tin (aka 'View more smilies')

LOL! I put the danged things up so I can call them whatever I want. I almost went in to change "View more smilies" to "View more emoticons" but to much effort to just pick on you.

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ROFLMAO!!!!

Another update:

I'm still up and down more than a roller coaster but i do feel the downs are very slowly becoming less severe... my health weathervane seems to be how much i get on my wife's nerves... on a good day when i'm feeling better she complains i never shut up, something that seems to be happening more often now!
She'll probably divorce me when i get back to normal!!

On the plus side some of my symptoms appear to have gone or are alleviating, brain fog has reduced to the point i don't really recognise it's affecting me (my wife disagrees with this) and the joint pain in my knees seems to have also gone back to the levels i had this time last year.
The fatigue/hypersomnia(?) remains at silly levels but seems to be reducing as well... my nightly sleep pattern has reduced from 14-16 per night to 10-12 hours per night... it's never ceases to amaze me how i can sleep for so long when i've had no physical or mental activity the day before!
Night sweats have stopped... not sure i ever had those, waking up in the middle of the night to a soaking wet pillow and duvet in the head region suggest liquid was coming from somewhere, i just don't know where!? Certainly the occasional strange 5 minute hot flushes i would have during the day have stopped.

The down side is the nausea is still crippling me, it's this that's really keeping me off work so i spoke to my doc last week and i'm changing the meds that are supposed to suppress nausea.
I'm not holding out much hope that the change in meds will help but at this point if i was told being run over by a bus would help, i'd try it.

The uncontrollable shaking in my hands continues to come and go, possibly even spreading? I'm not sure about that but i have noticed in the last couple of weeks that my arms or legs suddenly have an uncontrollable 'tremble' that i've never experienced before.

My doctor has signed me off work for another 3 weeks, hopefully i won't need that long, the 3 week sick line is designed more so i don't need to phone the surgery every week and spend ages on hold before i can speak to a clinician to extend the sick line.

The real plus (for want of a better word) of all this is the decision myself and my wife took about 6 years ago, when we entered our 50's we looked at our finances and decided we really can't afford to have debt as we approach retirement age so took the decision to pay off all our debt as fast as possible... it took 5 years and in November last year we were debt free for the first time since we got married 20 years ago, we even managed to build a small nest egg for a rainy day.

Thankfully we did that because i've now run out of annual leave to supplement my sick pay, we've worked out that even if i can't work for another 4 months we'll still manage to live at the level we currently do without going into debt.

Onwards and upwards.

I'm glad that some things seem to be improving and hope the trend continues.

I've been debt free for well over twenty years and intend to keep it that way.

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I was debt free for better than 25 years, up until this past March. At that time I decided to trade my 2008 Chevy Silverado pickup for a new 2019 Ford Ranger Lariat pickup with all the electronic gizmos and safety features. After my trade-in I still owed them some money. I could have withdrawn what I needed from my savings and remained debt free; however, Ford was offering 0% APR for up to 7 years, so I financed the trade difference at no cost and left my savings intact.

Love my new Ranger

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BB
http://barrypatch.net