Covid and covid recovery advice

[Time Waster]

I'm on my 6th day of negative lft tests. I've had virtually no symptoms and feel good. I'm bored and feeling caged in so I've been doing jobs. Mostly clearing garden debris from tree cutting activities pre virus. All easy lifting but the steep slope gets to be after 45 minutes with all the traipsing up and down the garden. Probably 40 floors equivalent then I'm done for the day.

That fatigue is new! I feel great then suddenly after 40 minutes fatigue like I've rarely felt before. Later on it makes me feel sleepy for a couple of hours, indeed I've slept for two hours one day.

This must be related to the virus so anyone else get this and only this effect? How long did it last after your last negative test? Is this anything to worry about? Any advice gratefully received.

Please note that my positive tests don't match how I feel. I feel as good as I have been before virus hit me

 

[mjr]

There's some advice in other threads including https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/for-those-who-have-had-covid.280538/post-6563100

 

[fossyant]

Just be careful as the virus affects people differently. sounds like it might be causing some exhaustion. Could be worse, you could have caught the old version and not been jabbed.

 

[Donger]

I had covid over New Year, @Time Waster . At its worst I would describe my experience as three days of a mixture of laryngitis and migraine. That was followed by a couple of weeks of sleepiness/sluggishness/fatigue when any kind of effort was just too much bother. Early nights and long sleep-ins became the norm. Even a few weeks after I had tested clear, the gentlest of exercise left me with elevated blood pressure and a fast heart rate.

As my wife has a heart condition, I had previously tried out her pulse oximeter on a few occasions out of idle curiosity, and I happened to know my own normal resting pulse rate, which was usually between 73-78 bpm. I was in a position to measure my heart rate during my recovery. After my first couple of short bike rides (flat 8-12 milers as opposed to my normal average 30-35 milers with hills) even up to two hours after my ride my pulse rate was still about 112bpm. I had a long lasting feeling similar to anxiety despite not having anything at all to worry about. It is my belief that one of the longer lasting effects of covid for me may have been an over-production of adrenaline for a few hours after commencing exercise.

That all seems to be behind me now, finally, and I have managed a couple of flattish 20+ mile rides. These still leave me more tired than they used to, but I feel I am at last making progress. I do feel rather like I am suddenly old, though. I am guessing that this fatigue is probably a common side effect, and will probably improve with time.

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

I had covid over New Year, @Time Waster . At its worst I would describe my experience as three days of a mixture of laryngitis and migraine. That was followed by a couple of weeks of sleepiness/sluggishness/fatigue when any kind of effort was just too much bother. Early nights and long sleep-ins became the norm. Even a few weeks after I had tested clear, the gentlest of exercise left me with elevated blood pressure and a fast heart rate.

As my wife has a heart condition, I had previously tried out her pulse oximeter on a few occasions out of idle curiosity, and I happened to know my own normal resting pulse rate, which was usually between 73-78 bpm. I was in a position to measure my heart rate during my recovery. After my first couple of short bike rides (flat 8-12 milers as opposed to my normal average 30-35 milers with hills) even up to two hours after my ride my pulse rate was still about 112bpm. I had a long lasting feeling similar to anxiety despite not having anything at all to worry about. It is my belief that one of the longer lasting effects of covid for me may have been an over-production of adrenaline for a few hours after commencing exercise.

That all seems to be behind me now, finally, and I have managed a couple of flattish 20+ mile rides. These still leave me more tired than they used to, but I feel I am at last making progress. I do feel rather like I am suddenly old, though. I am guessing that this fatigue is probably a common side effect, and will probably improve with time.

Interesting read this as I had covid recently (literally this week) and am definitely feeling the fatigue, even using stairs is physically harder than it ever would have been according to my HR. I feel like I won't be back outside riding and maybe not going to the gym for a while yet.

I was initially informed of an issue by my watches stress calculation, where it would have been under 50/100 it was averaging near 90, no symptoms but a LFT lit up both lines in seconds

 

[Time Waster]

I'm negative for covid so went back to work on Monday. I felt like I was working through a cloud. Concentration wasn't great neither was productivity. Took me all week to get on top of my work again. Whilst I'm not indispensable when I'm off a lot of things don't get done or are done sloppily without everything being recorded correctly. So I came back needing to sort that out then catch up while feeling tired and slow.

Better now a week later. Even did a short ride on the bent with family yesterday. Oh! I also worked a couple of days with someone who had a rotten cold. So this weekend I've had a very tickly cough, bunged up nose and other cold symptoms. Feeling rough again! Not covid though.

 

[Brandane]

My lucky 2 year avoidance of the dreaded Covid 19 finally ended on Monday. Came on quite suddenly overnight with fever, coughing, sneezing, runny nose. Just like a bad head cold.
As I work in a day care centre, I took an LFT before work on Tuesday, and it was negative. Have to admit I was slightly disappointed as... 1. I knew I was going to succumb eventually; and 2. I hadn't slept well and could have done with the day off work - but didn't feel unwell enough to justify a sickie. So off to work I went, thinking I had a common cold.

Came home and by evening was still feeling rough so took another LFT and this time it was positive.

There followed 3 days of fever, sweats, aching bones, running nose, watering eyes, coughing and sneezing. A bit rough but not exactly flattened, it could have been a lot worse.

This is now day 6 (counting Monday as day 1 as that was onset of symptoms) and the symptoms are fading, if not quite gone. Have tested positive each of the last 3 mornings with a very dark line. So another 2 days isolation at least.

Just hoping now that I won't suffer too much from some of the after effects that some have done re fatigue etc.. After 6 days (so far) stuck between 4 walls, I am looking forward to getting out in the fresh air on a bike again. Hopefully a long ride, but need to wait and see.

 

[midlife]

Good to hear you are over the worst. Been a bit of an outbreak in our place with several close work colleagues testing positive and off. I'm still negative so far.....

 

[Brandane]

Day 10 and STILL testing positive on LFT's .
I work in care, so it's the old rules for us re daily testing and 10 days self isolation, which can be reduced to 5 days if you produce 2 negative tests 24 hours apart.
After 10 days, i.e. tomorrow, you are deemed no longer infectious and go back to normal life. Symptoms have all but gone now.
So back to work tomorrow, and no more passing my time on the "Tyre extinguishers" thread .

 

[Sunny Portrush]

Another who avoided it for over 800 days and then contracted it less than 24 hrs from flying to Geneva and unto Saint Jean de Maurienne ( you have the Telegraphe, Galibier, Croix de Fer, Glandon, Madeleine all within close distance). This is the second time I have tried this trip, originally booked for June 2020

Interesting to read how people felt after. I slept virtually for the first 48 hrs and after, just made sure I drank plenty. I like to think my overall fitness helped me recover better but I have yet to be out on the bike as it's way too windy here. Just out of my 10 day isolation so it's bound to rain for the next fortnight!

 

[november4]

I had same as op, no cold/flu symptoms other than same feeling we get from the vaccine the first night, but fatigue which slowly ebbed away. Had swollen lymph nodes at the end which was worrying but a known covid thing

 

[Hicky]

Just been stung by covid, managed to avoid it totally despite working in a Uni and Ms Hicky being A&E nurse(our baby and her have had it, baby sailed through no issues).
Feeling crap however 36hrs later I’m perking up…..as for fatigue, I had glandular fever in may so had just started working towards some form of fitness(GF really did wipe me out).
C19 affects so many so differently. It’s a weird one.

 

[Sunny Portrush]

Just catching up on this thread and I have to say I've been lucky enough not to suffer any side effects, I'm as slow as ever!

All joking aside, I think the fitness I have from cycling helped me recover quickly. My wife got it a few days after me but was completely knocked out for nearly a fortnight. Mind you, she may have got a slightly different variant - it's bloody rife up here in Scotland

 

[Daninplymouth]

Hi, all just wondered how all of you who’d caught covid had seen it effect their cycling and how long it lasted?
I caught it for the first time 3 weeks ago, I had 2 weeks off the bike and just starting again on a couple of gentle rides, but ever since my heart rating has been flying up. I always had quite a high hr when training but now it’s even worse. For instance on a tough zwift race I would average about 170bpm and maybe spike to about 185 on an all out sprint. Had a ride today and my heart was topping 180 numerous times on relatively little effort, even gentle riding it seems to be about 15bpm up to pre covid. Is there anything I can do to help my recovery or is it just take it easy and hope it improves.
Pre covid I’d hit 180bpm like once on my route, also this ride was 5miles longer and 1mph, and then today it went above 180numerous times and looking at strava I was putting out the same hr but about 25% slower

 

[freiston]

I tested positive about 2½ weeks ago and have been testing negative about 3 days now. My right lung hurt something shocking - felt like it was ripping apart in a spot feeling like the size of a tennis ball halfway down the lung near the centre of the chest. As well as that, I've been having severe fatigue (going up and down the stairs takes its toll) and my lung(s) still don't feel right, I'm still coughing and wheezing with phlegm & I have "swollen glands" in the neck and feel washed out. I daren't get on the bike yet. About a week or two before my Covid positive test, I had a very similar episode with a temperature of 39.7°C but it was over (apart from a bad chest) in 24 hours and I tested negative on the LFT - though I suspect it might have been Covid. I did a 2 mile utility run between the two episodes and felt like I had pushed myself close to collapsing and stressed my lungs even though only averaging 9mph.

I'm a life-long asthmatic who was diagnosed with "chronic bronchitis" a lot of my childhood. I don't take blood pressure/bpm measurements regularly but I do have a peak flow meter which I use regularly. Before all this, I consistently hit the top of the meter at 700 (context: 5'9" 58 year old male). My measurements lately have been 500-550 (I understand that these measurements are good even for non-asthmatics but I still feel very much below adequate functioning).

I'm going to start taking short walks and gauge it from there. When I feel confident to get on the bike, I'll start with a "variable" loop circuit and see how it goes, with a provisional distance of about 5 miles if I don't feel up to it. Apart from that utility ride, I haven't been on the bike for about 6 weeks now and I'm bloody miserable about it. I hope to be riding again next week but I'm not optimistic at getting my distances up soon.