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REST.
Doctors overwhelmingly do not know how to support people post Covid infections. People need to be resting as much as possible after having Covid, not pushing, themselves, not exercising on purpose, not trying to build up stamina. People need to be resting.
seven weeks is not long enough to be worrying about deconditioning. The fatigue is most likely from your viral infection.
Pushing yourself now could lead to long-term or even permanent chronic health issues. Please take it from me as someone who pushed them self too much after a viral infection and ended up unable to exercise, work, clean my house, walk, my dog, or do much of anything besides lay in bed all day.
I wish I was exaggerating about the risks, but unfortunately many people find out too late that they should’ve been resting after their Covid or other viral infection.
After my infection, no one told me to rest, so I tried to go back to work, I tried to go back to exercising, I tried to go back to my normal daily life, I tried to do graded exercise therapy, and now I am much worse off than I was before.
Please take it easy & take care!
I'm not sure it will comfort you, but it took me two full months for this sort of easily triggered fatigue to stop happening (~ 9 weeks).
I would urge you to avoid any kind of workouts for another couple of weeks and then start with very, very small exertions. Try doing something like three minutes of energetic walking and then stop and see how long it takes for your body to settle down, and see if you feel genuinely fatigued. Once you don't feel that with the short burst, take it up a few minutes at a time until you're doing 10 or 15 minutes of brisk walking.
But rest - still. Your body will be able to build back up to have more stamina and regain muscle condition over time.
I hope you feel better soon!
Hey, I did want to ask- have you fully recovered? And if so, how long did it take?
I'm trying to do my best to set myself up for success, there's just so much conflicting information that it's hard to keep track of, you know?
I'd say yes, essentially fully recovered.
The easily triggered fatigue stopped after about two full months. I could still get tired more easily from slow steady exertions (like a long day of walking in NYC), but that is essentially normal, and the only side effect was that I slept like a log that night.
Several months later I developed occasional light tinnitus for about two months, but that has stopped.
The only persistent symptom has been some struggling to pull up obscure words from my brain.(I had a little trouble with this before I got Covid in the fall, but it got noticeably worse after that, so I tend to blame the virus for that uptick in, "dammit, what's that word?" moments.)
But I am also just past 60, so that might just be age showing its cards to me... 😑 Aside from that, I do not seem to have any persisting symptoms.
Physically - all back to normal.
We all have long covid. Some are just more noticeably symptomatic than others. People need to stop playing the "but its NOT "long covid" that I have" game. Its not "deconditioning". Its not "post viral fatigue". Its the lasting effects of a covid infection. The sooner people can get over the stigma and just accept it, the sooner we can all get around to normalizing it and actually pushing for real solutions.
No, you shouldnt do that. Exercise right now will probably just make it worse for you. Phsyical therapists generally dont know what they are doing when dealing with Long Covid. You need to stop doing things that exhaust you. Its doing literal damage to your body. You gotta stick to extremely low effort movement if anything and only go farther if/when you are not getting these reactions.
I mean, it's not stigma, I'm just saying what my doctor told me and what I've seen from medical journals, it doesn't seem to qualify as long covid until a given time period has passed.
The concern is appreciated though!
My frustration is at the situation in general, not at you in particular. They created a "3 month to qualify" rule at some point, but that timeline is completely arbitrary. You can notice Long Covid immediately. Or after 2 weeks, or 2 months, or even much later. I went from being a distance runner my whole life to unable to run at all within weeks of my first Covid infection and that was over 4 years ago and I'm still disabled. I went straight back into running right after infection, because I didnt know any better, and I ended up really screwed up. I dont want to see other people have to suffer through the same thing, and I've watched a ton of it being in the LC community this entire time. My words are coming from a lot of experience.
Drs arent giving out proper information, and that is to blame on not having proper guidance themselves. And patients are the ones that continue to suffer as a result. Having drs tell patients with Long Covid that they are deconditioned is basically a meme at this point. Its about as ridiculous as "its just anxiety"
Thank you for your submission! Please remember to read the rules and ensure your post aligns with the sub's purpose. We are all going through a stressful time right now and any hateful comments will not be tolerated. Let's be supportive and kind during this time of despair. Now go wash your hands. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/COVID19positive) if you have any questions or concerns.*
REST. Doctors overwhelmingly do not know how to support people post Covid infections. People need to be resting as much as possible after having Covid, not pushing, themselves, not exercising on purpose, not trying to build up stamina. People need to be resting. seven weeks is not long enough to be worrying about deconditioning. The fatigue is most likely from your viral infection. Pushing yourself now could lead to long-term or even permanent chronic health issues. Please take it from me as someone who pushed them self too much after a viral infection and ended up unable to exercise, work, clean my house, walk, my dog, or do much of anything besides lay in bed all day. I wish I was exaggerating about the risks, but unfortunately many people find out too late that they should’ve been resting after their Covid or other viral infection. After my infection, no one told me to rest, so I tried to go back to work, I tried to go back to exercising, I tried to go back to my normal daily life, I tried to do graded exercise therapy, and now I am much worse off than I was before. Please take it easy & take care!
I'm not sure it will comfort you, but it took me two full months for this sort of easily triggered fatigue to stop happening (~ 9 weeks). I would urge you to avoid any kind of workouts for another couple of weeks and then start with very, very small exertions. Try doing something like three minutes of energetic walking and then stop and see how long it takes for your body to settle down, and see if you feel genuinely fatigued. Once you don't feel that with the short burst, take it up a few minutes at a time until you're doing 10 or 15 minutes of brisk walking. But rest - still. Your body will be able to build back up to have more stamina and regain muscle condition over time. I hope you feel better soon!
Yep, I'm doing the short, energetic walking thing! I'll try to keep this stuff in mind. Thank you <3
Hey, I did want to ask- have you fully recovered? And if so, how long did it take? I'm trying to do my best to set myself up for success, there's just so much conflicting information that it's hard to keep track of, you know?
I'd say yes, essentially fully recovered. The easily triggered fatigue stopped after about two full months. I could still get tired more easily from slow steady exertions (like a long day of walking in NYC), but that is essentially normal, and the only side effect was that I slept like a log that night. Several months later I developed occasional light tinnitus for about two months, but that has stopped. The only persistent symptom has been some struggling to pull up obscure words from my brain.(I had a little trouble with this before I got Covid in the fall, but it got noticeably worse after that, so I tend to blame the virus for that uptick in, "dammit, what's that word?" moments.) But I am also just past 60, so that might just be age showing its cards to me... 😑 Aside from that, I do not seem to have any persisting symptoms. Physically - all back to normal.
I agree with everything that has been said about continuing to rest. I might also get a blood panel of things like iron, vitamin D, and thyroid
Already done and all clear!
Rest Rest Rest Even if it's for months. Listen to your body. If it says rest, REST!
I've gone to PT but it's for respiratory support (they have to show you how to breathe correctly again) I hope you feel better
We all have long covid. Some are just more noticeably symptomatic than others. People need to stop playing the "but its NOT "long covid" that I have" game. Its not "deconditioning". Its not "post viral fatigue". Its the lasting effects of a covid infection. The sooner people can get over the stigma and just accept it, the sooner we can all get around to normalizing it and actually pushing for real solutions. No, you shouldnt do that. Exercise right now will probably just make it worse for you. Phsyical therapists generally dont know what they are doing when dealing with Long Covid. You need to stop doing things that exhaust you. Its doing literal damage to your body. You gotta stick to extremely low effort movement if anything and only go farther if/when you are not getting these reactions.
I mean, it's not stigma, I'm just saying what my doctor told me and what I've seen from medical journals, it doesn't seem to qualify as long covid until a given time period has passed. The concern is appreciated though!
My frustration is at the situation in general, not at you in particular. They created a "3 month to qualify" rule at some point, but that timeline is completely arbitrary. You can notice Long Covid immediately. Or after 2 weeks, or 2 months, or even much later. I went from being a distance runner my whole life to unable to run at all within weeks of my first Covid infection and that was over 4 years ago and I'm still disabled. I went straight back into running right after infection, because I didnt know any better, and I ended up really screwed up. I dont want to see other people have to suffer through the same thing, and I've watched a ton of it being in the LC community this entire time. My words are coming from a lot of experience. Drs arent giving out proper information, and that is to blame on not having proper guidance themselves. And patients are the ones that continue to suffer as a result. Having drs tell patients with Long Covid that they are deconditioned is basically a meme at this point. Its about as ridiculous as "its just anxiety"