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Beaten the Virus

As soon as social distancing was announced I followed it, but it was not as strict at the start as it is now and I think I caught it when I went shopping and the supermarket was packed full of people, I now wish I hadn't gone shopping, but I needed to collect my medication from the pharmacy at Tesco and get food, as I had been at work all week.

My background is I've had Diabetes for 23 years since I was 17, asthma since I was young and I live with a heart condition. Despite all this, I have overcome the virus and am now recovering well. I'll give you a brief experience of what happened to me and how I managed to overcome it.

I started off feeling very tired. I then started to get a sore throat and headache at this point, I figured I was getting a cold, but I didn't have a runny nose. I also noticed when I blew my nose, there were traces of blood in it. I'm now thinking this was the virus starting out in my airways, but at this stage, I had no temperature.

After 3 days my temperature was increasing and this is where I started coughing. I also was extremely tired, kept getting chills & muscle cramps, It was around day 5 that I started getting discomfort across my chest and difficulty breathing deeply.

I coped with this by resting as much as possible and not attempting to do anything I didn't need to do. I was sleeping on and off for 12 to 14 hours a day. Give the body a chance to fight and reserve energy.

I also made sure I was drinking plenty of fluids to keep de-hydration away & this will also help with ketones. Follow sick day rules and do the best you can to keep your blood sugar levels normal, for me I was taking small amounts of insulin every few hours, regardless of if I had eaten or not just to keep my glucose levels down. Also, keep an eye on ketones, test regularly & take action as needed.

It is difficult, but when you're feeling the chills avoid wrapping up with blanket or duvet as this will make your temperature worse. When I was up I sat in a well-ventialed room that I was keeping cool, I also slept with just a blanket at night to try to keep my temperature under control, doing so will help a great deal with how you feel.

Be careful standing up, as I found on multiple occasions I felt dizzy and would fall backward, due to lack of oxygen. try to stay sitting or lying as much as possible is my advice. I found laying on my back most comfortable position.

The breathlessness is difficult, but take it easy and don't push yourself to do anything that will leave you struggling. So you may smell a bit as you can't shower for a few days, but it's better than leaving yourself gasping for air trying to shower.

My energy levels have been coming back and I'm now out of 7-day isolation. It has left me with chest pains and I'm still struggling to breathe deeply, but overall I feel a lot better. I'm guessing this will get better given time for my lungs to heal.

Also, I know it's not easy, but try to stay calm and don't work yourself up. As we all know stress can affect your blood sugars and it's not good for breathing getting worked up. Stay calm and it will pass given time. Remember NHS 111 is there if you need them, I can't thank them enough as they were really reassuring to me when I phoned on 2 occasions.

Hopefully, this may help anyone else who goes through it. I thought it worth sharing my experience. Stay strong everyone.
 
Well done @JonBoy1199 it's good to hear a success story.
I have the virus, couple of days in. I'm T2 no insulin but I have COPD and Emphysema on top of being 66, so my personal outlook isn't so bright. However, I will do my best to get through that final stage ;)
 
Thank you for posting, and am delighted that you are now on the mend!

My suggestion is that you don't expect recovery to be fast. I've had flu 3 times, and each time it surprised me how long it took till I was back to 100% health. No idea if covid-19 works like that, but better safe than sorry. So take it gently, and don't rush back to a full schedule too soon.
Best wishes.
 
As soon as social distancing was announced I followed it, but it was not as strict at the start as it is now and I think I caught it when I went shopping and the supermarket was packed full of people,

Thank you for giving us your experience, it helps. I had bronchial pneumonia once and my greatest fear is needing a ventilator. I'm delighted you're feeling better, I'm sure you will make a full recovery, take it easy though.

However now is not the time to become complacent, make sure you take all the necessary precautions as before. Although few in number there have been reports of people getting the virus twice and it has been noticed that there are even two variants. Not my specialist subject. I have seen that South Korea, where one case of re-infection has been diagnosed they have started to test anyone entering the country. 20% have proved to be positive and they weren't all returning Koreans.

Stay safe, get well soon,
 
@OldButBold Heck I do hope you make a full recovery I would recommend you take if you have it a boat load of vitimin C as it was shown to help with patients in China who were given infusions of of it.

prayers and good positive thoughts to you from me .
 
@OldButBold Heck I do hope you make a full recovery I would recommend you take if you have it a boat load of vitimin C as it was shown to help with patients in China who were given infusions of of it.

prayers and good positive thoughts to you from me .

Thank you, I was aware of increasing vit C. I normally take 1000mg spread thru' day, I increased it to 5000mg, the excess is just excreted but the body will take what it needs.
 
Glad to hear you are over the worst and thank you so much for sharing.

I'm type 1 and asthmatic also and getting increasingly anxious as the days go by.
 
Oh @JonBoy1199, you're describing how i felt for nearly four weeks long! I thought it was the flu because i didn't experience breathing difficulties. I did have a tight chest but believed that's a sign of stress. The headache between the eyes and at the back of the head was horrible. I also had very painful limbs but the penny dropped when i heard many people had lost their sense of taste and smell whilst having this virus. I couldn't even smell it when my puppy had a number 2 accident in the flat or when i was cooking cabbage!I was shivering for four weeks, nothing but really nothing could warm me up.
 
@JonBoy1199 Thank you, and bless you for taking the time to create this uplifting and informative thread. I didn’t know whether to mark your post as informative, winner, useful, friendly,like, optimistic, or just give a hug.
Thank you.
 
Brilliant thread! I didn't have the energy to start one. My symptoms were very like yours except that my temperature only rose 0.5C for 8 days. Initially I thought it was a normal virus as very few folk in UK had been found to have COVID19 on March 2nd when I got infected with it.

I am 62 mildly asthmatic with a history of recurrent chest infections. I am taking blood pressure tablets and am T2. I am obese and prone to depression.

I am on day 27 since the start of symptoms. Yesterday was the first day I felt like doing anything. I did a little gardening. Yesterday was also the day when the dryness went and my chest felt more easy. It has become slightly dry overnight again. I still feel tired and have a few aches and pains that I never had before but other than that am fine. Like you I felt dizzy and faint when doing anything. I have an inhaler which I only need when I have a chest infection. I only used it once this time as it didn't help. I think that was because my airways hadn't narrowed with this virus. They were just so very dry.
 
Well done @JonBoy1199 it's good to hear a success story.
I have the virus, couple of days in. I'm T2 no insulin but I have COPD and Emphysema on top of being 66, so my personal outlook isn't so bright. However, I will do my best to get through that final stage ;)
I found that sleeping on the sofa in a sitting position helped a little on the 2 worst nights but I am not sure if that's just me. It's something I have had to do before with a bad chest infection.
Keep posting :)
 
I found that sleeping on the sofa in a sitting position helped a little on the 2 worst nights but I am not sure if that's just me. It's something I have had to do before with a bad chest infection.
Keep posting :)

Having COPD it's something I occasionally have to do, last night was an example and I did manage to sleep better :)
 
Oh @JonBoy1199, you're describing how i felt for nearly four weeks long! I thought it was the flu because i didn't experience breathing difficulties. I did have a tight chest but believed that's a sign of stress. The headache between the eyes and at the back of the head was horrible. I also had very painful limbs but the penny dropped when i heard many people had lost their sense of taste and smell whilst having this virus. I couldn't even smell it when my puppy had a number 2 accident in the flat or when i was cooking cabbage!I was shivering for four weeks, nothing but really nothing could warm me up.
Out of interest hv you had the pneumonia jab so therefore it protected you in this virus fight?
 
Out of interest hv you had the pneumonia jab so therefore it protected you in this virus fight?

Will a pneumonia vaccine protect me against the virus?
Vaccines against pneumonia, such as pneumococcal vaccine and Haemophilus influenza type B (Hib) vaccine, do not provide protection against Covid-19.
The virus is so new and different that it needs its own vaccine, which researchers are currently working on trying to develop.
Although these vaccines are not effective against Covid-19, vaccination against respiratory illnesses is highly recommended to protect your health.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/...-19-who-advice-medicine-vaccine-a9412921.html
 
Has the pneumonia jab helped at all with this virus's symptoms?
I'm hoping so. I'm tired but wasn't able to sleep last night.... worrying. Not about myself but 6yr old had a nasty chest infection (a few yrs ago). Ironically this virus has protected hundreds of kids but hv endangered many others. Kids were protected at school and away from family members who are abusing. I worry for those who cannot leave their abusive homes..... because of this lockdown. Silent abuse for some. I really worry.
A death toll because of lockdowns. :( :( :(

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