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Long Covid Fatigue - Exhausting Physically and Mentally
Post-COVID Recovery & COVID-19 | Last Active: Oct 4, 2022 | Replies (40)Comment receiving replies
OMG, yes!!!
I don't have fatigue. Fatigue is staying up too late watching Netflix. I have profound, overwhelming, incapacitating, leaden exhaustion with muscle PAIN (not aches), severe headache, nausea, loss of appetite, chills. Sports drinks with sodium and potassium replacement somehow really helps. I use Propel or Gatorade, sugar-free. The powder is much less expensive than liquid & is by the crystal light and kool-aid powders in the grocery store. LOTS of water/sports drink, like 16 oz every couple hours. I usually just have to go back to bed, even an hour after getting up, in a very dark & quiet room. Hot baths feel good on the muscles.
I have this when I do too much 1-2 days before. Limiting myself to 2-3 hours of brain/thinking/concentration a day and no more than 2 hours physical activity (bathing, cooking, laundry, grocery shop, errands, walking, standing) helps to decrease the frequency, severity and duration of these episodes. When I know I have a 'hard' day coming, I do very little the day before and don't put anything on my calendar the day after.
It is hard to explain to others because I look normal. Look up "The Spoon Theory", it describes this well.
Replies to "OMG, yes!!! I don't have fatigue. Fatigue is staying up too late watching Netflix. I have..."
You hit the nail on the head with this. At work everyone says oh just do some exercises it will help build you back up. I try to explain anything strenuous will take me out for days up to a week. It really helps to see I am not alone.
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It helps to know I`m not alone. I`m still on oxygen and still get short of breath w any exertion but I`m trying 10 months after my hospitalization. I sometimes think it might be easier if we had an explanation on our foreheads! It sounds as though you have figured out how to deal w your condition and function to the best of your ability. I`ll have to take a page out of your survival guide and apply to my life. Learning from each other and support are important tools. It feels as though my life is divided into before and after covid.