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I have COVID. BP is all over the place


KiminOrlando

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I was diagnosed with COVID last week. If I was normal, I would be coming out of it now, BUT, well, you all know.

My BP is making 20 point swings in 3 minutes while I am seated. I have no idea what is going on. I go from 124/97 to 103/80. Standing up just drops like a rock. I'm drinking multiple Liquid IVs, cubes of beef bullion, and water daily. Taking salt pills. Sunday I went to the kitchen to get water and fainted. Unfortunately I somehow managed to break my left index finger in the fall. No idea how it happened because I was unconscious. When I woke up, my finger just hurt really bad. So did my hip, but thankfully, it wasn't broken. How long is it going to take to get back to my normal situation? I would consider going up on my FLUDROCORTISONE by half a pill but that bottom number is getting higher than I want. I don't currently have a Dysautonomia/POTS doctor because mine retired. I'm still waiting on a response from Vanderbilt. My primary is not comfortable advising me. 

How did your BP behave in the aftermath of COVID? How long? Did your doctors have you do anything different? Is there any research I can use to take to my current, timid cardio and challenge him to get involved in Dysautonomia? Any advice would be welcome.

Thanks.

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@KiminOrlando -- Sorry to hear you are dealing with covid19 and amplified dysautonomia symptoms. Totally not fun. My BP also went up, but so did my pulse. The second time I tested positive for covid19 I ended up hospitalized b/c my electrolytes were off and my QT interval was prolonged. Maybe at the least you can ask your cardio to check your electrolytes? Not sure how that would help your BP though... The first time I had covid19 I was "weirder" than normal for about 1.5-2 weeks after I became symptomatic. The second time I had covid19 I felt fine after my electrolytes were re-balanced, but did have some lingering gastrointestinal symptoms. The doctors were convinced that my second positive test was related to my first infection, but I believe I was reinfected.

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I caught COVID for the first time (multi vaxxed) last week. Went to the doctor on Monday who immediately called for an ambulance which admitted me to the local hospital. Breathing way too fast (66 breaths per minute) but saturation remained ok and the lung scan was good. BP for me remained stable but lower than normal even with IV fluids and drinking lots. Got out of hospital after 4 days because I'm stable but with a very low WBC count and I remained saturated (ish) throughout.

I still have a lower bp than normal and even worse tachycardia but since I am spending time horizontally it seems to be getting better slowly. I'm just taking things even slower than normal.

Nurse visit tomorrow to take bloods so hopefully my WBC count gets back towards the normal range. 

Hope things get better for you soon.

 

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@KiminOrlando I had a severe case of Delta strain COVID last year in September that landed me in hospital with pneumonia and respiratory failure. After discharge I did not get better and developed a severe immune reaction with rheumatic symptoms and extremely elevated inflammatory markers, but I also ended up with sepsis, so no one really knew which caused the extreme reaction. I can tell you that it took me a LONG time to get back to ( my ) normal, and you may have to be extremely patient with yourself. Dysautonomia and infection do not get along, so our bodies will behave unruly! The best thing you can do is what Others on this thread have mentioned 

4 hours ago, JennKay said:

Maybe at the least you can ask your cardio to check your electrolytes?

My potassium levels were very low while COVID positive, despite being able to drink fluids. 

 

15 minutes ago, DysautonmiaMatt said:

My guess IV fluids alone would probably make you feel better.

I completely agree - for me ( and most POTS patients ) IV fluids will dramatically improve our symptoms. 

 

17 minutes ago, DysautonmiaMatt said:

Took about 3 weeks before I was completely back to normal.

Took me 3 month. Be patient!

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  • 1 month later...

My turn. 

Only saw 3 people for Thanksgiving, but it was enough. 

My mother felt sluggish Friday, I started with the sore throat yesterday. 

She tested positive, I tested negative, but my symptoms are getting worse, while she's getting better already (thankfully). 

In addition to the throat, elevated heart rate (95ish resting) and more PVCs than normal, MORE achiness, feel slightly warm, but don't have a working thermometer. Stomach is a bit of a mess too. 

Are you back to your baseline yet @KiminOrlando

The newest Omicron variant is supposed to be milder, so hoping this is the worst of it today. 

Sad thing is, I felt much above my baseline Friday and Saturday and even got a couple of light workouts in. 

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I did get sick on saturday. My respiratory woes kicked in and was coughing severely. so had to make a med change. my only symptoms was the respiratory distress and feeling the warm/chill feeling as well as a runny stuffy nose and more flem while coughing and more sneezing. I do have a headache and some abdomen muscle but i and sure this is from coughing. My temp have stayed between 97.8 and 98.8 (so no fever). as i am writing this i am still sneezing and blowing boogers.

Sure i just have a cold.  

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One of major problems with c-19 - very often mimics a cold, especially as it's become endemic. 

Data shows your symptoms you have are the most common now, inc runny nose & productive cough, when dry dominated at the start. Fever and anosmia now much rarer, but unfortunately most not aware. 

If you can't confirm with test, and not already isolating due to conditions, always best to, so as to not pass it on. Newer variants sadly still so nasty - deadly for some - and causing such devastating long-term conditions. 

Recover soon, very best wishes. 

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Do you have to start taking Paxlovid within a given time frame from the onset of symptoms? i thought it was five days. I started getting sick on saturday evening and i am getting a rapid 2hr covid test today at 3:15pm so if i test positive guess today would be four days. this requirement seems to be a bit of a push if it is still valid.

Also heard Paxlovid is contraindicated if taking certain drug? 

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16 hours ago, MikeO said:

Also heard Paxlovid is contraindicated if taking certain drug? 

My doctor did not give me anything because of this. He said I would have to stop some of my meds. I'm on immunosuppressive drugs, so we just stopped that.

Sorry to hear that you are sick. It took me about 3 weeks to get back to 'normal'. My lungs never got too bad. Mine was mostly upper respiratory although I vomited the first 24 hours. I lost taste for about a week and smell is still not right. My fever went up to 102.4 which caused me to faint without my usual warnings. I drank alot of Liquid IV and chicken broth from bullion cubes (double cubes). Lots of liquids. Nothing made me stop coughing. I got desperate enough to try grandma's approach-- whiskey mixed with peppermint, but I had no peppermint, so I just did a sip of Fireball until I stopped coughing. I don't know what alcohol would do to you, so I'm not recommending it. I was just desperate. My whole body was sore from coughing. The headache went away after 3 days. 

Hang in there.

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Wow, there are some tough COVID stories on this board. 

Felt better last night, much worse this morning. Starting the Paxlovid on Day 4. Hope I can keep it down. 

Have some slight optimism that an anti-viral may be able to fluster some other potential virus activity in the body too. It's been theorized that EBV is over active in AI conditions and I've even heard that old strep infections can cause problems throughout life. 

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My mother swears I could catch strep when I was younger by just hearing the word. I tried taking Vit C the first 2 days, but it came up right away each time. 

Day 5 Update: After 1 day of Paxlovid, significant improvement in most symptoms. First night I've been able to sleep all week and stayed in bed until 2 pm. Woke up in drenching sweat (not necessarily bad), but without fever and chills today (fever actually gone yesterday). Able to move around slightly better. First day with any appetite since Sunday. 

Only negatives include an actual increase in coughing and not as dry as it had been. Also having some orthostatic issues. A near constant light-headedness that I feel more in the back of the neck and top of shoulders. Praying this is just a short term thing from being on my back for 3 straight days. 

The only side effects from the meds are a near constant metallic taste (which I was warned about and can handle for a few days) and potentially increased nausea. 

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13 minutes ago, MTRJ75 said:

My mother swears I could catch strep when I was younger by just hearing the word. I tried taking Vit C the first 2 days, but it came up right away each time. 

Day 5 Update: After 1 day of Paxlovid, significant improvement in most symptoms. First night I've been able to sleep all week and stayed in bed until 2 pm. Woke up in drenching sweat (not necessarily bad), but without fever and chills today (fever actually gone yesterday). Able to move around slightly better. First day with any appetite since Sunday. 

Only negatives include an actual increase in coughing and not as dry as it had been. Also having some orthostatic issues. A near constant light-headedness that I feel more in the back of the neck and top of shoulders. Praying this is just a short term thing from being on my back for 3 straight days. 

The only side effects from the meds are a near constant metallic taste (which I was warned about and can handle for a few days) and potentially increased nausea. 

Glad to hear you are responding to Paxlovid. I hope you continue to get better.

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@KiminOrlando  I had COVID in August  I have advanced respiratory and cardiac issues in addition to dysautonomia so my doctors were most concerned about my breathing - so was I.  However, my breathing was improved with my home oxygen, thankfully.  But, the dizziness and fluctuations in HR were extreme.  The worse night I literally had to crawl on my hands and knees to get to the bathroom.  I went from tachycardia to bradycardia within minutes.  My doctors brought me into the ER for IV fluids and for an antibody treatment.  I couldn't take the oral meds used for COVID because they interfere with one of my heart meds.  My labs also showed my sodium and electrolytes to be way off even though I was still drinking/eating/and ingesting salt as usual.  It felt as though the infection caused my body to somehow disregard all that I normally do to stay on top of the dysautonomia symptoms. I was unable to get an accurate BP during the worse of those days but at the ER my BP was very low for me.  

The good news is that the IV fluids made a huge difference in how I was feeling.  The dizziness was back to my normal and the HR fluctuations all but stopped as well.  The headaches and fatigue continued for about 2 - 3 weeks, but the worst of it only lasted about 6 days.  For the record, I was fully vaccinated and boosted.  My doctors all agreed that for me, it was the difference between dealing with the respiratory symptoms with my home oxygen or pneumonia/intubation or worse.   

I hope you feel better soon.

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