My Covid-19 Journey

Where do I start! OK Day 11 I guess, no post for yesterday as nothing much happened, other than me over cooking it a bit on a Zwift ride. Body battery died a death, and recovery for today wasn't ideal. Day 11 test was of course positive, but taking a lot longer to show. So, today, Freedom Day! Of course taking all the advice into account, reading the various interpretations of what it all meant, and even throwing a poll on to Twitter to see what others would do. The section of information in question here is the advice for still testing positive after 10 days. It reads..  " What if I’m still testing positive after 10 days? You may leave self-isolation after your 10th full day of self-isolation even if you are still testing positive. The only exception to this is if you still have a high temperature, or are still feeling unwell. If you only have a cough or your sense of smell or taste remains affected, you can leave isolatio n." Obviously, other than a bit of fatigue when ...

A day off work today, originally booked for an appointment, but obviously I can't attend anything right now. So I am making the most of it and having a rest from as much as possible. Not a bed nights sleep, but definitely more lethargic in the mornings, possibly due to knowing I can't go out and do anything, rather than not having any energy. Had a bit of a sore knee when I got up, so decided todays activity should be low impact. So I went for a 1 hour treadmill walk instead. Slowly increasing the speed. Felt nice and low impact. Then of course we moved onto the test. Day 10 LFT, still hoping (I'm joking) for early release. Within a few mins of starting the test, the positive line was starting to show. Ann meanwhile had also tested but was showing as negative. This is from one of the newer kits we have, which is nose and throat swabs. Between us we have four sets of tests, two each of nose only, and nose and throat ones. I had used an older nose only. So out of ...

Might be feeling it, but not actually much stronger at all. I say that, but definitely a lot better than I have been over the last week. Another mediocre night sleep, very broken, pretty restless, but woke up quite refreshed all the same. That said, I certainly didn't want to get out of bed this morning, that's a fact! None the less I did, and after a little stretch and warm up, jumped on the bike for a longer ride. Chose a route that was not too challenging, and decided on a couple of laps of the Greatest London Flat on Zwift. Just wanted to get some endurance in, and keep the pedals spinning for 90 mins or so, and maintain some OK power. The only challenges on the route are a prolonged steady climb, and a sharp snapper up the escalator.. Steady climb, fine, settled in, spun, got the power up. Escalator, I can usually sprint and throw out about 1200w for the 10 seconds up it.. Today, I just kept hitting the button to drop gear after gear and couldn't even muster up 500w!  ...

Nope, no suspense this time, straight up positive still.  My gentle morning walk was a bit more of an effort than expected to begin with, coughing almost immediately, but settled in OK in the end. Temperature is down to 36.6c now which is nice. I can feel the difference as its starting to drop.  4 days of isolation left now inc today, so the clock is ticking down nicely now. Can't wait to get out for some gentle exercise. Cue the shite weather!

As promised, I had an early night last night. Did me no good whatsoever, and struggled all night to stay asleep for any period of time. Waking with a sore throat and mouth a number of times, then couldn't get back to sleep. Disturbed by any noise I heard including 'a owl, a evil f**kin owl'. My brain turned it into someone calling for help in my dream somehow. Needless to say I woke feeling a bit crappy to say the least. Body battery only went up to 90% after all that rest, and that's just about where I feel right now. Fair to say that a big effort on the bike yesterday probably didn't help matters, but hey. Today I shall take it a lot easier, no racing heart rates for me, just a nice morning walk on Zwift is all I have planned. Just a bit snotty this morning, and body a bit low on energy, other than that, not too bad, cough is much less frequent today.  Ann tested positive again, so no early release for her. 

Today after a good start I thought I would drop the paracetamol, and stick with just the antibiotics. I have had plenty of fluids today and enough food to keep the energy levels up. All good, right? Well, apparently not. Over the afternoon I have developed a bit of a warm feeling, some tightness in my neck and shoulders, and a bit of a foggy wobby head. This evening the light headedness is a bit more noticeable. Of course, some of this could be put down to quite a lot of coughing today, certainly noticed the increase in coughing in a little throat soreness now. Nothing terrible, but a bit of a change all the same, so thought I would note it down. Definitely feel tired now, by late afternoon I was ready for bed, so might try for an earlier one today. 

Today I decided was a ride day, on Zwift of course. So jumped on the TdZ for Stage 5, a nice flat fast route. Decided against the slightly tougher Richmond course, as I don't want to push too hard too soon. Starting out I felt a bit urrgh, but as the first few miles passed, I settled in and found my flow.  45 mins or so at 225w, with a max HR hitting 160s. Haven't done that for a while! And thankfully it didn't feel too dramatic either.  Gentle spin after to let everything settle down. End result, feeling good, but cough has increased a bit post ride. Which is pretty normal for post effort recently. A little bit productive, but not painful, and most importantly, no stress on the trachea this time. So things ARE improving. On the flip side, today's test was..... POSITIVE! Oh well, they are coming up positive almost immediately, so any chance of early release is out the window. But that's OK, I am actually alright with that. Take it easy, (yeah yeah I know I'm not...

Another test, and it's still positive. Last night's sleep wasn't as good as the night before, definitely more broken, but ended up waking refreshed and fully charged. Last start to the day, starting work early to pass the time, and then getting in a 4 mile run. I say run, but same as before, intervals building up to a longer duration of running. Can't say it was too hard on the body. Legs and lungs not struggling, and HR recovering quickly each time. So that was a mental boost for me. Definitely could not have managed that for a couple of days.  Took my LFT around lunchtime, and as I said it was positive. Big bold line within 75 seconds of starting the test. So pretty sure that's right. The earlier running helped get things moving in my lungs, with a few nice coughs, but thankfully no soreness in my throat while breathing harder today, so that's an improvement. This afternoon, feeling daring I decided to jump on the rower for a bit. Wake the whole bo...

Phew, really ran out of energy by this evening, but have my appetite back a bit. Probably partially the extra food I took on that sapped the energy from my reserves. Nice to actually feel like I'm fueling myself again now. Maybe tomorrow I will be sensible enough to take it a little bit easier physically, and save some energy for existing. Cough a little more productive this evening, but a lot less frequent, so throat feels like it's getting a bit of break. Resting HR has been nicely back down at 43bpm today, while temperature has remained at 36.8c Still feeling positive that things are on the up, but also more than aware that I am still a bit poorly, and just don't want to accept it.  Will tomorrow bring a negative test? I doubt it right now. 

Feeling good this morning, I decided to jump on Zwift and get some miles in. In my head I had some strength back, but wasn't going to over do it. Setting out I immediately realised I didn't have anywhere near the amount of energy that I thought I did. Part of it I think is from quite relaxed for the past 4 days. So more energy for general existence that I have had of late, but certainly not enough to make an impression on Zwift. Other than my legs feeling a bit weak, the main thing I noticed was a sore trachea. From lots of coughing, and a little extra effort to breathe, it has left things quite raw and sore. So any increase in effort to breathe, and it becomes vert noticeable, and quite uncomfortable. Backing off a little to let things settle down, after about half an hour the sensation became "normal" so I was able to raise the effort a bit more, but still being sensible, and keeping the HR way down. Just enough to keep the fans on the NeoBike spinning. (set to 100b...

Last night was a pretty comfortable evening I must say, although lack of appetite meant me missing my dinner. Snacked on a few bits then hit the hay for the night.  Another early ish night last night, a tum full of pills, and a relaxation audio track playing, and off to sleep I went.  After a good long sleep I woke to get up to pee, and without thinking launched myself out of bed like I usually would, half way to the bathroom and I thought, "oh hey, I feel quite good". Back to bed and settled back to sleep in no time. Waking this morning, once again Garmin agreed with my take on things. A good sleep.  Giving myself time to wake up properly before jumping to any conclusions, I finally settled on the feeling that I was almost back to my usual self. I can feel some remnants of an infection on my chest. A deep inhale reminds me I don't have all my breath back yet. But aches and pains are gone, I don't feel particularly hot, although my temp is still up around ...

Feeling a little bit more like myself today, and less strain on my chest and throat, I decided it would be OK to have a ride on Zwift this morning. Nothing too stressful, just take it nice and easy for a stage of the TdZ. I started out nice and gentle, and slowly built up the effort til I could feel it was starting to get too much, then backed off a bit. Definitely have a lot more energy today than I did yesterday or the day prior. But can feel there is still very much a limit to what I can do. It was nice to get the heart beating a bit more, and the lungs working harder for an hour or so. Ironically just as I finished the main ride I got a message from Doctaly saying it was time for my daily assessment. Reported that I am starting to feel a bit better of course.  Towards the end of the ride, and ever since, I have had a bit more of a cough, so my chest and throat are starting to get a bit sore again. That said, the cough is productive, so although a little ...

Last night, I have to say I got quite a good nights sleep, probably one of the best I have had for quite some time in fact. Might be something to do with rearranging pillows and sleeping more upright to aid breathing, and support my shoulder a bit better. The numbers don't lie. I have to say, I feel how Garmin thinks I feel, so yet again, quite impressed at the data I am getting. My SATS are right back up again, and my RHR is settling down, also my body temp is starting to drop a bit now too, down from 37.2c to 36.8c this morning. I have definitely still got some crap on my chest, but it is starting to move, and feels like less is building back up. Certainly less pressure on my chest now, and the soreness is starting to go now. After speaking to the doctor yesterday I feel more reassured that I am OK exercising still, so will be jumping on Zwift shortly to spin my legs, and keep things moving. No efforts will be made today for sure.  Fingers crossed this is the bounce back, and...

When I first registered the positive test on Wed, I got a few texts and emails telling me what to do next. One of which was from my GP, asking me if I would like to complete a self assessment with an online doctor. Doctaly Assist. This was to be done via Whatsapp. Replying to questions to a bot, I was asked about symptoms, for a SATS and temperature reading, and some other general questions. Today I receieved a message from a doctor on the chat, as a follow-up. Asking about how things had progressed in the last 24 hours, and enquiring about my cough, I told him I had been bringing up green stuff when coughing. So as a precaution he has prescribed me anti-biotics so my chest doesn't get any worse. The one main concern I had, addressed over a Whatsapp chat, what a wonderful service. Paula my sister is kindly picking them up for me, so hopefully I can stop it getting too bad on my chest. In the meantime, my temperature continues to rise, 37.1c now, and my body battery has started no...

 Phew, what a morning it has been. Finally managed to get back to sleep for an hour or so, filled the battery up a little. By the time I got up again, Ann had confirmed she has now tested positive also, so now at least that's out of the way so to speak. So far her symptoms are mild, with a cough and slight weakness.  As for me, I would love to say I am feeling better, but I now have an ache through to my bones, I am sure you know the feeling. My chest is getting a lot sorer now from coughing, which in turn affects my breathing a little. But nothing major. Sniffle is getting worse now though, and I am doing my best to keep all that crap off my chest. That is the last thing I need right now.  Other than that, all else is about the same. Most symptoms fit that of flu (much to the delight of deniers I am sure). I did have a little walk on the treadmill earlier, still trying to keep my aching body moving, rather than completely seizing up. Started out slow and gently increased...

Well it's 4.30am, I'm done with trying to sleep. Hot and cold constantly, irritable, and over thinking all the time I am awake. Tried for half an hour to get back to sleep, so eventually decided to come into the living room, and curl up on the sofa. Feeling pretty drained now, walking is becoming shuffling, and breathing more of an effort. Although sats are still good, so that's something. Seems the virus is still settling in, with my cough getting more frequent now. Although as a guide, I can go half an hour or so without coughing, so it's not like it's persistent as in constant.  So far today, since I went to bed, my body battery has continued to drop, even with 4 hours of mediocre sleep. Can see the stress levels were high throughout. Something tells me today is gonna be a really crappy day. Meh. Right, I'm gob a curl back up now and at least try and relax, if not sleep for a bit. C'mon body, we got this. 

Sense of smell.... 2 hours ago I could smell the chocolate on the KitKat I was eating... Now... Nothing. Just stuck a bottle of Olbas oil right under my nostrils, and the best I got was the burning on the back of my throat as I inhaled deeply.  Cor this is strange! Lol.  PS I feel like poo! 

Urrgh, I have been feeling more and more uncomfortable throughout the day. With my voice starting to be croaky from coughing to clear my chest, as well as just not having the energy to push air out of my lungs. I did a Doctaly Assist questionnaire earlier for the GP which included taking my temperature and SATS. At the time they were 36.2c and 99. Now at 10pm they are 36.9c and 97. It feels that way too. Going hot and cold since this evening, with proper shivers just now, to the point of nicking Ann's hot water bottle when I got into bed. Really quite lethargic now too, and struggling with attention span and patience, just feeling a bit frustrated I think.  Glad to be in bed now, with a dose of Night Nurse I am hoping I get a few hours of solid sleep at least. Tummy feels a bit unsettled at the moment though, so who knows.  What a mess!  Oh well, here's to tomorrow. 

 After a pretty unsettled nights sleep, I woke up feeling groggy and lethargic. Some of that is possibly the side effects of the Night Nurse last night. It has done that to me in the past. I woke feeling like I was recovering from a bout of flu. Not too achy, but not a lot of energy. No real interest in getting out of bed, other than to maintain my sanity. I did however notice that my chest was a little heavier, and can feel that phlegm has arrives. Breathing in takes a little more effort, as if I am trying to force the air in a bit more. If I breathe normally, I quickly become quite short of breath. That extra effort, plus the coughing leaves me with a tight and sore chest. And as it get more sore, my reluctance to cough to try and shift any phlegm increases. Vicious circle, but I have been here before.  Usually if I get the flu, I will wake day 1 with symptoms and already be knocked for six. So on day 2 to only feel a little wobbled is a good feeling. The problem of course c...

 I am writing this a day later, but here goes. Yesterday started out as any normal day, flogging myself physically, before settling into my work day, then chilling in the evening. In the morning I noticed during a Zwift ride that I was feeling a little down on energy. But, like you do, I dug deep and got the job done. Later that afternoon I was a bit achy, however I put that down to over exertion earlier, and just got on with it. By early evening I was really starting to feel a bit more lethargic, and had an infrequent dry cough, and a slight shortness of breath. Expecting a shopping delivery, I made the decision not to get anywhere near the driver, and instead waited inside for Ann to bring the crates in. Turns out that was a good idea. By the time bed time came around, which was much earlier than usual, I was ready to hit the sack. Breathing a bit shallow, heart rate up a bit, to the point I was aware of it constantly. I have a pretty low resting heart rate, so any increase is ge...