Omicron 2 months ago - still so fatigued, muscle aches

[callalily3]

I had Omicron in mid December, like so many others. My biggest symptoms were night sweats, muscle aches (mostly back pain), fatigue, and some fever.

I'm not sick anymore, obviously, but is anyone else still experiencing muscle aches and fatigue? My back still hurts, though it's better than it was, but the fatigue - I can barely make it through the day.

Thanks :)

[ginger899]

Hi callalily,
I haven't had Omicron, but got the first wave of Covid early in 2020.
I seemed to recover well, and my immune system did a splendid job, But since then my back has ached too (lower back in the SI joints) That bothered me sometimes on and off before, as I have some pelvic misalignment and probably slight scoliosis to go with it.
But it has ached more since I had Covid.

I also had on-going fatigue bouts. I had one today. In between them I felt fine! I am still hopeful that these things will gradually decline as time goes by. I am getting less fatigue now generally than I used to.

I wonder if it has something to do with generalised inflammation. It's possible that diet and natural supplements might help to keep the inflammation down. (I am not good with diets, but regularly do eat healthy food, except for some treats...)
I have to be careful with supplements because I have IBS. But maybe you might be interested in some of them to try?

[auntiejessi]

I have IBS, and everything seems to set me off. I'd be really interested.

Thanks :)

[orphanedhawk]

I had covid~ the delta~ in September. I took a mushroom extract which I think helped with my brain fog and fatigue. Vitamin B is good for fatigue too.  Eat well, exercise and drink lots of water while caring for yourself. There are long haulers but two months doesn't seem that long to me. Goodluck

[auntiejessi]

I know - the 4 week mark seems really fast to me, too. Clinically, that's what it is, but I didn't give it much thought at all at that point.

I've just started taking Vit B, so we'll see how that goes. I'll look into the mushroom extract. Thanks :)

[AnxiousNoMore]

I would get a blood test to see if I had a B deficiency before I started popping supplements. There are more hospitalizations from overdoses of vitamins than from deficiencies. Side Effects of Vitamin B1 (Thiamine) Overdose Although rare, a vitamin B1 overdose can cause severe symptoms, such as a rapid and irregular heartbeat, low blood pressure, convulsions, and cardiac problems.

[AnnieBrooke]

Isn't vitamin B water soluble? It seems like you'd have to REALLY manage to overdose on it in some way (such as, taking prescription thiamine isolated from a general vitamin B over-the-counter pill) for the excess not to just leave your body.  It's the fat-soluble vitamins (E, A) that are more dangerous in terms of the casual at-home user getting overdoses, I think.

[AnxiousNoMore]

There was only 1 death from B overdoses in 2012 however 55k cases so it must stay in the system long enough to register as an OD. I would test before taking any B supplement, otherwise how do you know how much if any, that your levels have elevated after you start taking it? I also see this "Seek immediate medical attention if you think you’re experiencing symptoms of a vitamin B complex overdose. You should also check in with your doctor if you’ve been taking supplements without having a diagnosed deficiency. Taking too much vitamin B complex long-term can lead to nerve damage."

[auntiejessi]

YES. I had covid around Christmas, and have fatigue, too. So much fatigue.

I'm just so tired, all the time. :(

I'm sorry you're experiencing it, too.

[AnxiousNoMore]

Scientific American "Researchers who study long COVID, which has been estimated to afflict about 14 to 30 percent of people infected with the coronavirus, say that because Omicron appeared so recently, they can make only educated guesses about its long-term impact. But the scientists note there are reasons to be both cautiously optimistic and very concerned."

[AnxiousNoMore]

Covid is very unpredictable so it is not possible to know how long you will have those issues.
Your symptoms have lasted more than a month so you are commonly referred to as a long-hauler and there are many others. There are long-hauler support groups and some doctors treat or study this phenomenon so you might consider those options for information too.

[auntiejessi]

Oh wow - I wouldn't have considered myself a long hauler yet. Good to know. Thanks.

[AnxiousNoMore]

Pre-Omicron it was estimated that something like 30% of Covid infected (that includes people who were asymptomatic or had mild symptoms for the first weeks) were long haulers - I don't know if that ratio holds with this variant.
I assume that most pro athletes had minor issues that wouldn't go away because there are very few professional athletes out of thousands who got it who have had to give up their sport for any long period of time - and as far as I know that tiny group of seriously afflicted long haulers  got back into shape within a year. Not much info on that though, so that's why I have all the guesses. Here's a 10 month old article listing only a few. https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2021/04/19/athletes-long-haul-covid-justin-foster/

[AnxiousNoMore]

In case I was unclear, I was trying to say that many pro athletes got it but very few had to take a month off, so if the 30% also applied to them, then lots must have very minor symptoms that have allowed them to keep playing their grueling matches. So I've been guessing that long haulers must include a high % of people with very minor issues - unlike your fatigue.

[auntiejessi]

That makes sense. I guess I always thought of long haulers of people with really serious stuff - breathing issues, etc. I didn't think of it as fatigue and back pain (though I'm sure CallaLily's back pain is miserable).

Maybe because most of us were vaxxed and the original variant and Delta had worse symptoms than Omicron, their long haul symptoms are worse.

This fatigue sucks, though.

[auntiejessi]

THanks for the info. :)