Is it possible to be suffering from long COVID when I’ve never had COVID?

It is really interesting to read about symptoms at the end of 2019. I was very poorly and tested positive for a chest infection (positive for what, never found out) at the end of 2019, prescribed antibiotics and which took weeks to clear. I have often wondered whether it was covid.
Anyway, I have it again. Tested positive 7 days ago. Feel horrible bad cough, aching legs, no energy. Had all the vaccinations and a flu jab.
Drs appointment for next Monday for bloods. We will see.
Hope you soon feel better Luckylegs.

If we now have to "live with covid" & generally 'get back to normal' (just so Boris &his cronies can have parties & jollies without recriminations) then doesn't that mean that our gp surgeries should be FULLY opened & back to normal appts now??

Luckylegs, it's entirely possible you caught covid before any testing was available so you might well be suffering long covid.
I've posted previously that was my situation and, bizarre though it sounds, was actually pleased when I got a bad dose of shingles as it was recognisable, physical symptoms saying there was something wrong.
Current scientific thinking seems to predict a wave of long covid related conditions, which is bloody terrifying really as it's so random and can affect so many different organs - the most frightening being possible brain shrinkage with loss of function mimicking some aspects of Alzheimer's.
There really isn't a lot of help out there apart from non medical long covid support groups and your own research about it. One piece of advice that works for me, 2 years on, is pace yourself and please don't do too much.
It's so easy to think 'ooh I don't feel too bad today' and go at stuff as normal, especially if you're normally very active. You WILL feel it twice as bad the next day. And try not to get too down. It does make physical, chemical changes in the brain that can result in very strange, low moods completely different to depression.
It takes a long time but, in my case, I'm gradually getting better and, if it's any use to anyone I've been helped by a concoction I make of raw fresh ginger, apples, apple cider vinegar and, most important, black nigella seeds whizzed up in a nutribullet or blender. The black nigella seeds have a property that disrupts the virus' protein spikes making it less easy for it to get a grip in the blood vessel linings (the endothelium).
Good luck in coping with it.

I was going to suggest could be fibromyalgia? You really need a drs appt-even if its a telephone call only.Does your surgery do those? I was very ill in december 2019 and gp nurse says it could well have been undiagnosed covid before we all realised it was a 'thing' and yes im left with long covid symptoms- but if you had had it bad i think you'd know- i was very ill and went hospital twice- in end i got antivirals given anyway which probably saved me- i was still ages getting over it though and have long covid symptoms.But as it was'nt recognised as it back then its hard to get follow up! As some have said you could have had it mildly & thought it a cold or allergies etc.But best to get gp appt as the headaches every day need investigating.Try increase your water intake in meantime- dehydration can cause headaches &lethargy too.

My gp waffled on about how people had done a lot less during lockdown, which had impacted their fitness, and then they felt tired.
A very good point, but I worked throughout lockdown, doing more than usual.

He ordered a full blood count and then said he couldn't help me.

My health has got steadily worse since.

Is it possible for you to get an appointment with an optician?

I would start there as headaches every afternoon could well mean that either the glasses you have are the wrong strength, if you already use them, or that you need glasses.

Other relatively harmless reasons for headaches, and sorry if I am stating the obvious, is being in rooms that are not aired properly once a day, a blocked heating duct or ventilator, depending on what kind of heating you have, or a build up of dust and fluff down the backs of radiators.

Headaches and aches and pains generally could be caused by an allergy, but you do need a doctor to diagnose the reason for all this.

DH and I have just had a week of feeling tired out, sleeping for a couple of hours more than usual and general lassitude.

Like you we are fully vaccinated against covid 19 and flu and have had neither that we know of. Our tiredness, or at least mine seems to be wearing off again, so I hope yours will too.

But for your own peace of mind, continue to try to get an appointment with your GP.

MissAdventure

Just before covid came along, there was a thread on here where lots of people were saying they had something horrible, that was more than a cold, and went on for ages.
I wonder if some of us had it then?

I think they do rehab type stuff with long covid patients - in these lovely all singing, all dancing centres that I've read about.

I have been saying for a long time that I think Covid was here at the end of 2019. I, and several other people l know had a horrendous virus at that time. It was all on the chest and as I am asthmatic was very unpleasant. I remember the posts here about the same time.

As it is, I now officially have Covid and it is like a common cold, except that I am exhausted with it. Thanks to the vaccinations, it is more of a nuisance; a minor illness to be got through. I felt far worse with the kidney infection l had a few weeks ago.

GagaJo

I am plagued by sinus headaches. They often take the form of a headache in the middle of the day.

Pain at the back of my neck, over one eye, across my nose and sometimes along my cheekbones too.

If I sleep with my head slightly more propped up at night, have the window open and use decongestants and painkillers, sometimes I can get rid of them for weeks at a time. But they take a while to respond. I'm in the middle of a batch of them at the moment. I think it's a combination of factors. Sinuses. Cluster headaches. Hayfever/allergies of some sort.

I know the theory is, go to the GP, but I've had this off and on my whole adult life, and the GP has never been able to help.

My chums had very similar story.
She was told to lay off Dairy /Lactose to see if it improves, it did and she been fine now for several years.
Worth a go.. Nothing ventured etc

All viruses can cause various symptoms that linger, sometimes for years. ME is supposed to be a viral reaction so yes you could be suffering from a Long Virus reaction.

I have had a cough now for over seven years and it does get me down sometimes, especially when I get no sleep for nights on end. It's been investigated in every possible way and there is no explanation as to why it started, the only thing that calms it down are steroids but that only lasts a few weeks.

Nobody is trying to be a doctor.
We're just mulling over some ideas.

Gingster my legs feel exactly the same.
I walk for 2 mins or so and I have to rest.

It sounds as though you need to see a doctor, persevere with asking, even if it takes several days, send a letter, phone, email, do what it takes. With due respect to netters we are not your doctor! Even if we were medics we don’t know your history and can’t examine you. I could recommend all sorts of things but what is the point? Take care! Good luck!

My husband has been very lethargic, achey heavy legs, no motivation , no energy for a long time now!
He was a keen sportsman, played golf 3 times a week, tennis etc. he is 72.
Never tested positive but we do wonder!
He has had blood tests which showed nothing!
He won’t go back to the docs! ?

You can only have LC if you’ve had the virus but you may have been Asymptomatic, 30% of people who have had covid didn’t know they had had it, have you had your blood checked for antibodies.

Do not ignore symptoms such as what your experiencing, it could be loads of other pointers.

Sorry to hear this. Ask for a GP referral for a full blood count including vitamins and minerals.

Some of what you describe sounds like my Mum’s symptoms. She has heart issues. I’m no doctor!

Headaches sound like dehydration experiment by upping your fluids. Drink twice as much as you normally do.

I don't want to scare monger but please do not ignore the symptoms. -please get yourself checked as the headaches and tiredness could be a reaction to the vaccine. I had no side effects but my brother died due to the reaction to the vaccine. the last symptoms were extreme tiredness. When in intensive care the hospital stated he'd had at least 3 bleeds on the brain. the serious side effects are rare but can happen.

Have you ever had your thyroid levels checked.? Your symptoms could fit with low thyroid levels, worth a check and easily sorted.

Ah ...a good question and something I have been thinking myself .....every tie I travel anywhere (with or without PCR and LFT) when I come back I feel awful .......just, for instance, come back from Lanzorote .....now have been ill for four weeks with a chest infection (I think !) had antibiotics, cough mixture, energy tablets and ony today am I feeling a bit better .....aching all over, hot sweats, aaargh ! awful .....came back from Norway last November and felt ill also ....but I think it could be the air on planes that does it ! Especially this time, when masks were not being worn ....due to go to Italy, Ireland (was Russia but obviously not now !) and Canada ....and the US ......now I am worried that when I come back I will feel horrible again ! Not sure how to prevent it ! ah well c'est la vie ! [grin[

I have regular blood tests due to my condition so presumably anything would have shown up

Not necessarily Luckylegs - the hospital consultant may well only ask for some tests to be done checking your condition whereas the GP could ask for a full range of more specific tests which could indicate other problems (or not).

Sorry, I didn't mean to offer a diagnosis. I was more thinking out loud, it seems from posts here it could be anything.I am not a medical professional, but glad you are getting a drs appointment. Good luck and I hope you get the help you need.

You are aware, presumably, that it’s not possible to get through to 111 either?

B9exchange I wasn’t asking for a diagnosis, I was asking for advice or any one feeling the same! I’m quite aware of not doing that. I have regular blood tests due to my condition so presumably anything would have shown up.

Anyway, I’ve got through to the receptionist eventually, at first I just got a message saying the system had a fault. Apparently that’s when they’ve got 20 calls waiting so you just can’t get through at all. The first appointment I can have is 25 April! That will have to do unless I go through it all again every morning.

Please don't ask on here for diagnoses, ring 111 and go through your symptoms with them. If you need an appointment, they should ensure you get one.

Im thinking a thyroid condition, especially Hashimoto's which is an autoimmune condition and runs in families. Apparently Covid tends to attack main organs, the thyroid being one. Some people completely lost thyroid function due to Covid. I would contact your GP and ask for blood tests.

DS has all the symptoms of long covid without ever testing positive, last year he was hospitalised with a racing heart and headaches. He has to wear a heated headband to try and ease the headaches.

shysal

I had similar symptoms when suffering from polymyalgia rheumatica. I suggest you insist on talking to your doctor.
I hope you improve soon.

That was what I was trying to think of shysal