Virus, recovery and PCS symptoms
 

I have a virus (or, as any woman would say, I have 'manflu' :winky: ) which aside from a sore throat and runny nose is basically making me feel like I did 5 months ago (ie like I've lost 5 months of recovery and a load of headaches and brain fog have come back). There's no reason that I can think of that my PCS should have got worse, I've been improving a lot recently.

This has made me a bit anxious so it would be helpful to be reassured that I just have a virus and that when it goes away I will feel as good as I did last weekend again, which was pretty good. So if others have had similar viruses that felt like PCS symptoms, and then recovered back to where they were before the virus, then I would like to hear about it. Thankyou!

Whenever I get a virus my fatigue and brain fog get worse, and then I return back to baseline once I'm healthy again. I can't say that I've felt like I went back 5 months in my recovery due to a virus, but then again, I haven't improved at all in the past 5 months, so that point is kind of moot.

As for the anxiety, the general rule of thumb for any type of anxiety--whether it's OCD or a phobia--is to go toward what you fear rather than to try to run away from it. Our instinct is always to run away, and for good reason: that's how we have survived as a species in the face of actual threats to our life and well being. But when the threat is not imminent and the anxiety becomes chronic or unproductive, one's best bet is to desensitize oneself to the source of one's anxiety. This takes a lot of time and effort, but it works.

So I would suggest that you try accepting the possibility that you might be having a setback--maybe even tell yourself that you definitely are having a setback and that there's nothing you can do about it. It may not work right away in the short run, but as a long-term strategy for dealing with anxiety that's associated with the PCS, acceptance is likely to be more helpful than reassurance and avoidance.

Don't get me wrong; it is absolutely second nature for us to seek reassurance in response to anxiety, and nothing I've said here is intended as any type of criticism of you. Believe me, I know how incredibly difficult it can be to expose ourselves to our fears, even if we only do so in our minds. Nevertheless, it is by far the most effective treatment for just about any type of anxiety.

Ive had a couple of illnesses during the past 9 months of having PCS. The head congestion, runny nose type deal will definetly make you feel foggier, headaches, etc. Once the cold went away, i felt better as well. Back to my baseline. I never felt like i took a permanent step back after getting a virus or sinus infection after it cleared up.

People that dont have PCS and get sinus infections (one example) and congestion often get headaches, feel slower, foggier, run down, fatigued, etc. So it doesnt surprise me to hear that it exacerbates some of your PCS symptoms. Stay well hydrated!! Hopefully you heal quickly!

Yes its very much possible that you think you feel like you did.

I get that way when I don't feel good. Its honestly according
to how sick you get. And what your symptoms are.

I do at times have regressions, were I need some Physical therapy.

But its as much because I was born with a condition needing it.

Donna
:grouphug::hug:

I just recently got over a pretty bad flu...during which I felt horrible and my symptoms definitely flared up. When it was over, I went right back to my regular crap PCS feeling. I don't see why you wouldn't go back to feeling the way you did before the bug, too.

Thankyou VERY MUCH everyone, that is all great to hear. I figured I know anxiety in itself is bad for PCS so your help in reducing it is much appreciated.

That is cool advice! I can handle a relapse, been there before and can do it again - I realise now it was the uncertaintly which was the problem. I'll try and remember that approach for life in general....

I'm glad that you're starting to feel better.

It's interesting that you used the word 'uncertainty'. According to some of the most well-known experts on OCD, the single most important step to beginning treatment is making a decision to accept and live with uncertainty. (Not saying you have OCD, but this applies for a lot of types of anxiety.) And it's probably fair to say that one of the central features of the anxiety-prone personality in general is an intolerance of uncertainty.

This is my first cold since my injury and it is absolutely awful.

Previously colds and the like didn't slow me down at all. But now with the cold symptoms on top of the existing headache and joint pain is soul destroying. May be resistance is thinner now?

sospan wrote:
" May be resistance is thinner now? "
______________________________________

I sense that is the case with me post-injury/PCS these four years now.
All the more reason to keep up with good nutrition, supplements to strengthen our immune system in these winter cold/flu/virus-prone months.

As a personal chef to still-active elders, I have to take extra precautions to maintain my own health, so as to not "bring into their home" anything they could more easily "catch" than many of us here.

I have some tried-and-true-for-me things always in my possession, that have served me very well. If interested, private message me, and I'll be happy to share.

Klaus, in my experience, when I was ill, I like you felt that "everything" was exacerbated/worsened. Once well again, I returned to "baseline" as others above have posted.

Xanadu, your counsel here re: anxiety and our fears is well spoken. It seems somehow in my own life that I've had to desensitize myself to my own-generated worst fears ... by living them through-? as it were! :o

I cannot fathom "living through" another relapse ... thus all the greater need/motivation to genuinely take care of myself while I am "being better, doing better, able to do more" ... e.g. making "down time" for myself ... before it's a "no choice" down-and-out-for-the-count, until I recover again to be able to function.

Thankyou! Though this is rather an old thread. I now no longer feel like I have relapsed when I get ill - and thanks to my healthier post-PCS lifestyle I have only been ill once since I posted this thread in February, and even that was only for a day or two and wasn't that bad.

Not getting ill so often is one of the many improvements to my life which were brought about by the lifestyle changes I needed to make to recover from PCS. I never would have become so health conscious without it, and it feels great :)