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Hi guys! Here I am again, still recovering but feeling more like my pre-covid self. It took a while before I got my sense of taste back, but did that stop me from eating.....no it did not as can be plainly seen. I ate anything and everything desperately trying to find what did not taste disgusting or like cardboard and I found it, anything with a heavy tomato sauce, so this is what happens to a person who embarks on a diet of pizza, meatball subs, canned ravioli,spaghetti and icecream for a month. The steroids I was on had me so hungry that it seemed I was constantly eating. Plain cooked meat tasted rotten and would make me gag. My salads and other veggies were just an exercise in chewing and did not ease my hunger, I was just as hungry after eating as I was before I started and it tasted like cardboard. I have never experienced anything like this before in my life! I felt like I was someone trapped in someone else's body. I went back to work after day 5 of covid, I was negative, but it was not done with me. I struggled though the workday....all 4 hours of it and came back home exhausted and starving, every little exertion had me sweating bullets and panting. The addition of wheat back into my diet also triggered sugar binges, I could not taste my coffee so I added sugar, I could taste the sweet. Stevia was bitter. This brought on icecream, I could taste the sweet and it was cold and it was so hot we ate it daily. I was not alone in this, hubby was right there with me. My heart was racing at night, I could not sleep. I ran to see the doctor once a week, they could tell me nothing except be patient, I am not a patient person! I hunted all over the internet and found a few videos that mentioned anti-histimines so I bought some Claritin and started taking it daily, it helped with the brain fog and the inability to focus on a task. I started having some good days, but I still had bad days too. Last week my sense of taste came back and my insatiable hunger subsided. My sense of smell has returned but in a very diminished state, hopefully it will return full force soon. I started taking magnesium and melatonin before bed and I have had a few nights of decent sleep. I can do a days work at the Post Office, but home chores out in the heat still leave me weak, sweating and panting. I have attempted, but am unable to fast, it probably has something to do with my current sugar and bread intake....so I have to start from scratch again, wean myself off of carbs and try to get back on track. This is the first time I have even been concerned about my weight and I am once again in pain with my hip and knee, this morning I tried to ride my bike, it was not happening. So I am going to wean myself first, get some of this inflammation down and try some more. I hope I can get the motivation to continue.
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Debra, I had tested negative for covid, once at home, 3xs at drs. I kept saying I thought I had it but they insisted the drs tests weren't wrong. This was all thru quick care,which is where my Dr was sending me. When I finally got to see my Dr I begged him to do a covid blood test for antibodies. He said no at first but relented when I wouldn't stop asking. It came back at positive. I was so upset for the treatment or lack of that I received.🩷
07 Sep 23 by member: Diana 1234
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Debra, i was put on prednisone now nearly 9 years ago with pulmonary disease. Was on it for better part of 2 years and then off and on as i would have flare ups ever since. (Queue scary music). On came 20 pounds, on came 10 pounds on came a total of 80 pounds over next 8 years. Every time i would have a flare up and a round of prednisone up it went. Ive been flare up free since i retired. Such a helpful evil that med. i also lost my sense of smell way back then as well. If i were to guess i think i can smell maybe 15-20% of what a normal person does which also means my taste buds are limited. It sucks. The things i can really taste and enjoy tend to be salty and sweet. Big no no’s. The good news for you is that you may recover your sense of smell and taste over time. Don’t overdo it. Don’t beat yourself up. Just get back on the bandwagon of taking care of your health and best wishes for your full recovery. Diana, right? You MUST be pushy with drs. Often.
07 Sep 23 by member: Yearofhealth2023
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I fasted till dinner!!!!!!!!!! I am not starving!!!!!!!!! I baked chicken wings and tossed them in Buffalo sauce and made a batch of Coleslaw..without sugar! 8 wings and a cup and a half of slaw yummy! now the wait time till bed-thirty. I'm comfortably full at the moment, I'm not fighting with myself over the stuff in the cupboard, that fight was fought before I left for work, I was not hungry but I was still stalking the cabinets and looking. I very firmly told myself no and got a glass of water, I knew and my body knew it was just the sugar craving looking for another fix. I held my ground. I don't eat at work, never take food there so it was a safe distraction for the 5 hours I was there. Got home, started cooking and ate. So the goal is to get back to my 7 to 7 no eating. I am doing my goals in 12 hour increments right now. I made my first goal to fast till dinner, now I'm gonna work on the second goal of the day, not to eat after 7 pm 😁
07 Sep 23 by member: debrafrederick
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07 Sep 23 by member: LadyinDenim
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07 Sep 23 by member: ZenusWarriorPrincess
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I feel your pain! I was on this app last year, dieting to lose the Prednisone weight prior to having a knee replacement. I was down 35lbs and waiting for clearance by all docs for the surgery. I had 2 TIAs in March 2022 but was told it was vertigo. the following month, a day after my clearance went through, I had an ischemic stroke. let's jump ahead to this year, I was on an infusion for RA, Lupus, that you get IV methylprednisone prior to the drug and then 2 weeks later, same thing again. I got clearance for the knee replacement, and they gave me Prednisone to keep inflammation down with the surgery. I was then due for the next round of infusions, and again, methylprednisone w the Ruxiance. I told the doctor I wanted half the dose, not the full 110mg of methylprednisone, due to the weight gain and issues w steroids. she agreed to try it. had both sets of infusions and had such a reaction! I told her no more, no steroids. I gained that 30+ lbs back and am trying to get it off. Having these conditions, you learn to be your own advocate. I am now trying to ignore the "roid" issues as they are slowly dissipating. I wish you and everyone luck. We all travel a bumpy road and hope we can help each other find the freshly paved portions of the road! Be well and stay positive and strong!
07 Sep 23 by member: Welshwalsh23
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YOH, so good to see you! I did not refresh my page after I typed my last reply so I did not see your post I scrolled backwards and found a couple of posts from you so I know you made it home and are still recovering, but you are back with your babies and sleeping in your own bed and that is something that speeds recovery. It's difficult to do it comfortably when you are in a strange place. Have you ever moved and had issues sleeping in a strange house for a few weeks till you become used to the different sounds in the new house, that is the uneasiness that plagues most humans when they are in a strange place, combine that with major surgery and being separated from your support group (doggos) you can never rest peacefully. So back home, with your babies, and in your own bed you will speed into good health again! You are such a caring person and you look fabulous!!! Thank you for your support I appreciate it and I will know next time I have to go on prednisone what to expect from it....the great thing I noticed while I was taking it....I had NO knee pain or hip pain and my walking gait returned to 2018 normal....but it did not last but a week or so after I finished the dose 😒 I was hoping that something good would come from Covid, like my hip and knee suddenly healing. Folks have told me that if the steroids helped it feel better then it is probably arthritis, I don't know if that is so but I think I will ask my Doc about steroid shots to see if it might help because it was lovely to be pain free there even though I could not enjoy it because of all of the other things I was experiencing. I tend to isolate when I am sick/in pain/going through emotional issues, so I hope you guys understand why I stayed away, I was not in a good place and I did not want to whine to ya'll. Folks here have enough on their plates! I feel better, I have a few annoying lingering issues, but overall I have my cheerfulness back, me without a smile is an awlful thing and you can hear it in my conversation and see it even if I am standing at a counter beaming at you, everyone noticed it was not a real smile and they told me to stop doing it because they could see how I felt just by looking at me. It was so exhausting trying to keep the charade going and I could not manage it here. Thank you guys for all of the support!
07 Sep 23 by member: debrafrederick
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WW23 it is annoying to be crusing along losing weight, attaining goals and suddenly be knocked to your knees by a little tiny something, lose all the ground you gained and have to start over, but that is life right? One step forward and two steps back.....we will trudge through this, just keep trudging
08 Sep 23 by member: debrafrederick
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I know that when you're ready, you'll come roaring back!
08 Sep 23 by member: erikahollister
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I lost my sense of taste and most of the time smell a year ago July, and still it hasn’t returned yet. It’s horrible to not physically taste food, yet my muscle memory can still taste and still causes me to crave foods I can no longer taste. It’s actually quite frustrating.
You’ll get back on track again, just keep doing your best and you’ll achieve it. 😊
09 Sep 23 by member: Val_Lily
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Debra, i am pretty close to back to normal. Tummy is really tight, still wearing compression for a few more months but back to 4-8 miles a day walking and training approved in about 3 more weeks lightly. Question, do you need a hip replacement or knee replacement or both? Have you tried cortisone shots? You will get there. I use this forum to track what is going on with me at a specific time and sometimes just as an outlet. It’s weird to think you have actual “friends” whom we dont know IRL but i truly feel this way about the folks I’ve made connections with on here. This is my first real foray into social media. I dont do facebook, snapchat, TikTok, twitter, twatter, nor twitter. (I made those last 2 up). I signed up for instagram just to follow my surgeon but i have found the interactions on here (FS) are so helpful to me personally and i hope i am able to somehow help someone else in return. You’ve got this journey my friend. You deserve to feel your best. We all do. It’s a gift that will keep rewarding you/us for the rest of our lives. So glad you are back!
09 Sep 23 by member: Yearofhealth2023
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Actually YOH, as far as my knee and hip goes, after someone said that if the prednisone made it go away it's probably arthritis....well I took 800 MG of ibuprofen all at once and it got better add two tylenol and it went away all together. Two ibuprofen does nothing for it, but that is all I would allow myself to take. See, I'm stubborn too when it come to pain meds, even over the counter ones. So I am going to ask Doc on my next visit....in six months, they are sick of me right now if I can get cortisone shots if the ibuprofen and tylenol combo stops working. So, I just discovered the combo works today and I have been zipping around town doing shopping and errands and not limping one bit. I know about the real connections here and I feel bad that I isolated while I was feeling so bad, but it was not just here that I ducked out on. My long distance family in Texas did not hear from me, FB did not hear from me, I cancelled my appointment with the vein specialist....well because I was activly contagious at the time, but I did not reschedule. While we were actively ill, the dogs stayed next door in my Mom's house and we would disinfect, glove and mask up and go let them out and at feeding and meds times. That only lasted a week thank goodness, poor babies, but I did not want them to get sick too and I was told they could. If I could have stayed home from work after the active virus was gone, I would have, but the days of getting a 4 week pass because of Covid at the Post Office are long gone, I didn't get special treatment like they did in 2021 when it really hit this area, back then if anyone in your household had it you were quarantined for no less than 10 days. Bleh! whatever. I didn't catch it back then and I'm glad for it. I will try to be more sensitive in the future and at least check in each week if I feel the need to isolate again. I just hate spreading woe and when I don't feel good....woe is me! I'm glad you are bouncing back and I'm glad I'm joining you! It's cooler and beautiful here right now and while I was out and about I had the windows down and Jimmy Buffett playing loud and I was seat dancing to the music.....so in my world, that means all is well 😁
09 Sep 23 by member: debrafrederick
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Yikes. I’m so sorry to hear what you’ve gone through. I also had an issue with heart racing after covid. It lasted about 5-6 weeks of constant high heart rate and then after that it gradually went down and then started to happen only with certain triggers. It was terrifying to me those first few weeks, I thought I was going to be stuck like that. Doctors kept telling me it was just anxiety but they were wrong. The constant tachycardia caused anxiety, not the other way around. All in I’d say it took me about 6 months to feel like I was completely back to normal. If you are interested I can share the exercise program I followed during that time, I believe very strongly that’s a big part ofwhat helped me gradually get my health back, along with very clean eating.
09 Sep 23 by member: ddrudd
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Thanks Ddrudd! The magnesium has worked wonders for lowering my heart rate, and getting good deep sleep for the past week and a half has turned me around completely. Now my heart rate only jumps up if I am over-heated and exerting myself outside. We are not cleaning up after a tropical storm anymore and the weather has cooled slightly, Highs in the low 90's instead of 101 plus the heat index...ugh, like breathing with a wet towel wrapped around your face. I got pain free knees and hips again today with OTC pain meds....which I had never tried previously so I got a nice 1/2 mile walk in, it was quite pleasant. I'm thinking I may be able to ride my bike in the morning and do my regular yoga. I'm gonna leave off the weights workout for another week, but those two I can do I believe, with the help of the ibuprofen and tylenol. I have always looked at pain meds as an unnecessary crutch that I did not need.....boy, after the months of hobbling around with a sore hip which caused me to damage my knees...seems kind of silly of me in hindsight, but we march forward....I don't have to trudge today, I can march!
09 Sep 23 by member: debrafrederick
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I’m glad the magnesium has helped! Try and ease back into exercise, take it slow maybe for a little longer than you feel like you need to.
09 Sep 23 by member: ddrudd
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