After not posting anything here for three months, I’m back!
Why was I away for so long? I got a cold and, shortly after that, caught some viral infection or the other. (It wasn’t COVID, Influenza, or RSV; I checked and was also independently tested.)
The time I was absent from here is the time I spent recovering from those illnesses and the post-viral fatigue that followed.
Photo of a medical centre waiting room with comfortable chairs, side tables, and inspirational/advertorial posters about the medical practice hung on the wall.
Post-viral fatigue?
I’ve had COVID-19 only once (at the start of 2024) and that infection seriously messed up my immune system. [1] Now when I get even a mild cold or viral infection, instead of feeling unwell for a few days, I get knocked down hard for, like, six to eight weeks. [2]
During those weeks I tire easily and I get a massive headache every time I concentrate on something for more than an hour or so. That means the most I can do is sit on the sofa, take frequent naps, listen to music, read a book, or watch TV. [3] Anything more than those simple activities requires concentration. I can’t check my emails or browse my RSS feeds, I can’t drive for too long in heavy traffic, I can’t even cook anything more complicated that a fried egg. It is not a fun time.
This was the second bout of post-viral fatigue I’ve been through, so at least this time I knew what was happening. Last time (back in May/June 2024) I kept trying to live my life as normal and almost collapsed from exhaustion while walking the dog! [4]
Road to recovery
Sadly, all you can do when you’re suffering through this type of fatigue is rest, so that’s what I did.
Once you’re a little better, you start gentle physical and mental exercise, ramping this up as you get stronger. I did that too. [5]
Happily, this approach worked – like it did last year as well – and now I’m pretty much back to normal.
I still have some stuff to organise from my end – which I am very much looking forward to blogging about, by the way – but that shouldn’t take too long, so posting will resume here shortly.
Yay!
[1] Regular influenza infections also mess with my immune system, but those effects last only a few months. The effects of the ‘spicy flu’ infection have lasted for a year and half so far. *sigh*
[2] Because my immune system is weak these days, I also catch colds and various types of viruses much more easily. Wearing a high-quality, well-fitted, 5-ply, medical face mask helps – and I do wear one whenever I’m in a medium risk situation – but that’s just a single line of defence against infection. And it doesn’t help that I’m often the only person in a room who is wearing such a mask.
[3] On the up side, I used this time to read a lot of books; catch up on a lot of movies and TV shows; and listen to a lot of music on my new audiophile-grade sound system :)
[4] When this happened I called Nurse-on-Call to get some immediate advice and then I went to see my GP the next morning. My GP got me to do a battery of tests (just in case) but those all came out normal and so post-viral fatigue was declared the cause. Turns out this type of fatigue has become much more common in the “post-COVID” era. Most people who suffer through this fully recover in about six weeks, but if the symptoms last for more than six months, then you might be looking at long COVID or chronic fatigue.
[5] Frustrated by doing nothing but consuming media all day, I figured the way I should gently exercise my brain is by creating media instead. For me that meant finally learning how to play bass guitar :) I’m now halfway through the Beginner to Badass course from BassBuzz. That is an excellent course. 10/10 would recommend.
Photo of the body of an all-black electric bass guitar resting on a guitar stand in a living room in front of a shelf of books.