I can’t taste or smell anything

[Bruce Stephens]

Speaking to a respiratory consultant a few weeks ago, I asked how things were at the hospital (a regional specialist respiratory unit). She responded that whilst they were still seeing patients with covid, they were tending to have serious comorbidities and that their pressures, at that point, were from people with influenza.

And to reduce pressure from influenza you'd want people to do pretty much the same things they'd do to reduce Covid. (You'd add washing hands and things but we've been told to do that for Covid too, so not really a difference.)

I guess you might also urge people to get a flu vaccine (which any adult can get if they're willing and able to pay).

 

[AndBreathe]

And to reduce pressure from influenza you'd want people to do pretty much the same things they'd do to reduce Covid. (You'd add washing hands and things but we've been told to do that for Covid too, so not really a difference.)

I guess you might also urge people to get a flu vaccine (which any adult can get if they're willing and able to pay).

I wouldn't push against decent, polite health hygiene.

I do object to trying to hoodwink people, at the highest level.

 

[Bruce Stephens]

I wouldn't push against decent, polite health hygiene.

I do object to trying to hoodwink people, at the highest level.

While some of the news stories have stressed the Covid numbers as being bigger, quite a bit of the messaging seems to be that flu is more significant, or that it's this combination (so flu hitting at the same time as stress with Covid).

What bothers me more is that mainstream news (in particular the BBC) has been so quiet about the disastrous state of A&E, commonly talking about it in the context of strike action (when the problems were building long before). There are (again) oxygen shortages, and winter has barely begun.

Meanwhile the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care tweets about getting people running. (Which is of value. It just doesn't feel like it should be the only thing he ought to be commenting on.)

 

[SunflowerMama]

So I have been suffering for a few days with a cold and also constipation. I’ve lost my appetite completely but realised when I ate my porridge this morning it tasted of nothing at all. My perfume has no smell and neither does my vanilla scented candle. I have a really awful cough that keeps me awake and feel exhausted. Surely it can’t be another bout of Covid? I haven’t got any tests and by the time I feel well enough to pop to the shop I will probably be negative anyway. Is it possible to get Covid when you only had it 3 months ago and have had 4 vaccines ? Also I feel so rubbish if this is Covid then thank god I have been vaccinated

Checked my food intake for yesterday and it was only 409 calories for the whole day. I am basically sleeping or coughing

Yes, I know 3 people who had it in 6 weeks or less after a previous strain.

 

[AndBreathe]

While some of the news stories have stressed the Covid numbers as being bigger, quite a bit of the messaging seems to be that flu is more significant, or that it's this combination (so flu hitting at the same time as stress with Covid).

What bothers me more is that mainstream news (in particular the BBC) has been so quiet about the disastrous state of A&E, commonly talking about it in the context of strike action (when the problems were building long before). There are (again) oxygen shortages, and winter has barely begun.

Meanwhile the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care tweets about getting people running. (Which is of value. It just doesn't feel like it should be the only thing he ought to be commenting on.)

Flu is also so prevalent, at least in a part which should not be ignored, due to immunity deficits caused by the serial and extended periods of isolation mandated in lockdown.

I'm not saying things aren't bad, and I am certainly not trivialising anyone's illness or any loss experience by anyone during those heavy weather days, but I do have to say I think that much of this was absolutely foreseeable.

Again, I am not a covid nay-sayer or an anti-vaxer. Properly researched and understood vaccines should to those who consent to have them. People should not have been essentially held to ransom having them, or not.

So much of our individual and shared worlds have been seismically shifted in the last 3 years, in ways we will never ben able to reverse.

Anyway, that is my last on the subject.

@Jenny65 , I do hope you are beginning to feel better and that full health returns for you soon.

 

[Jenny65]

Flu is also so prevalent, at least in a part which should not be ignored, due to immunity deficits caused by the serial and extended periods of isolation mandated in lockdown.

I'm not saying things aren't bad, and I am certainly not trivialising anyone's illness or any loss experience by anyone during those heavy weather days, but I do have to say I think that much of this was absolutely foreseeable.

Again, I am not a covid nay-sayer or an anti-vaxer. Properly researched and understood vaccines should to those who consent to have them. People should not have been essentially held to ransom having them, or not.

So much of our individual and shared worlds have been seismically shifted in the last 3 years, in ways we will never ben able to reverse.

Anyway, that is my last on the subject.

@Jenny65 , I do hope you are beginning to feel better and that full health returns for you soon.

Thank you @AndBreathe, I seem to alternate at the moment, I feel fine then night time descends and I spend it coughing away, so tired I basically fall asleep and am aware I am coughing sporadically then falling back to sleep, feel sorry for my neighbours as I know the walls are not that sound proofed as when one of our neighbours had COPD I used to listen to his morning coughing like clockwork, I imagine they are hoping I will get well soon as the coughing fits are normally between midnight and 5am, I am currently feeling a lot better, still have a sharp painful lump on my right had side of my throat, but again like the coughing it seems to come on and off, I am chewing sugar free gum to keep myself swallowing and drinking lots of water too.

My weight loss has now stabilised, I initially had a big drop when I was unwell and lost my appetite but now its seems to like where it is but I am OK with that. Still constipated, this is now day 11, although I went partially 4 days ago, I could tell there was more, I am taking Morvical but its not doing anything so far, my food order is coming today and I have some of the fibre supplements mentioned on this thread but if it gets to 2 weeks without any movement I will go to my doctor as its quite concerning that I have gone from 4-6 times a day, to once every 10+ days, even thought I am eating less, I am still eating my porridge and a lot of vegetables so would have thought it would keep me regular. In the back of my mind, my dads bowel cancer keeps coming up, but he wasnt constipated, quite the opposite and lots of stomach cramping and blood, whereas when I went it was bright red blood and only a smidgen, my dads was like ribena and lots of it (sorry if TMI). On the other side of this is my mum, who had similar symptoms to me, constipation, etc, and she had ovarian cancer! (my sister also had this) so again my thought process is thinking, is it my time? My mum had it in her 70s and my sister had it in her late 30s, started of in her cervix, although my mums I believe was linked to HRT, she was on it since the age of 50 for 20 odd years and there is a link with Ovarian cancer and HRT (they dont recommend taking it for more than 5 years now), My sisters was caused by HPV so I am guessing both of these cancers were not hereditary, but it still concerns me.

I bet you wish you hadn't asked now 🙂 Anyway despite all this, I am feeling positive today, some new dresses arrived courtesy of Chelsea Peers, I have got a beautiful jump suit, velour, black with bright flowers, wide legs and super comfy! also got 2 dresses for work from ASOS and a couple of PJs in the Chelsea Peers sale 🙂 Nothing like a bit of online retail therapy to help you bounce back is there x

 

[Deleted member 21371]

Thank you @AndBreathe, I seem to alternate at the moment, I feel fine then night time descends and I spend it coughing away, so tired I basically fall asleep and am aware I am coughing sporadically then falling back to sleep, feel sorry for my neighbours as I know the walls are not that sound proofed as when one of our neighbours had COPD I used to listen to his morning coughing like clockwork, I imagine they are hoping I will get well soon as the coughing fits are normally between midnight and 5am, I am currently feeling a lot better, still have a sharp painful lump on my right had side of my throat, but again like the coughing it seems to come on and off, I am chewing sugar free gum to keep myself swallowing and drinking lots of water too.

My weight loss has now stabilised, I initially had a big drop when I was unwell and lost my appetite but now its seems to like where it is but I am OK with that. Still constipated, this is now day 11, although I went partially 4 days ago, I could tell there was more, I am taking Morvical but its not doing anything so far, my food order is coming today and I have some of the fibre supplements mentioned on this thread but if it gets to 2 weeks without any movement I will go to my doctor as its quite concerning that I have gone from 4-6 times a day, to once every 10+ days, even thought I am eating less, I am still eating my porridge and a lot of vegetables so would have thought it would keep me regular. In the back of my mind, my dads bowel cancer keeps coming up, but he wasnt constipated, quite the opposite and lots of stomach cramping and blood, whereas when I went it was bright red blood and only a smidgen, my dads was like ribena and lots of it (sorry if TMI). On the other side of this is my mum, who had similar symptoms to me, constipation, etc, and she had ovarian cancer! (my sister also had this) so again my thought process is thinking, is it my time? My mum had it in her 70s and my sister had it in her late 30s, started of in her cervix, although my mums I believe was linked to HRT, she was on it since the age of 50 for 20 odd years and there is a link with Ovarian cancer and HRT (they dont recommend taking it for more than 5 years now), My sisters was caused by HPV so I am guessing both of these cancers were not hereditary, but it still concerns me.

I bet you wish you hadn't asked now 🙂 Anyway despite all this, I am feeling positive today, some new dresses arrived courtesy of Chelsea Peers, I have got a beautiful jump suit, velour, black with bright flowers, wide legs and super comfy! also got 2 dresses for work from ASOS and a couple of PJs in the Chelsea Peers sale 🙂 Nothing like a bit of online retail therapy to help you bounce back is there x

Ask for a bowel cancer test.
I had two last year, one was elective, then repeated later in the year when I hit the magic age for a whole life mot.
Both were clear.
I also asked for a prostate cancer test, again clear I'm pleased to say.

 

[Deleted member 21371]

While some of the news stories have stressed the Covid numbers as being bigger, quite a bit of the messaging seems to be that flu is more significant, or that it's this combination (so flu hitting at the same time as stress with Covid).

What bothers me more is that mainstream news (in particular the BBC) has been so quiet about the disastrous state of A&E, commonly talking about it in the context of strike action (when the problems were building long before). There are (again) oxygen shortages, and winter has barely begun.

Meanwhile the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care tweets about getting people running. (Which is of value. It just doesn't feel like it should be the only thing he ought to be commenting on.)

I'm just in a hospital, (not for me), but chatting to a consultant, yes, it is unpredictable.
Not covid, not flu, just this coughing/cold type virus, and the local flooding are causing the issues.
Covid and winter flu are fairly well factored in, these two have been the curve balls.

 

[AndBreathe]

Thank you @AndBreathe, I seem to alternate at the moment, I feel fine then night time descends and I spend it coughing away, so tired I basically fall asleep and am aware I am coughing sporadically then falling back to sleep, feel sorry for my neighbours as I know the walls are not that sound proofed as when one of our neighbours had COPD I used to listen to his morning coughing like clockwork, I imagine they are hoping I will get well soon as the coughing fits are normally between midnight and 5am, I am currently feeling a lot better, still have a sharp painful lump on my right had side of my throat, but again like the coughing it seems to come on and off, I am chewing sugar free gum to keep myself swallowing and drinking lots of water too.

My weight loss has now stabilised, I initially had a big drop when I was unwell and lost my appetite but now its seems to like where it is but I am OK with that. Still constipated, this is now day 11, although I went partially 4 days ago, I could tell there was more, I am taking Morvical but its not doing anything so far, my food order is coming today and I have some of the fibre supplements mentioned on this thread but if it gets to 2 weeks without any movement I will go to my doctor as its quite concerning that I have gone from 4-6 times a day, to once every 10+ days, even thought I am eating less, I am still eating my porridge and a lot of vegetables so would have thought it would keep me regular. In the back of my mind, my dads bowel cancer keeps coming up, but he wasnt constipated, quite the opposite and lots of stomach cramping and blood, whereas when I went it was bright red blood and only a smidgen, my dads was like ribena and lots of it (sorry if TMI). On the other side of this is my mum, who had similar symptoms to me, constipation, etc, and she had ovarian cancer! (my sister also had this) so again my thought process is thinking, is it my time? My mum had it in her 70s and my sister had it in her late 30s, started of in her cervix, although my mums I believe was linked to HRT, she was on it since the age of 50 for 20 odd years and there is a link with Ovarian cancer and HRT (they dont recommend taking it for more than 5 years now), My sisters was caused by HPV so I am guessing both of these cancers were not hereditary, but it still concerns me.

I bet you wish you hadn't asked now 🙂 Anyway despite all this, I am feeling positive today, some new dresses arrived courtesy of Chelsea Peers, I have got a beautiful jump suit, velour, black with bright flowers, wide legs and super comfy! also got 2 dresses for work from ASOS and a couple of PJs in the Chelsea Peers sale 🙂 Nothing like a bit of online retail therapy to help you bounce back is there x

Jenny, aside from the usual examinations and undercarriage ultrasonic scans there is a straightforward test they can do which identifies certain cancer antigens. It is a CA 125 test.

To be clear, the CA125 test is not definitive, and not enough in itself to discount or confirm ovarian cancer, but it can be a useful and simple part of a jigsaw.

With your family history are you on any form of enhanced monitoring?

 

[Leadinglights]

When I was a kid I was fine during the day but would cough all night so was exhausted so was kept off school.
Sometimes increasing the humidity in your bedroom can help with a cough or Olbus oil on your pillow or Vicks on your chest. Viruses can cause loss of taste, and smell for quite a long time, I suffered for months and also had a continual runny nose and more specifically everything tasted horrible, I was overdosing on antihistamines. It was my dentist who referred me to a ENT specialist but he couldn't suggest anything other than time. It did eventually come back.

 

[Jenny65]

Jenny, aside from the usual examinations and undercarriage ultrasonic scans there is a straightforward test they can do which identifies certain cancer antigens. It is a CA 125 test.

To be clear, the CA125 test is not definitive, and not enough in itself to discount or confirm ovarian cancer, but it can be a useful and simple part of a jigsaw.

With your family history are you on any form of enhanced monitoring?

No monitoring as both were not considered genetic, my mums caused by the HRT and my sisters by the HPV virus, my sister is fine now, she had a total hysterectomy and still alive and well (she will be 60 in May) Sadly my mums went to her lymph nodes and she has died, but not sure if it was the cancer or the Alzheimer's, she lost the ability to swallow which her consultant said could have been caused by the lymph node in her throat or Alzheimer's, one blessing is she was totally unaware of her cancer, on the morning after her operation she asked why she was there, as had forgotten about the hysterectomy and cancerl, she wasnt in pain and was a happy person on the whole, she told me she didnt know who I was but knew she loved me, she also used to sing songs, remembered all the lyrics but on being shown a photo of my

 

[Jenny65]

Living life on the edge today, after a terrible nights sleep and having no pain meds or anything in my local stores, and with a painful throat after coughing all night, I decided to take the risk of have a teaspoon of cough medicine that contains sugar, I was desperate for some relief and thought, yes it will raise my BG but its a small temporary situation and I have an online meeting shortly where I need to be able to speak and not sound like a croaky frog! 🙂

 

[Deleted member 21371]

Living life on the edge today, after a terrible nights sleep and having no pain meds or anything in my local stores, and with a painful throat after coughing all night, I decided to take the risk of have a teaspoon of cough medicine that contains sugar, I was desperate for some relief and thought, yes it will raise my BG but its a small temporary situation and I have an online meeting shortly where I need to be able to speak and not sound like a croaky frog! 🙂

A teaspoon of sugar won't raise your BG by enough to worry about in the grand scheme.
Sometimes you just have to balance all your conditions out though, regardless.

 

[Leadinglights]

Living life on the edge today, after a terrible nights sleep and having no pain meds or anything in my local stores, and with a painful throat after coughing all night, I decided to take the risk of have a teaspoon of cough medicine that contains sugar, I was desperate for some relief and thought, yes it will raise my BG but its a small temporary situation and I have an online meeting shortly where I need to be able to speak and not sound like a croaky frog! 🙂

Better to treat the cough than worry about a miniscule temporary rise in blood glucose.

 

[Deleted member 21371]

With your amazing weight loss, it's likely your insulin resistance and insulin response has picked up so much you will be able to handle carbs very much better as well.