Covid and trombone

[tbdana]

Okay, so I had Covid very recently, and it hit me pretty hard. I'm now recovered and testing negative, but I have the typical reported lingering symptoms, primarily brain fog (hard to tell with me, cuz I'm always in a fog ), fatigue, and shortness of breath.

I had taken 10 days off playing due to Covid, but yesterday (Saturday) I had the first orchestra-only rehearsal of Les Misérables. So Friday I picked up my horns for the first time since getting sick, and tried to get my chops back for the rehearsal the next day. It went...okay.

Then, yesterday I went to the rehearsal with tenor trombone, bass trombone, and tuba in tow, and for three hours we read through the book.

OMG. It was like pushing a boulder up a mountain at 20,000 feet with my feet shackled. The fatigue had me wanting to lie down after 20 minutes. But the worst part was that I couldn't get a decent breath to save my life, and I started feeling lightheaded and dizzy because this show is kind of a big blow in places. It got so bad that I just put the tuba down and stopped even trying to play it, and I couldn't get a decent attack and sustain on the bass trombone, and I had to breathe every bar. The tenor trombone was doable, but there's really not much tenor in the show. The contractor and music director said I sounded good, so maybe it wasn't as bad as I felt it was, but it was a pretty bad experience and I left dispirited and depressed.

Has anyone else been through this? What strategies can I employ to mitigate the effects of the lingering symptoms? How long does this last?

Before you ask, no, I'm not still sick. I can't infect anyone. I'm just dealing with the aftermath that has pretty much knocked me on my butt.

Any words of wisdom from those who have been through this?

Thanks.

Les Miz rehearasl.jpg

[Burgerbob]

My first covid infection did basically nothing. I played through the whole thing

My more recent one this year really took it out of me, I also couldn't get a full breath for a couple weeks. Nothing but time is going to make it better.

[Doug Elliott]

I have had covid 3 times and fortunately had no lingering effects. In a general sense with all illnesses, taking time off the horn is not a good idea. You need to breathe, and playing helps get you through and recover.

I think you're just expecting too much too fast. One day and then a rehearsal on 3 big horns... not gonna work.

[tbdana]

Nothing but time is going to make it better.

Yeah, I was afraid you'd say that.

[claf]

I've had covid 3 times (after 3 vaccinations).
Every time I was hit harder than the previous. The last one put me to bed for 4 days, I had trouble walking the stairs for 10 days and could hardly play trombone for 3 weeks (trumpet was doable).
And I'm 35 y o.

[tbdana]

I think you're just expecting too much too fast. One day and then a rehearsal on 3 big horns... not gonna work.

There was no way I could play while I was actively sick. I had a pretty bad case. It really knocked me down. And I'm sure you're right that my expectations were too high. I thought I could just take it easy and it would be okay, but it wasn't.

The problem I have now isn't expectations, it's the requirement of actually performing the music. I guess I'll just approach breathing like voting: do it early and often.

[BGuttman]

My experience from even before COVID was that if you took an extended period off the horn, the first rehearsal back felt pretty good, but the second? Whoa! Nothing works. You can get through it, but you need to work slowly to get the stamina back.

[tbdana]

I've had covid 3 times (after 3 vaccinations).
Every time I was hit harder than the previous. The last one put me to bed for 4 days, I had trouble walking the stairs for 10 days and could hardly play trombone for 3 weeks (trumpet was doable).
And I'm 35 y o.

At least it's good to know I'm not alone, and that others have had to deal with this. Somehow makes it more understandable and easier to deal with.

Doesn't help my performance though!

[chouston3]

The first time I had it, it was brutal. It took me 9 months for my lung capacity to feel normal again. I had to focus on efficiency so I could keep performing.

[atopper333]

I’ve had the thing 4 times. 1 pre-vaccine, 3 post vaccine. The hardest one was the first. Horrible constant headache that made a migraine minor league, excruciating joint pain, shortness in breath, brain fog, fever and chills. Yeah, it was a damn nightmare that knocked me off my feet for twelve days, and honestly, it took months for the long term effects to go away. Nothing but time helped. Some people move through it quickly, others not so much. The odd thing is that I could go a few days to a few weeks and everything felt normal, but out of no where I could climb the same hill or flight of stairs that I’d been fine with dozens of times, and I’d be out of breath, no rhyme or reason to it at all.

The next two times it got and easier. The last was no where near as bad as the first, but was still a pain.

Don’t be discouraged, the body just needs to heal. For me, it was okay to push a bit, you have to stay active, but the body has a way for telling you when you need the rest. More frequency and less duration might help…and then to slowly adjust back to where you were. But given that you have commitments, it’s gonna create a lot of pressure…just remember to take care of yourself cause it always seems to be the natural inclination to just power through and to just ‘deal’ with what happens afterwards!

[WGWTR180]

As others have stated time should take care of your lingering issues. You've also jumped into a show that's a ton of hard playing so keep that in mind. On a side note I just finished an orchestra week with an excellent 2nd trombone player who's been dealing with long covid for over a year. I won't go into all of his health issues to date but to say it's been an uphill battle for him would be an understatement. Just be patient, work on your breathing, and you should be okay.