My Post-COVID Adventures: How I Am Doing

After having a 12 day bout of COVID early on in the pandemic, I suffered for months with uncomfortable symptoms. They all ranged in severity, frequency and prominence.

Bottom line- it was not fun! Read on if you want to know how I am doing now.

The acute phase of my COVID infection

It all started in late February. I started getting these waves of really mild aches in my body- so light that I didn’t know if it was actually something or nothing. This was eventually accompanied by some teeth pressure a few hours later.

Not only did I think/know I was getting sick, I also had this dark and ominous feeling. Like some kind of horrible shift was going to happen in life. This feeling occurred before I even read about COVID. I don’t know where it came from.

My symptoms began to progress after about two days. The aches worsened and other discomforts came along. The following are all of the symptoms that I dealt with:

• Body aches
• Stomach cramps/nausea
• No appetite
• Things didn’t taste right or good
• Stuffed up and runny nose
• Headaches
• Fatigue
• Weakness
• Lightheadedness
• Sometimes scratchy/tickly throat
• Chills with no fever
• High heart rate (at the end of the acute phase)

I don’t know if all of this would be considered a mild or moderate infection but it definitely was not fun. I didn’t think I was going to die like I did when I had Influenza type A though. That was horrific to say the least.

I was so lucky that my husband was happily doing all of the cares for our son during the time I was sick. Neither of them ever got sick from me and I believe it is because they already had it. Or maybe they were just lucky?

After recovering from the acute phase-I was so happy to be back to feeling like myself again. Little did I know that things would get weird for me in a week or so.

My post-COVID adventures

About a week after recovering, I started noticing that my chest didn’t feel right. It was really tight and like someone was sitting on it. This confused and scared me.

After a couple days of the tight chest, a whole slew of other symptoms came into the mix. When it comes to typing out all of these symptoms, I organize them by acute and chronic. This is due to part of my post-COVID experience being much worse.

So without further ado, here are all of the lovely things I have dealt with after having COVID-19:

The acute phase(end of March-September)-

• Bad ear aches*
• Shortness of breath*
• chills with no fever*
• Clogged ears
• Popping in ears
• Tinnitus
• Insomnia
• Adrenalin rushes when drifting off to sleep*
• Increased heart rate
• Sweaty feet
• Bouts of pink eye
• Itchy eyes and eye lids
• Rashes
• Mottled skin
• Feeling cold in hot weather
• Weight loss
• Headaches
• Incontinence
• Lightheadedness and dizziness
• Tickly or scratchy throat
• Chest pain*
• Post nasal drip
• Itchy nose
• Runny nose

The chronic phase (October and on)-

• Stomach pains
• Elevated temperature when taken at my neck glands
• Chest pain*
• Headaches*
• Bouts of shortness of breath
• Itchy nose
• Post nasal drip
• Tinnitus
• Tickly or scratchy throat

The symptoms I listed for each phase were not constant and at the same time. They were frequent enough (especially in the acute phase) to be quite bothersome in my daily life. The ones with the asterisks by them were the worst ones for me during the phases.

In February and March, I got vaccinated (Moderna). My second shot led to me feeling as if I had gotten COVID all over again except with even worse body aches. It was really upsetting to me and I actually cried a couple times because I thought I took big steps back in my recovery.

How I am doing now

About 12 days after my Moderna, I felt so much better and it has continued on. It has been amazing!. I thought that I was going to be stuck with the rough side effects forever.

The chest pains were the worst part of my post-COVID adventures and I was so glad that they went away-and have stayed away!

The one thing I have had since mid March has been some bouts of shortness of breath the day before my period starts. That is the only time it happens though so I am happy about that. Before, it was at least every other day where I had bouts of it.

The vaccine has been helping some people with post-COVID symptoms get better but I am not sure if that is what helped me or if it was just time. I have the same feeling when it comes to whether all of the supplements I was taking helped me.

What you can do if you are suffering

If you have recovered from a COVID-19 infection and are experiencing some unpleasant symptoms, you are not alone. Many people are complaining of lingering symptoms after the acute phase of their infection.

All viruses have the potential to cause lasting damage but it seems that it is more likely with COVID-19.

The unfortunate thing is that there is no known cure or good treatment that we know of yet for post-COVID syndrome. Scientists and medical researchers are still looking into all of this.

The following are some things that you can do if you are suffering:

• Contact a doctor: It is a good idea to get in touch with a doctor and explain your symptoms to them. They can take a look at various things, run some tests and come up with a plan for you if something is found. If a doctor is not listening to you and tries to brush your suffering, think about contacting another doctor that may listen to you.
• Reach out to family and friends: It is important to have some social support during your rough patch. If you have good people in your life, call/text/Zoom them once in a while.
• Join support groups: There are quite a few support groups for people suffering from lasting effects of the virus. If you find yourself having a rough time mentally when part of a group, it is best to stop visiting it for a while. You don’t need another bad thing on your plate.
• Breathing exercises: If you are having shortness of breath, it may be a good idea to look into the various breathing exercises out there. These can help so much if this is one of your post-COVID struggles.
• Pacing yourself: For some people, doing too much may make the symptoms worse. Everyone has a different definition of “too much” so it is important to figure out what makes your body tick and don’t push it too far past that.
• Try to get some physical movement in: Even though you should practice pacing yourself, you should still move around a little bit. This means getting up once in a while if you are dealing with bad fatigue. Work those limbs a bit.
• Have a nourishing diet if you can: It is really important to get most of the necessary nutrients this way. Eating a lot of low nutrient food may make things worse for you.

When it comes to taking supplements or other OTC things, it may be important to check with your doctor first. If you don’t want to do that, make sure to do a lot of research on what you are considering taking.

What you can do if you know someone who is suffering

If there is someone in your life that is suffering from post-COVID symptoms, try to provide some support to them. Having chronic health issues can do a number on one mentally so it is a good idea to reach out once in a while.

Other things you can do for them include dropping off groceries, picking up medications, setting their mail inside the door and more. Doing these acts of kindness are likely to be much appreciated.

Just think about how you would want to be treated if you were suffering with the after effects of COVID-19 and treat them that way too.

So, this is my current story

I am doing very well right now health wise in regards to my post-COVID symptoms. A flare up of them is always possible though. Fortunately, I have gained the tools necessary to get on the other side of any rough patches that occur.

Are you or anyone you know suffering with post-COVID symptoms? I would be really interested to read about it.

Thanks for reading!

#covid19 #covidlonghaulers #postviral #viriology #coldandflu #conqueringthislife #immunesystem #symptoms #supplements