I promised awhile back I would come back to to share my COVID-19 story, and how it still affects me today. This could take awhile.

In the Beginning: Burning Eyes, Scratchy Throat

First off, you may wonder “how do you know you even had it?” And that’s part of the frustration. I don’t know. But I do. COVID-19 wasn’t supposed to be in the United States back around November 2019-February 2020. Medical experts (ha) hadn’t confirmed any cases in the USA before then, but there was no way to really check. It was just flu season, right? Or seasonal allergies, or just a cold, nothing more.

Except, it seems it wasn’t.

The symptoms started just after a post-Christmas gathering. (This was late December 2019.)

My mom had symptoms first, within a couple days of said gathering. I was about a week behind her. Just after 2020 rolled in, I developed a series of maladies I’ve never had at the same time with any flu or virus. My eyes burned to the point I couldn’t keep them open. But not like allergies, more like pink eye. My throat burned like crazy too, usually a sure sign I’m about to catch a cold.

It didn’t stop there though, within a week, I also had a dry cough (no real phlegm, just really dry and with a throat tickle), a horrible headache. Body aches that no amount of aspirin or Aleve could fix. Chills and a fever that alternated between shivering/sweating, even with layers of blankets and a thick robe. Major fatigue, way more than usual for me (for starters: I have chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia). My bowels were…well, you can figure it out. No appetite, ear pressure and tinnitus.

Sure, it sounds like the flu, and I’ve had some doozies, but the flu usually works through in a matter of days and moves on.

These symptoms persisted for over a month, and I later relapsed about a month after that, with flare-ups in the months after (well, over a year now).

Where were we exposed to COVID-19? There’s a few possibilities, so it’s impossible to “contact trace” now and I’m not about to point fingers when we don’t know with 100% certainty. My state, Washington, was among the first to identify confirmed cases, so anything is possible. Let’s face it: It was likely already here and spreading before anyone knew.

Keep reading…

There Was No Test

It wasn’t the sickest I’ve ever been, not by far, but the combination of symptoms sure didn’t make sense for a simple flu or cold. I wasn’t sick enough to see a doctor, mostly it was just nagging symptoms, and there was no need to worry anyway, because COVID-19 was contained overseas, right?

Only maybe not.

My mom was sicker than I was – she actually went to a walk-in clinic for one of her issues (severe bladder discomfort) and they told her her urine sample showed something, but it wasn’t a typical infection and they couldn’t identify it. She was given a prescription for Keflex and sent on her way. It didn’t really help. She had more of the coughing and breathing issues than I did, too. One difference: I think my being on asthma maintenance drugs (namely: Flovent, an inhaled corticosteroid I take daily) kept my lungs in better shape.

Honestly, I will spare you from reviewing every last detail because much of it was a blur due to the fatigue and brain fog I had then and still have now. I also had (TMI warning) chronic diarrhea for months after this DEFINITELY NOT FLU BUG.

Unfortunately, antibody tests didn’t become available until well after my household had symptoms, and one couldn’t just walk into a doctor’s office during the widespread lockdown anyway. (Plus Washington was and has been locked down pretty much steadily since March 2020 to this date.)

The Long Game

I will tell you some of the ongoing “Long COVID” issues I have dealt with, and why my doctor agreed what I had fits the typical COVID diagnosis. If you’ve had COVID, no matter how severe or mild (I would call what I had mild-moderate), you may find yourself dealing with these too.

• Chronic diarrhea – random and very unpleasant, especially the smell
• Nosebleeds – and I’m 100% not a nose-bleeder, never have been
• Pinkeye – couldn’t keep my eyes open and needed ice packs to ease the swelling and burning
• Wacky menstrual periods – shorter, but more frequent for a couple of months (100% not normal for me, even at my age)
• Chest tightness – like a brick on my ribcage; made it very hard to get up or try to exercise
• Crippling fatigue
• Brain fog – I couldn’t work or think straight or form coherent thoughts
• SUPER-Amplified anxiety – borderline paranoia, honestly, to where I had to go on an extra med along with my usual antidepressant
• Phantom smells – like something’s burning, yet nothing is, and really pungent BO smells (even after bathing)
• Phantom sounds – hearing things that aren’t there (tinnitus also plays into this)
• Funny tastes – sometimes due to nosebleeds, but foods I usually liked didn’t taste right for awhile
  
  And that doesn’t cover every last “long” symptom I’ve had, just some of what you might expect if you get COVID (or share it with others – SO PLEASE WEAR A FUCKING MASK, PEOPLE). Some lingering symptoms improve over time, but some still rear their ugly head without warning (namely the bowels and nosebleeds – just saying). This is OVER A YEAR LATER from my initial symptoms.
  
  It’s also worth noting that I haven’t had an actual cold or the flu since we’ve all been masking up and maintaining our distance, soooooo…

The Fight Continues

So yes, COVID-19 is very real and not just a one-year event. I feel fortunate I didn’t get as sick as some people I know, but what I had was no joke. Will it ever “end?” Who knows. I can’t get the vaccine yet in my state either, although I wonder if I should until I know what it might do.

So much is still up in the air. Life itself is at a standstill yet. We will have changed, but God only knows how.

Just…please think about this before you decide all is well again and that you don’t need to wear a mask or lock down at home. For 500,000 people and counting in the United States, their friends and family only wish more people had listened and followed the facts. The science. The truth, as brutal and sobering as it is.