[For info: I contracted COVID four months after my second Astra Zenica vaccination]
I can remember the morning of Monday 18th October 2021 as clearly as if it was preserved in aspic; it was the last time that I felt well.
My alarm went off at 5:30am and I leapt out of bed, dressed and headed to the gym. I did the most intense training session that I have ever done – I felt strong, fit and compact. During the session I pushed myself hard and I loved every second. I was excited about the coming week because I was finally going to start the STOTT pilates instructor course, something I’d wanted to do for years.
Later that morning I was working from home when I received a couple of messages from people I’d been in contact with to say that they had tested positive for Covid. The delta variant was rife and the protocol was, that if you’d been in contact with someone who was positive, you went and got a PCR test yourself.
By the time I got to the PCR testing station on Monday afternoon I had a bit of a headache. Tuesday I felt worse but the PCR came back negative. By Wednesday I was really unwell, I went for another PCR test in my pyjamas with a coat on top. When the PCR test came back positive I wasn’t surprised but as I’d had my second vaccination back in June, I wasn’t too concerned. Little did I know what was to come…
The first 2 weeks of COVID (presumed Delta variant)
The first couple of weeks are a bit of a blur, I spent most of it in bed with a myriad of symptoms:
- Sore throat
- Tinnitus – relentless (volume 7/10)
- Pressure and pain in ears
- Headache – constant
- Runny nose
- Sneezing fits
- Dizziness
- Complete loss taste and smell (becoming variable)
- Breathlessness and feeling of weight on chest
- Chest pain – particularly lower left back
- Feeling of having been punched in the back and winded
- Palpitations
- Immediate cessation of perimenopausal hot flushes on testing positive
- Intermittent joint muscle pain
- Intermittent very light cough for a couple of days
- Itchy purple pin prick rash
- Swollen glands in neck
- Abdominal pain
- Diarrhoea
- Brain fog
(I had the symptoms listed above in the first few weeks and since then they have developed – at the end of 12 weeks they now include hoarseness (when I get tired), severe fatigue after moderate exertion (like getting dressed), sensory overload (I can’t be in a room with the tv on and people talking), weird sweats, chills, pins and needles (particularly in my temples which wakes me up at night), freezing cold forehead and face (wakes me up at night), a low temperature, eye pain, deterioration in my vision, increased eye pressure, short term memory blanks, intermittent pain in all of my teeth/jaw pain, insomnia and interrupted sleep, a worsening of the tinnitus, constipation, a fluctuating sense of taste and smell, more rashes of various types and hyperacusis (sensitivity and pain caused by loud noises))
November 6th (Day 17)
I felt like I was coming out of a bad cold and, desperate to get out, I went shopping with my daughter.
In the middle of the high street I was overcome with exhaustion. I had never felt anything like it. It really was like being struck full force by a bus. My voice became hoarse, my chest hurt and I got a rash on my fingers and hand which crept up my arm. It was the most peculiar rash that I’ve ever had. It was like I’d held a pen in my right hand and then put my hand down to write on a ceramic hob that was full on. My little finger, the outside of my hand, wrist and arm were sore and burned. I felt it creep up my thumb too.
A cough set in and I was so breathless and exhausted that I couldn’t function. I went home and back to bed. After a couple of days the burned patches became thick and leathery. (12 weeks later I still have faint red marks where the rash was).
7th November (Day 18)
My breathing and chest pain (lower left lung) were getting worse. I felt really unwell, couldn’t breathe, and went to A&E. I spent the night there. Fortunately there were no infections or blood clots and the doctor in A&E said this is how Covid is for some people.
8th November (Day 19)
I felt dreadful – headache, earache, tinnitus, sore throat and my lungs felt like concrete.
I am fortunate that I have a lovely GP and that our local surgery is extremely well run. When I spoke to my doctor about everything I was going through she told me that I was not alone and that she was seeing people, fit people, who are completely knocked off their feet by covid. Just hearing that I wasn’t alone made me feel so much better.
8th – 15th November (Days 19 – 26)
Throughout this week I felt exhausted and really unwell.
I met a dear friend for a cup of tea in a little cafe a mile from my house. Getting dressed made me feel that there was a life beyond my sofa and my husband dropped me at the door and picked me up. It was so wonderful to get out but I but was completely exhausted afterwards and went straight to bed.
On day 25 I did a slow, short walk and felt very much worse afterwards – the headaches and dizziness were so bad I was crying. The volume of the tinnitus has increased to 8/10 and my ears hurt. My chest seemed to be clearing a little. I couldn’t even watch tv, the sound and bright images made me feel overwhelmed, like I was having a sensory overload.
16th – 22nd November (Days 27 – 33)
A very quiet week. I did nothing, just felt unwell. Days 31 and 32 were difficult. On the morning of day 33 I woke up feeling like I couldn’t breathe. I felt like I was losing my mind. Just as I was beginning to think that it really was all in my head my knuckles went red and a pale flat itchy rash spread up the backs of my hands, around my wrist onto my palms and slightly up my arms. I went to the doctors, my lovely GP said that she would do blood tests for everything she could think of to rule out any issues or infections that might be causing the symptoms, in particular the dreadful sore throat. They all came back negative.
23rd November (Day 34)
I had contact lens appointment at the optician, I’d waited so long for it that I didn’t want to cancel it. Surely to goodness I was capable of an opticians appointment? I was driven in and dropped at the door. After the appointment I was in the waiting room and another customer asked if I was ok because I’d gone so pale.
By the time I got home the glands were up in my neck, the headache, tinnitus, earache, raging sore throat were worse as was the chest pain. I noticed that my sense of taste and smell – which had almost returned to about 90% had reduced to 20%.
The constant tinnitus was louder than before (8/10 in terms of volume) and a higher pitch.
23rd November – 6th December (Days 33 – 46)
I completely rested through this period. I shuttled between bed and the sofa. On 1st December (Day 41) I woke up without a headache for the first time. I thought that I was starting to feel a little bit better. The headache was back by lunchtime.
2nd December (Day 42) I did a 0.9m very slow walk and felt much worse, I was breathless, had a terrible sore throat and spent the rest of the day on the sofa; that evening had a rash down my leg.
I rested for the next few days.
5th December (Day 45) I went for a very short slow walk because I needed to get out. Upon returning home I felt like I’d been punched in the chest and winded.
6th December (Day 46) woke up with swollen glands in my neck and felt exhausted.
7th December- 14th December (Days 47 – 54)
7th December (Day 47) I had a very bad night and couldn’t sleep because the tinnitus was so loud.
9th December (Day 49) I felt really unwell. All of my symptoms were awful, my chest was worse and I had hives on my body. I spoke to my GP who told me to take paracetamol, fluids and rest.
10th December (Day 50) I felt a little better; still had hives; did a short walk and spent the afternoon sleeping.
11th December (Day 51) for the first time I didn’t feel like death when I woke up. My skin felt sore and I had a mild rash across my face. I went out for 15 minutes but when I got back the sore throat, headache, earache and tinnitus were worse and my chest was heavy. I slept for the rest of the day.
13th December (Day 53) My skin was sore, mild rash on face persisting, very sore throat, tinnitus and bad headache.
14th December (Day 54) did a short walk and felt a little better. Tinnitus was awful – it doesn’t stop.
15th December – 21st December (Days 55 – 61)
16th December (Day 56) – absolutely awful, a real shocker, I felt horrendous and slept all day. I feel like all improvements have been undone and that I’m right back at the start again.
19th December (Day 59) In despair. I get really tired after doing anything then I get hoarse (first sign I’m over tired and need to completely stop), the headache and sore throat worsen and the tinnitus gets louder and my sense of taste and smell get fainter. My breathlessness was bad and I had to use the inhaler a couple of times. I hate using it because it makes me feel on edge. Stuck on the sofa I couldn’t even help put the tree up. I sat there watching my family decorating the tree, unable to assist in any way. I’m pretty pissed off with this now.
20th December (Day 60) I woke and felt like I was trapped under a concrete block. I had to use an inhaler to get out of bed. Exhaustion, pounding headache and the tinnitus is louder.
22nd December – 29th December (Days 62 – 69)
22nd/23rd/24th December – exhausted, in bed. All symptoms terrible – banging headache, tinnitus 8/10 and so bad that my ears and eyes are hurting, really hoarse and breathless like there is a concrete block on my chest.
25th December (day 65) got dressed and opened presents with kids. Went white as a sheet, felt dizzy. Abdominal pain particularly bad. Exhausted. Managed to get through lunch, just.
I spent the next few days feeling very tired, the tinnitus in particular was awful.
28th December (Day 68) – I had the booster vaccination (moderna) first thing. Having read as much as I could about the pros and cons of having the booster whilst having long covid I decided to go ahead. I needed to do what I could to protect myself from Omicron.
After the booster I was very unwell. That evening I shook and my teeth chattered for 2 hours because I was so cold. I had a raging temperature in the night. The tinnitus got very much louder 9/10 volume. It’s inescapable.
29th December (Day 69) – too ill and weak to pick up a cup. I couldn’t watch tv and just slept on the sofa. I had terrible eye pain. My right eye felt like a knitting needle was being stuck in it.
30th December – 9th January 2022 (Days 70 – 80)
I was really ill for quite a few days after the booster. It made the tinnitus worse and that has not improved. The volume remains a constant 9/10. The eye pain has been relentless. However the booster does seem to have improved the chest pain.
On 2nd January (Day 73) I woke up without a sore throat for the first time. I thought I felt better and went for a 40 minute walk which was a stupid thing to do. I spent the rest of the day asleep.
3rd January (Day 74) the sore throat returned, I felt exhausted and unable to function. All of the symptoms were raging. I started to get sudden sweats and bad chills.
The rest of the week was spent in bed, sadly not in a good way. I had sore skin and a rash on my face which came and went.
8th January (Day 79) – had a follow up contact lens appointment. They are like gold dust so I decided not to cancel. The contact lens lady abandoned the contact lenses and got the optometrist to have a look at my eyes. My eye pressure has increased from 16 and 19 to 20 and 21.. The feeling of pressure in my eyes is unbearable. The tinnitus remains worse since booster and is waking me up at night. My chest is heavy but has improved since the booster.
9th January (Day 80) in addition to usual symptoms I seem unable to regulate my temperature. I get extremely hot (but, and I accept that this is really weird, not my chest, neck or head) then extreme chills. The chills start in my mid back – spread in waves down my arms to my elbows and down my back and all of my legs. It feels like an ice cold, metallic Mexican wave runs through my nerves. Before I get a chill I get a feeling like my whole body is about to have a failed sneeze, it is strange and unpleasant. After 7-8 chills I suddenly get really hot and sweaty (but not my chest, neck or head). I’m very tired today.
12 weeks – I should be better by now, surely?
I had pinned all my hopes on a recovery by the 12 week mark. Somehow I thought that if I could just inch myself over that magic finishing line that the cloud of symptoms would miraculously clear and I would return to normal. That’s not how covid operates.
The symptoms continue to behave like a shapeshifter. The chills and sweats are awful and I’m often woken up in the night by the pins and needles in my temples or the fact that my head and face are ice cold. The insomnia is horrific and apart from the constant very loud tinnitus I also have hyperacusis (pain from loud noises).
My GP has told me that I have post covid syndrome (long covid) and referred me to a long covid clinic but she doesn’t know how long the waiting list is. I am fortunate in that my husband’s company provides private healthcare for our whole family. I think that it’s time to start looking for answers, if there are any to be found…