Well, this site has been very quiet for 3 months. There is a good reason for that.
On 28th December last year I began to feel unwell, as if I had contracted influenza. After 2 days, I was running a fever yo-yoing between 99 and 102 Fahrenheit.
However, the Tell that I noticed was that I had completely lost my sense of taste and smell.
So, on January 6th, still with my fever yo-yoing, I was tested for Covid-19. On January 8th the result came back. Positive.
I have no idea how I contracted Covid, but it can only have been while making a supermarket visit. We both masked and took other precautions, but obviously the virus got into my body.
Having contracted Covid, the fever (like half of influenza) continued for 13 days. The good news was that my lungs were not significantly affected, I did not suffer breathing difficulties, and I did not have to visit the hospital. I just felt like five kinds of dogshit.
The fever slowly subsided starting on the 11th of January, but then I started to find out about the after-effects.
Deadly fatigue, I would start falling asleep if I stayed still in one place for more than a few minutes. My sense of taste and smell began to return, but only slowly.
The real issue that I noticed, which kept me away from work for 2 more weeks, was a mental fog, as if I was half-awake. I could not concentrate or focus on anything for more than a limited period. My eyesight was also slightly blurry for distance vision.
The week that I returned to work, other post-Covid symptoms showed up. Heart palpitations. Tightness in the chest. A persistent cough, which led to a diagnosis of pneumonia and a course of antibiotics. High blood pressure, so high that I went to the doctor for a check-up They ran a static EKG which showed no issues, but the blood pressure was an issue, so I am now on beta-blockers to control the blood pressure.
All of the issues with my heart gave me anxiety attacks which lasted 2 weeks on and off.
Then the most recent impact – troubles with swallowing and burping on and off, followed by 5 days of stomach tenderness, slight nausea and massive churn in my GI tract. It is like inflammation that has slowly worked its way down my GI tract starting in my throat. This is slowly subsiding, but it is not gone yet. The swallowing and burping issue is gone (that was majorly worrying when it occurred).
Quite clearly, although I tested positive on January 26th, Covid is not finished impacting my body, in the second week of March.
I am still suffering from fatigue, although my mental side seems almost normal. My sense of taste and smell is back, but not totally. It is still muted. I have a follow-up appointment to monitor my blood pressure next week.
Every day is different. A week or so ago I felt good for 3 days in a row, only to suddenly start suffering from stomach and swallowing issues. The last 2 days I have been suffering from fatigue again. This is a roller-coaster ride.
My wife had her first Covid vaccination 2 days ago, and is due the second one in 2 weeks. In the meantime, I will not be vaccinated until the end of March. I have been reading that some people suffering from Long Covid do improve after vaccination. I therefore look forward to a vaccination, since I do want to get back to feeling like my old self. At some point.
Covid is serious. Even an infection with minor symptoms, which is what I initially suffered, can be followed by numerous disconcerting after-effects, as I have found out.