Covid Is the Never Ending Illness - Long-termer or Long-haulers

I had two really good days at the end of last week where I thought I was getting better. I was so excited to be able to work on my garage a bit and have more than a few waking hours each day. 

I had mentioned that I had a horrible night sleep on night Wednesday night in my Thursday post that I was having pin prick feelings thinking the parasite were burrowing out but after a few days and the new symptoms, I realized that the pin point pricks were the "covid toes" as about 20 of the pricks were in the toes of my right foot. 

I realized that they are probably little blood clots in the smaller vessels similar to when someone has sepsis, they get these little clots of bacteria in the smaller vessels. I then noticed that my right knee is arthritic and I am having trouble bending it over the past few days. Just tonight, my right lower back is aching severely. The last few days, I can't bend my right hip much. My right leg also has been swollen for about a week and and is tingling all the time.

I was putting the tire covers I ordered onto my trailer tires on Friday and I had a severe pain behind my right eye like a clot type pain and my eye hurt for 24 hours or so. Twice last week I woke with what felt like a bruise in different finger tips. I woke up yesterday with a stye in my eye which I haven't had for years. My eyes are really irritated still like I had for about a week before other symptoms. Both eyes are getting more yellow so I think there may be liver involvement.

It seems like the right side of my body is suffering worse symptoms than the left. 

I keep smelling weird smells when nothing is around like it is something coming from my body. 

Some days I didn't have an appetites, other days I am starving and can't get enough to eat. Through it all, I think with the stress on my body, I have gained at least 10 lbs and feel more bloated than I have in my entire life. 

I started with digestive issues on Friday afternoon. I thought maybe I got E.coli, food poisoning, or salmonella as I made a wrap with lettuce / spinach mix, mushrooms, cucumber, peppers, and sweet peas. It went right through me and I had water explosive bowels and rather than just stopping after that meal passed, it lasted a few days. It kept me up for the first night and throughout the day, my stomach got more and more distended and when I went to bed last night, I woke breathing really rapidly trying to get air. I then had many heart palpitations as I think the pressure on the lungs and heart was increased due to the distention and distress of the digestive tract. 

I have had severe gas, bloating, headache, constipation, eye irritation, dry mouth, and more shooting paints today. 

When I woke up in the night, I was so uncomfortable that I couldn't sleep so I started searching for "stomach distress after Covid, abdominal distress after covid, Diarrhea after covid recovery," and a few others, but what surprised me, was when I typed that in to search, the "Other people have searched" showed that there were tons of people asking the same questions that I was asking!    

I started reading studies and information on the diarrhea after recovering Covid and it is really common. It is interesting that people that had a moderate case of covid are usually those that are ending up as "Long-haulers" having covid symptoms for months. Those that had mild symptoms are more likely to end up getting it again. Those who were hospitalized, still had about 30% if I remember right, that start having stomach distress after leaving the hospital. 

I found an article from "Rolling Stone Magazine" that talks about how many people are suffering months and month of symptoms and how there are all sorts of groups and forums now for people who are still suffering after having the illness. 

These are some of the symptoms one group shared having: "Drawing only from my interviews with other long-termers, a small sample of these more unusual symptoms include: hair loss, degenerating eyesight, changes in menstrual cycle, changes in earwax production, tinnitus, emitting a strong sulphuric odor, having graphic nightmares then waking up with unexplained bruises, a wide variety of skin rashes, sudden loss of voice, permanently blood-shot eyes, hot flashes, shivering that morphs into uncontrollable tremors, confusion, a metallic taste in the mouth, constantly smelling cigarette smoke, loss of depth perception, muscle spasms, increased sensitivity to the sun, and pain that feels like electricity somehow got trapped inside your limbs."

I think I mention in a post last week how I woke twice in one night with nightmares and had weird dreams the next night. I shared about hot flashes and then being cold along with night sweats. Three times in the two weeks I have climbed in bed shivering and not been able to get warm. What I don't know if I wrote about last week, but had a note to remember I wanted to share, was that I locked my keys in the car, locked myself out of the house, didn't remember that a friend of mine who came over to pick something up had been at the "going away party" for a good friend a few days before. I said to her, "We missed you the other night." and she said, "Did I miss something?" I said, "at the bunko party." and she said, "I was there!" I laughed and said, "Oh ya." but the thing that terrified me, was that I had NO recall for TEN MINUTES that she was at that party! It wasn't until she left that I remember she almost sat on my camera and I was so embarrassed that I didn't remember it at all. I joked with her that it was fog brain from my health problems, but in reality, I had covid and just didn't know it yet.  

I also mentioned in a post that my eyes hurt like when I had measles which made them sensitive to light, which is mentioned above as well. I hadn't thought about it, but for two weeks my lower legs felt like they were about to spasm like right before you get a Charley horse in a muscle and are still like that currently. 

The only symptom mentioned above that I for sure haven't noticed is a depth perception issue. I hope I don't get that along with the vertigo I suffer sometimes. 

I have read that the digestive symptoms can last for months, but I will tell you, I pray I don't have to live through that. It is so awful. I don't know that I can deal with another health issue! I did read though that those that have a moderate illness have a less chance of contracting covid again. I just have to pray that I don't get it again. I had a headache yesterday for most of the day and in the last few hours I am getting a new headache. I really am frustrated as my gut is currently in distress. 

Have a blessed day!