Permanent nerve damaged from Covid? Any advice?

Posted by baxterdean @baxterdean, Jan 26 9:40pm

Long story short, I have had Covid three times with the first being in Jan '22.
All came with vertigo that lasted for about a week, along with a month-long earache. ENT said the earache was most likely due to stress since he did not see anything wrong with it. And, a VNG test did not reveal anything. I now live with persistent lightheadedness and imbalance.
I also now have blurriness and a pressure sensation in my left eye which started with my second Covid. It was first diagnosed as Anterior Uveitis, but 5 months later doc didn't find anything wrong with it despite me having the same complaints.

I have had a MRIs, blood tests and heart scans performed which all came back "normal." I have been in vestibular therapy for over a month with no signs of change.

I have been seeing a therapist for all my frustrations brought on by the illness and for the never ending "we just don't know that much about..." from all of my doctors.

I live in Denver, CO and looking for insight or suggestions,

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Post-COVID Recovery & COVID-19 Support Group.

John, Volunteer Mentor | @johnbishop | Jan 27 8:16am

Welcome @baxterdean, I know it must be a daily struggle for you when nothing seems to be helping the symptoms. This sounds similar but points to the vaccine vs having Covid.

"COVID-19 vaccination with messenger RNA and viral vector vaccines may cause acute anterior uveitis. Although initially severe, uveitis responded well to steroid therapy with no visual impairment."
--- New onset of acute uveitis following COVID-19 vaccination: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9358066/

Did your doctor start you on any treatment when you were diagnosed with Anterior Uveitis?

baxterdean | @baxterdean | Jan 27 12:14pm

In reply to @johnbishop "Welcome @baxterdean, I know it must be a daily struggle for you when nothing seems to..." + (show)

Thanks for your response and listening, @johnbishop.

As for the vaccine causing my uveitis, I can't say that I would fall into that category. As luck would have it, my first covid was contracted 6 days before I was scheduled to get my booster/3rd shot. I haven't had a vaccine since Nov '21 and my eye issue started in June '22 after my second covid. Went to my primary doc then and they told me that "research is still being done" and to come back if symptoms worsen. Thinking that I (along with the internet;)) could handle anything on my own, I didn't start seeing specialists for my symptoms until Apr '23 after they all were amplified by my third covid in Feb'23.

Yes, I was prescribed a steroid drop for 4 weeks. Started at 4 times a day, then down to once a day. The uveitis was still evident at my first follow up visit, so I was instructed to do a single drop for another week and then come back in 5 months. There was no evidence of uveitis, or anything else, at my last visit but my eye symptoms were (and still are) the same. The doc gave me a numbing drop that day which made my eye feel better/different which, led her to mention a nerve. That, along with my physical therapist now working with me for visual vertigo, has me looking for answers on my own, unfortunately, which is why I am probing for the possibility of nerve damage being involved.

Thank you again for listening, I appreciate your, and anyone else's insight. And, I know there may not be any answers out there just yet but, I am thankful that I found this community to help me feel like I am not going through this alone.

stumpedandgrumped | @stumpedandgrumped | Jan 30 10:24am

I absolutely feel your frustration with doctors basically shrugging and sending you home with no real guidance. They seem not to understand the impact of these symptoms on day-to-day life, content to take their time doing tests.... when they bother to do so.

I can tell you as someone who also has nerve symptoms that it is wholly possible that your nerves are irritated, not permanently damaged. The peripheral nervous system is capable of healing, so if your MRI is clear there is hope that your symptoms will resolve. Finding the right / effective treatment is a challenge, though, as few doctors seem vested in doing the work necessary to find an effective treatment.

Aside from repeated COVID, is there anything that seems to trigger the issue / make it worse, as unrelated as it might seem? I recommend keeping a log of when your symptoms are particularly bad, along with anything you were doing / eating / feeling.

As for your doctor and her "come back in 5 months," that seems like a blow-off to me. I cannot offer medical advice, but I can tell you that when my original PCP told me to "go home and stretch and come back in 3 months," I chose instead to find a PCP who was more interested in hunting out treatments.

Some things people have tried:
- Gabapentin / LDN (Supposed to calm nerves)
- Nicotine patches (Has had limited effect in some small studies in alleviating LC)
- Stellate Ganglion Block (Again, has alleviated LC symptoms in some studies)
- SSRIs (Specific SSRIs may help to interrupt immune system dysfunction; Duloxetine is often mentioned)
- Waiting (Anecdotal; I know of at least a few people who saw symptoms resolve after 18-36 months. Ugh.)

hypohelps | @hypofunction | Jan 31 3:59am

yes search my post, covid destroyed my superior nerves and now my vision, balance, perception etc. is shot + i now i have severe PPPD. I am only 40 and was an athletic person.

🙁

dloos | @dloos | Feb 1 1:46pm

Covid has damaged my hearing, my vision, my sinuses and my digestion. My understanding is that nerve damage is very slow healing, if healing is even possible.
I choose to believe that I can at least improve over time. (Nobody really knows). I have tried many, many treatments over the last two years. I am about to start Ozone infusion therapy and I will post if it helps me.