I'm a long-hauler myself, and it's been the hardest thing I've ever gone through, -and I went through cancer treatment and a stem-cell transplant 4 yrs ago. I got Covid-19 in mid-March of this year. I was fully vaccinated at the time, as I'm a medical lab technologist and work at a hospital. My 2nd Moderna vaccine shot was late Jan. (As a health care worker, I don't want to discourage anyone from getting the vaccine, but I'm one of the unfortunate 5.9%, I guess.) My husband came down with Covid-19 first as he was not vaccinated, (he didn't fit the criteria to get vaccinated in Iowa at that time) and I was stunned to find I had contracted it a few days later.

My first symptoms were not terribly severe, -first I had sinus pain, sl sore throat and headaches, fever, dizziness, sm cough, and then the next week I had diarrhea. I thought I'd recovered and returned to work one evening only to discover I was still too dizzy and unwell to work. The worst symptoms for me came after the first 2 weeks of the illness, but I was never hospitalized. Horrible headaches (sinuses), light-headedness, fevers going up to 103, intestinal issues, and taste alterations. (Exaggerated taste, is what I'd call it. Everything tasted like it had too much salt, and I couldn't eat. Water tasted sweet. Fortunately, my taste issues have resolved.) I've lost 12 pounds as I was basically in bed with exhaustion, and ate very little for 2 months. I'm sure I lost muscle mass from lying around so much. Now I am up and around more, but currently have shortness of breath, (which started about 6 weeks ago), along with severe fatigue, continuing fevers, and an intermittent headache that can really incapacitate me.

I get exhausted so easily. Stairs are difficult to take, - I must pause and sit, or lie down after a flight. I used to exercise 4-5 days a week before this happened, and I am stunned to find I am not able to regain energy or strength. The slowness of my recovery has been very frustrating, and emotionally taxing. I can't really make plans to do anything, (or work) as I never know how I will feel on any given day. If I have a good day and actually accomplish things, it seems I pay for it for the next 2 days, and I have to continually rest. I wish there were a support group that wasn't on FB, as not everyone wants a FB account. (I am one of those people!) It has been so isolating, this illness, and many people just don't understand. If anyone knows of an on-line support group that isn't FB connected, I would love to know about it.

I just started PT for post covid recovery yesterday, and I'm hoping that will improve things. Also, I have a visit scheduled at Mayo this next week. The staff at Mayo have been wonderful to work with through e-visits, as locally, the doctors where I live just don't know enough about long covid. Thanks for letting me vent, but I suspect I've been too verbose. I guess I've given a long-haul comment! I certainly have a great deal of sympathy for other long-haulers out there!!

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