I was infected COVID-19 in January 2020 before I was aware this virus was in the US. Testing was not available until early March and I did not qualify because I wasn’t running a high fever. Almost all the symptoms matched with the exception of fever and shortness of breath. The most prominent were debilitating fatigue, dry cough, headaches, body aches, and sinus issues, I had a 3-day reprieve after the first 3 weeks or so and then relapsed for another 3 weeks with a new symptom of nausea entering the mix for 6 days.
The onset of symptoms was sudden and the recovery felt the same way. As though someone flipped a light switch on and off. I wasn’t quite operating at 100% after I recovered, but 85% better was a huge improvement and I knew I had beaten it and felt safe from reinfection.
Uh, not so fast… I was reinfected in mid-May, and this time it is more severe, but not enough to go to the ER, despite feeling like I could have died many times. This is my Long Haulers COVID-19 virus progression from the initial onset, COVID relapse, and after 2 months being reinfected after initial recovery.
The serological tests are not calibrated for “milder cases” If you have been ill with rolling COVID symptoms for months and tested negative… You’re not going crazy. The struggle is REAL!
Symptom Chronology:
Early or Mid January to March 12, 2020, with a -daybreak in February at about the midpoint after 3 1/2 weeks. Initial symptoms were debilitating fatigue, brain fog, dry cough, body aches, headaches, sinus pressure with occasional postnasal drip, Burning eyes, Tinnitus in the left ear, right ear pressurized, and closed. Occasional chills, No fever After relapse all of the first symptoms with nausea with NO FEVER and low body temp of 97.2 F- 97.5 F. Sorry, no test for you! The minimum qualifier is FEVER with consistent 101 + degrees for several days.
May 12, 2020. Fatigue and brain fog returned with sore throat instead of dry cough as the initial symptoms with new rolling symptoms. SOB ( severe shortness of breath) occurred later after a month and unable to swallow most foods without choking, Burning eyes, vision change, lost taste and smell, rash on the back of both hands, dizziness, loss of balance, dry mouth (thirst), swollen ankles ad feet, Purple toes and top of feet, extreme lethargy, dry cough, horse voice,, Almost all ll the symptoms of the first infection came back and I had diarrhea for 3 days. I finally ran a fever of over 99.3 degrees for a few days and I have had chills on and off for the better part of a week with my temperature intermittently climbing above the 99.3 F mark, but it’s now transient. That made me hopeful because I thought I might finally be mounting some kind of immune response to the infection.
Another day, another symptom. I never know what I will wake up to or how long it will last.
