Cecilia Garcia

I am a patient living with Post Covid-19 Syndrome. I want to tell you my story. I first got covid in 2020 when no one knew what to do. Get tested, don't get tested unless you have been exposed to someone who tested positive. Don't go to the hospital unless you are dying. Well I almost died at home alone because I wasn't near anyone that had tested positive. I guess it was not my time to go. A friend of a friend suggested doing a telephone consultation with some doctor who treated patients and had a 'silver bullet' treatment. Needless to say, it worked as I am still here. I got covid again in January of 2022. My symptoms weren't as bad the second time around. I was pretty healthy and my job was pretty physical. My symptoms never went away. I had the usual symptoms: headaches, fatigue, brain fog, coughing, shortness of breath. I had to see different doctors for different symptoms. I went to a covid clinic, and they diagnosed me with Post Covid sequelae. My headaches were diagnosed as migraines and rebound headaches. My pulmonologist tried to rule out other diseases, but never diagnosed me with long covid because my tests were a little abnormal, but not bad enough to be abnormal. My cardiologist did tests. It showed one of my valves was not working properly, but that it wasn't bad, and probably age related. It is so frustrating to be 'abnormal' but 'normal'. No answers, no treatments. Doctors dismiss you because they don't want to bother with you, or don't know enough about long covid. If doctors would just keep up with studies showing the damage that long covid can cause on all of your body, not just your lungs, they may not dismiss you. They may not know how to treat you, but at least they would know that there IS something wrong and you are not NORMAL. It should be a mandatory continuing education course they need to take. Lon covid can bring out diseases that you were predisposed to. Thanks to covid I now have diabetes, high blood pressure, hyperlipidemia, non alcoholic fatty liver disease, hypothyroidism, migraines, asthma, fibromyalgia, joint pain, insomnia, crystals in my urine, cognitive impairment, and who knows what else. I am basically a prisoner in my own house. I don't drive because nausea, coughing and shortness of breath can start suddenly. I do not like to be in social situations either for the same reason. I can't work because sitting for 20 minutes or more causes back pain, as well as standing for 15 minutes or more, plus again, not knowing when the nausea, coughing and shortness of breath will start, and let's not forget the constant brainfog, and fatigue. I have gained weight because even basic activities such as cleaning your house can cause shortness of breath, so I can't do much. There is so much loss with post covid syndrome, your health, your wages, the financial burden of medical costs, your self-worth, your friends, family and so much more. How much longer do we have to suffer before we are heard, seen, and taken for granted? Amended: Adding a few more symptoms which I forgot (part of the brain fog), painful lymph nodes, brittle teeth, acid reflux, urinary incontinence, muscle cramps, dry eyes, and dry mouth.