In late February to early March of 2020 I became very ill.  At the time we were told that Covid had yet to reach the United States and no one was testing for it. I struggled with long-hauler symptoms- I had a general lack of energy and great fatigue. My appetite changed and I felt ill if I went a long periods of time without eating and after eating any food I would also experience a crash.  This was worsened whenever I ate harder-to-digest food like red meat.  I was a little freaked out to go to the doctor because I didn’t want to get covid again, but as things didn’t improve I reached out to my doctor a few months later. On the phone I was given two choices, I could wait about 2 more months to see her or I could choose to see a physicians assistant. I chose to wait to see my doctor because I wanted her expert opinion and recommendation moving forward.  By the time I saw her it had just passed six months and she told me she normally would test for covid antibodies but too much time had passed to trust the results.  She ran other tests on me- blood work and also had me checked for blockages and wear a holter monitor.  All of my tests at this time came back fine and so she told me that the long-hauler symptoms would probably improve with time, come back to see her as needed.

On May 1, 2021 I received the one dose Johnson and Johnson shot and I did not experience any issues with the shot.

I was still battling general fatigue and digestion issues when September rolled around. There was a wedding coming up and I did not want to catch covid again. My long-hauler symptoms were a reminder to me of the severity of the virus. I was happy to get a booster shot on September 26, 2021 with enough time to protect me for the wedding I was invited to.  I received the Moderna shot this time.  About 24 hours after receiving the booster I knew something was seriously wrong. I had no energy and could barely get out of bed to even use the bathroom.

I knew what it was like to struggle with low energy but this was a whole other level.  I laid in bed over the next few days hoping it was just an illness and that it would pass. I slept most of the time and was hoping to regain enough energy to go into the doctor’s office for some testing.  About 4-5 days into feeling so bad and being bedridden I called my insurance company to help me figure out how to contact a telladoc.  The lady asked me general questions and she was concerned that I was experiencing myocarditis and should go into the emergency room immediately.  I told her I would consider it after talking to the telladoc.

During my phone appointment, the doctor expressed concerns that I was experiencing heart issues from the booster- he prescribed a steroid for me and wanted me to go to the doctor to get checked out right away.  I set up an appointment the following day with the doctor and the steroids gave me enough of a boost to feel comfortable enough in getting to the doctor’s office.  Now that I was out of bed I noticed that I was having some strange nerve issues. Numbness was a problem, leg weakness, and nerve spasms happened suddenly in different areas of my body, they continue to this day.  The doctor once again ran tests to check for blockages, and inflammation in the heart and had me on a holter monitor.

When the holter monitor results came back they were so different from the results a year ago.  My heart rate was at a low of 32 bpm.  My heart would stay for long periods of time under 40 bpm even when I was moving around and active.   I continue to struggle with low heart rate, and nerve issues.  Sometimes emptying my bladder all the way is a problem too.  My digestive problems continue on top of everything else and sleep is extremely difficult as I often have long periods under 40 bpm which sets my watch alarm off and the poor circulation causes numbness in my body too.

My daughter recently got sick and I went through a period of 48 hours where I only got about 2 .5 hours of total sleep while caring for her. All of my symptoms were severely heightened and I thought I was having a heart attack. I went into the emergency room on October 23. They ran a bunch of tests and confirmed the sinus bradycardia was still a problem.  I informed the doctor of my nerve pain, which was evident as my leg was twitching in strange places, witnessed by my mother who was in the room.

The doctors did not check into anything other than determining whether or not I had a heart attack.  Every day is a struggle. I push myself to stay actively involved in my children’s lives as much as I can. I never know when I will have an episode or how long it might last. If I eat smaller meals throughout the day it helps.  I also can’t sit for any extended periods as my heart rate drops too low.

I use a TENS massager to relieve some of my nerve pain, but the doctors don’t have any answers for me.  The only change in my bloodwork from when I got my booster and have problems was a vitamin b deficiency. This confirms the nerve issues I am having, but after taking vitamin b supplements for quite some time the issues still persist.