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Her story is a real nightmare.
Those who have had the coronavirus will definitely remember these “unforgettable” feelings. If the disease was mild, it was most likely accompanied by a lack of smell and taste, weakness or shortness of breath. Yes, many of us remember two weeks of quarantine as a bad dream, but now imagine that this state lasts … a year, as it happens in 43-year-old British woman Sarah Dring. In his online diary for publication the mother of many children described in detail what she had to face. We publish part of it.
MARCH, 2020
I fell ill even before the first quarantine, I developed cold symptoms – a sore throat and a runny nose. I didn’t have a cough or a high fever (which we were warned about), so I continued to go to school, where I worked as a curator at lunchtime.
A couple of days later, my ribs hurt, as if someone was sitting on my chest. But after a few more days, my symptoms subsided, and I didn’t think about it anymore. I was not tested on covid, then it was not so available. Three days after the quarantine was announced, I started to feel dizzy.
APRIL, 2020
In mid-April, my health quickly deteriorated. I felt chronic fatigue and could hardly stand in the shower. I felt so bad that I could not eat. Vision began to blur, it became difficult to carry out everyday tasks, there was just a fog in my head. Just imagine, I put food in the washing machine instead of the refrigerator!
A little later she began to choke, quickly got tired and became very sensitive to heat. I just couldn’t sit in the sun – it seemed like my skin was on fire! I could barely knit sentences together, let alone cooking for the kids. My good neighbor was shopping, and luckily my sons are old enough to help look after their sister.
MAY, 2020
I called my GP earlier this month knowing something was wrong. I was told that I was suffering from anxiety and was offered antidepressants. On some days I was so emaciated that I slept for 20 hours. Thoughts began to occur that I would never get better, and I told my mother that I felt that I was dying.
In addition to blurry vision, it seemed to me that my eyes became more sensitive to light. I had migraines all the time. At the optician, I was tested for glaucoma and was told that my vision deteriorated much faster than they expected.
JUNE, 2020
There were days when I could barely walk, as if someone had deprived me of the last drop of energy. In tears, I called my therapist again, who ordered the tests.
Within 24 hours, the results showed that I had severe anemia, so I had to start taking iron supplements. A few months after being told that I was simply suffering from anxiety, I was relieved to learn that this was not the case. I was offered cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), but I turned it down. I didn’t have the strength to talk to anyone.
JULY, 2020
By the middle of summer, my heart palpitations began when I just got out of bed. It got worse and worse. I was terrified and thought I was having a heart attack. The doctors handed me a portable ECG machine, which after 72 hours showed that I had an ectopic heartbeat (an irregular heartbeat and a rhythm characterized by missed or extra beats – Approx. ed)… And now I need to take medications every day to treat it.
AUGUST, 2020
Dizziness and headaches did not go away, so I was referred to an ENT specialist. There I underwent a study that showed a slight hearing loss in my left ear, and after a few weeks I was offered a hearing aid. I could not believe it, because I am only 43 years old! I was so angry with the covid that just took my life.
SEPTEMBER, 2020
After taking iron tablets for three months, I still felt unwell and went back to the therapist. I was tested for almost everything: cancer, leukemia, lupus, but all the results were good.
They eventually discovered that my vitamin D levels were low, so I started using an oral supplement spray. I also started seeing a physical therapist to help relieve pain, especially in my back and neck.
OCTOBER, 2020
Iron tablets and vitamin D helped, but I still felt terrible. One day the doctor said: “We did our best. You have a long covid. ” He sat with his head in his hands and said that he didn’t know how else he could help me.
He checked me again and did a few more tests, including blood tests, a liver function test, and a chest x-ray. Then I referred to cognitive behavioral therapy to help with my mental health problems.
NOVEMBER, 2020
I began to learn more about lingering covid from small excerpts on TV and in newspapers. Then she joined the Facebook forum for patients like this, which now has over 7000 members. Here we joke that the coronavirus is “a gift that keeps on giving.”
DECEMBER, 2020
Suddenly I began to suffer terrible pains in my sinuses. I tried nasal sprays but nothing worked. I was again referred to an ENT specialist, but this time I was told that I would have to wait several months to get an appointment.
The doctor said that he could finally refer me to a long-term clinic. And I was in seventh heaven! Fatigue decreased and I noticed that my mood improved.
JANUARY, 2021
I was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and referred to a mental health service. There I asked the doctors about problems with my head and hearing. I was told that people with mild covid infections often notice that the infection attacks other parts of the body, such as the heart or brain.
FEBRUARY 2021
As my physical therapy came to an end, my back and neck pain subsided. I redefined my lifestyle and now I spend ten minutes a day in meditation. In addition, I switched to a gluten-free and dairy-free diet, and I have not consumed alcohol since May. I feel better! I can finally go shopping and spend more time with my kids without feeling like a complete failure.
March, 2021
Not 100 percent, but I feel better. In general, I have been on sick leave for more than a year, but I still suffer from severe dizziness, so I cannot drive a car.
The doctors said that I would get better, but they could not give a date. A year ago I was in good shape and ran regularly. I am currently on beta blockers and pain relievers and need a hearing aid. It took a long time to develop a positive mental attitude, but I am determined to overcome the ailment. Although I still have hard days when I feel like they will never end.
Agree, hardly anyone wants to experience such consequences of the coronavirus. However, doctors are in a hurry to reassure, the story of Sarah Dring, if it does take place, is a rare exception to the rule. Although it is much more likely that the above is not related to covid at all.
– In fact, of course, there can be no lingering covid. A viral infection of this type cannot be prolonged. This is due to the fact that the virus is configured to reproduce itself as quickly as possible in the body of a particular person, to capture the respiratory tract, epithelium, to which it is directed. And in humans, the lung membrane has a limited, albeit large area. Therefore, the virus cannot go back and forth for a year. In addition, the virus has a serious enemy – our immunity. And sooner or later, even after 7-10 days, he must notice the enemy and begin to destroy. Therefore, it is unlikely that a person will suffer from a prolonged infection for a year. In this case, the immune response would be so strong that she would simply cough up her lungs. Of course, one can assume that the woman had something with immunity. But the problem is that people who have a primary immunodeficiency – something that manifests itself since childhood, or acquired immunodeficiency, for example AIDS, as it was with Freddie Mercury, they generally don’t go anywhere much. These are very sick people initially and should be constantly monitored by a doctor. It is unlikely that the heroine of the material was such an energetic person.
The only thing that can be said: if a person assumes a failure of some organs and associates this with covid, he should immediately consult a doctor. If he is sick with coronavirus in self-isolation at home, he will be provided with medical assistance. After COVID-19, everything returns to normal life, as a rule, by itself or with minimal doctor’s help.
At the same time, experts still emphasize that just a year after the appearance of COVID-19, it has not yet been sufficiently studied. Therefore, those who have had coronavirus need to be extremely careful in matters of their own health.
Scientific director of the network of clinics for immunorehabilitation and preventive medicine Grand Clinic
– The reason for the protracted coronavirus infection lies in the peculiarities of the personal reactivity of the immune system. Each person has his own individual response to the invasion of any virus or pathogen. Moreover, the reaction depends not only on the state of the immune system, but in general on the adaptation system of the organism itself, and this is a whole complex: the autonomic system, the central nervous system, cardiovascular, hormonal.
If the virus is in the body in an active form, it will constantly cause certain changes. The adaptation of a person will be weak if he is, for example, under prolonged stress, had weakened health or a weakened immune system. When faced with a particularly dangerous infection, and the coronavirus is one of those, the adaptation system will either not cope with the body’s defense, or will translate it into a sluggish long-term form.
Now, most researchers are inclined to believe that such a manifestation of the disease is still a postcoid syndrome. After all, the covid itself, like any other virus, manifests itself actively only during the week. Further, this virus triggers changes in the body associated with damage to the immune and vascular systems. A person who has had a coronavirus infection suddenly begins to develop various pathologies. The fact is that the coronavirus infects the vascular endothelium, which is a component of various functional systems of the human body, and also reduces the body’s resistance, violates the immune defense.
Rehabilitation after suffering a coronavirus infection should be in the early and late stages. And necessarily long in time, even if the coronavirus infection itself was easily transferred.
It is necessary to restore the vascular endothelium, tissue oxygenation – saturation of the body with oxygen, which is an indispensable element in our body. Our life and its quality depend on its quantity in the body. Engage in the restoration of the gut microbiota to prevent the growth of pathogenic microflora, which can act as a trigger for a variety of diseases.
Timely and comprehensive rehabilitation will help prevent the manifestations of postcoid syndrome, which otherwise can drag on for a long time. Rehabilitation under the supervision of an experienced doctor is also necessary because we do not yet know all the possible consequences of coronavirus infection that may arise in the very distant future. Now researchers are inclined to believe that we may face a surge in oncology as another manifestation of the body’s response to the lack of rehabilitation in the post-ovid period.
Lyudmila Yankina, Anna Gerasimenko