It wasn’t surprising to hear from many readers with long-haul Covid-19 symptoms. Some had been infected with the original Delta strain, which was most horrific before vaccines were available, and others from Omicron and other strains. The symptoms that most were suffering from varied, from brain fog to memory loss, loss of taste and smell, fatigue, breathing issues, heart problems, neurologic problems, newly diagnosed diabetes, and an endless array of peculiar symptoms.

I suppose my forehead headache and facial pain might seem as if they fit into the peculiar symptoms category. Still, after some research, I discovered my condition was not that peculiar. Whether a patient had a severe case of Covid-19 or its strains or anywhere in between, reputable medical sites state that just about any symptom resulting during and after infection may possibly be considered long-haul.

Here are a few links to a few highly reputable sites with information you may find helpful if you’ve been wondering if your current state of health may be attributed to your past infection. Even mild infections may result in long-haul symptoms.

• John Hopkins:  https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/coronavirus/covid-long-haulers-long-term-effects-of-covid19
• Mayo Clinic: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/coronavirus/in-depth/coronavirus-long-term-effects/art-20490351
• Yale Medicine: https://www.yalemedicine.org/news/covid-19-symptoms-wont-go-away

  

Most importantly, one must be proactive in seeking care from medical professionals and conducting research on your own, which, for me, made me realize my symptoms were not that unusual after all. But, as an avid researcher of all types of information, I tend to avoid health articles published by the news media when they are seeking more readers and sensationalizing snippets of information. Those articles can easily cause stress and anxiety when seeking more reader susing their fear tactics.

Long-haul Covid-19 is now a medical specialty. It’s wise to allow your doctor to direct you to such resources if they feel it is beneficial for you. But, not surprisingly, many primary care physicians are becoming knowledgeable in handling less aggressive cases, such as mine.

Many of our readers are working with cardiologists, neurologists, pulmonary specialists, gastroenterologists, psychiatrists, and others since many symptoms seem to cause anxiety and depression, which also can be a part of long-haul symptoms. I suffer from neither.

I have been fortunate to be able to function since I had these symptoms. However, I suffered for the past six weeks from taking the medication for neurological pain, exhaustion, and extreme daytime sleepiness. I have been off that drug since my final dose last Thursday night and no longer feel sleepy during the day.

I have the opposite problem with Prednisone, but as mentioned in yesterday’s post, I have the opposite problem. Oral corticosteroid medication typically causes insomnia during administration. But, this side effect usually dissipates a few days after stopping the drug. I am on day three, with seven more days to complete the prescription.

Thank you to our many readers who wrote to share their stories. The most severe case I received was from a dear past client who reads our posts, who has been to hell and back in the past year with horrible symptoms and what may be lifelong conditions, difficult to treat. We send our love and prayers to Lisa and all of our readers suffering from long-haul Covid to find relief in days to come.

We are sticking close to home as I go through this treatment regime. Although I don’t feel many side effects from the new medications, I don’t feel like venturing out much right now since I have doses to take at various times of the day while I continue to try to rest as much as possible, which everyone who wrote stated that rest has been helpful for them.

Everything for tonight’s dinner is already prepared, only needing to be heated later on top of the stove. Today, I will tackle the easy job of making Tom’s keto blueberry scones which he’s been enjoying lately, and occasionally cutting carrots and fresh pears for Norman’s daily lunch. He stands in the garden staring at me, asking, “Where’s my lunch?” I can’t jump up quickly enough to get it for him. I love the joys of the bush!!!

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, October 17, 2021:

Gosh, our readers are wonderful. You write to us whenever something is wrong or problematic, offering thoughtful concern, suggestions, and support. It means so much to us. YOU mean so much to us. When we read about other bloggers who often read painful criticism along with toxic vitriol from ‘haters,” we feel fortunate that we don’t get any of that garbage. If someone doesn’t like what an online presence writes, they shouldn’t bother to read it.

We’re not immune to harsh words. Over the past almost ten years (in three weeks from today), we’ve had a few readers who posted hateful messages in our “comments” section at the bottom of each post. We’ve shared a few of those with you, our readers.

But some were laden with such negativism and hate, we decided to toss the messages rather than respond to them online (or offline) for all of you to see. I certainly understand the curiosity to see those toxic messages. It is natural to be curious about “good and bad.” But, I didn’t want our fine readers to feel compelled to take the time to “defend us,” which many would have done. Why waste time on naysayers?

Let’s face it, we make mistakes, not only in grammar and spelling but in our lives, and we strive to learn from those mistakes that always seem to appear at some point, slapping us right in the face. But we’re living a life that takes lots of learning by trial and error. We’re not unlike children in some ways, learning from painful experiences and hopefully utilizing that new knowledge to make our lives easier and more fulfilling.

In posting on our site, I can delete any comments I feel would create a negative spin on our site. Over the past ten years, there’s only been a handful of such comments that we chose to delete rather than respond to. Tom and I always discuss the content before deciding to delete it.

This doesn’t mean we are above criticism. But if a comment or series of comments would turn our dialogue into a “back and forth” unpleasant exchange, we aren’t interested. In part, I blame myself for this. I abhor conflict and will go to any lengths to avoid it. I learned long ago that saying a genuine “I’m sorry” has a much more powerful effect than being defensive or getting caught up in a hurtful exchange.

I suppose, in part, this is why Tom and I get along so well. I won’t fight. I prefer an honest, forthright sharing of opinions over getting engaged in words that can’t be taken back later. Tom always teases me when reminding me that it’s no fun to argue with someone who won’t participate in a furious battle….a discussion? Yes!…A battle?… No! We laugh about this.

That’s how we made it through ten months stuck in lockdown in a hotel room in Mumbai, India, in 2020. I ignored him if he got grumpy which he can do on rare occasions. Ten minutes later, he’s cheerful again. I credit him for his ability to snap out of it so quickly, which can be a daunting task for  some “hotheads.”

Also, he has an outrageous ability to be compassionate if anything is wrong with me medically. I don’t complain much, so that helps, but he is so kind and caring of me; I do not need to continually vocalize my imminent suffering, including my most recent Covid-19 headache and face pain that has lasted almost six months.

Well, folks, here’s the most recent scoop on that. For the past eight days, the headache has been almost completely gone since I increased the dose of amitriptyline to 35 mg., taken at night only. This drug is used in high doses for convulsions and depression., of which I have neither. But in low doses, it’s been found to help with neurological pain.

I wasn’t optimistic, when 25 mg. a night didn’t touch it. But, when doc Theo increased the dose to 35 mg. three days later, I awoke tentatively enthused that the drug worked. I still have facial pain, but since it is only in one spot, I wonder if I’m having a sinus problem from Omicron and not trigeminal neuralgia. The pain has been in the vicinity of my sinuses. I will return to Doc Theo on Friday to discuss this further. I will keep you updated.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, October 10, 2021: