What It's Like to Get Really Sick from Coronavirus
I am now more than two months out from this coronavirus and still experiencing symptoms...
This is a re-post from May 14 that describes how bad my COVID-19 symptoms still were more than two months after getting really sick. I am more than three months out now and still recovering with mild symptoms, fatigue and the fallout from being sick for so long. I need to come off my secondary inhaler and suffer through those withdrawals again as I try and see if I can breathe now without it.
I will likely need to do a lot of medical testing, such as a pulmonary breathing test to check what kind of lung capacity I have been left with. Who knows what other kind of testing I will need down the road. I will get an antibody test when I return home to Arizona in August. I have to regain all of the cardio-stamina I lost and I have to rebuild muscles from muscle wasting. I have to constantly work to keep my spirits up because there is this underlying chemical depression that comes and goes and I also have to deal with some weight gain, which is super fun.
I have never cried so much in my life, even when my father died and even in law school— I am crying now as I write this intro. I am re-upping this now for all of the folks in Texas and Arizona and frankly, the rest of America because it’s clear we have chosen the economy over our lives. I can only assume that the majority of us do not think that we will get the virus or if we do, that we will not die from it. You should read this to understand what is really coming in this second wave if you get sick.
You can also read what I posted as I was going through the various stages of having the novel coronavirus, being sick and initially not being able to even get tested. Click here to read: Trying to Get Tested for COVID-19. I’m hopeful that it may help you to not feel so alone if you get sick. I have given up hope that this will serve as a warning about what could happen. If you sense that I am angry, you are correct— after you read what happened to me, you will understand why if you haven’t already lived through it yourself. Be well and stay safe.
From original May 14, 2020 article:
A lot of you have been so kind to ask about my health and how I have been doing after struggling with the coronavirus for the last several months. It was an incredibly scary experience and I decided to detail most of the important aspects of what was happening every few days here at SHERO so that anyone who had gotten this virus or would get it would not feel so alone. You can read “Trying to Get Tested for COVID-19” to get more information on how I handled being sick and what the experience was like.
I also wanted to quickly update you on how things are for me now. I am a few months out and I am still struggling with a few symptoms. I still have that horrible dry cough and every day on the phone with my mom when I sound like I am hacking up a lung she says, like clockwork, “Oh, my GOD that sounds like it really hurts, when is that going to go away.” It only hurts half as bad as it sounds, so no one worry.
I also still have lung and breathing issues and had to go back on my secondary inhaler, which is a medication called Flovent. I tried an inhaler that is a bronchodilator without steroids called Spiriva, but it just could not clear up my lungs after a week or so, so I switched back to an inhaler that I know works. It also took my insurance nearly two weeks to just authorize filling the prescription, so that maddening bonus was super fun.
Now I rarely have to use my albuterol rescue inhaler, but I still have to use it when I do any level of exercise or carry groceries up the stairs. My lungs are officially clear and that cheese grater sound that my breathing was making as I slept has cleared up. I still have some major fatigue, which could partially be a side effect from the Flovent, but I am hearing from people who have had and still have this virus that they are struggling with energy months out as well. Good thing most of us are stuck at home.
You can also listen to this appearance I did last night on The Chip Franklin Show where we discussed my experiences as well as how frustrated we are about areas in the United States deciding to re-open without any real testing or protection. Chip was the first person to invite me to be on the radio and he has always been so supportive of my work, so it was a real pleasure to speak with him about this COVID-19 experience. You can listen to the segment here:
I worry about the long term ramifications for my body and what I can expect the long-term issues to be. Will I have even more decreased lung capacity? Will my kidneys, liver, heart or any other major organs be affected? Will the capillaries in my lungs, which were so impacted by this virus, ever fully recover. I already know my adrenal glands have taken a substantial hit from the stress on my body of being sick. The medical community is doing all they can to triage this situation and we aren’t even testing to the level we need to be…will anyone even bother to examine what the long term side effects will be for people like us?
A lot of you have reached out to me with questions and concerns after reading what I went through and I have tried to get answers to all of you. If you still have concerns, you can comment below and I will try and answer there. If you want to speak with me privately about something, you can always DM me on Twitter or send me an email at avanderpool@gmail.com and I will get back to you as quickly as I can. Keep in mind that I can’t give you medical advice, but I explain what may have worked for me. Reminder that if you are ill, you need to contact your doctor immediately.
If you are concerned you may be in the early stages of having the novel coronavirus and you need some reassurance about what you are experiencing, you can read about my early days struggling with COVID-19 here. Take care.
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Amee Vanderpool writes the “Shero” Newsletter and is an attorney, contributor to magazines and newspapers and analyst for BBC radio. She can be reached at avanderpool@gmail.com or follow her on Twitter @girlsreallyrule.
I am so sorry you went through this and are going through this . This is such a snarky virus ! It was disheartening to me to read something new everyday that they found a new variable about the virus. My career was in Hospital management and I am appalled at the number of jobs for epidemiologists are everywhere , every hospital, not every SYSTEM) is supposed to have onsite epidemiologists on the premises! You fears about the long term effects of the virus are real and basically unanswerable at this point. The fatigue is because your system was assaulted but doesn’t answer where. The human body is amazing and resilient but you are compromised. I do wish I could give you comforting answers but there are none yet.
Don’t push to hard , you are talking about getting an antibody test when you go to Arizona in the way future right?
Just know a lot of people are rooting for you and others they know who have this horrible scourge🙏
I think Americans have been slowly fed the real Koolaid of Trump’s incompetence. This virus is now pretty much unchecked, and people are wandering into the path of destruction.
Republicans are now using the protests as the new shield for Trump’s non response. For those who are vulnerable, the writing is on the wall. It’s pretty stunning.
Our current losses will be nothing compared to what’s coming, and there’s so much noise coming from his administration, it’s pointless to look to them for help.. this was his end game all along.
If we don’t get him out soon, our democracy will be done.