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My ‘Mild’ Covid Was Anything But
Beware the sniffles!
In mid-August, I went on holiday to Portugal and came back with a pretty crappy souvenir — Covid. I was more annoyed than anything else; I went three years and two superspreader events without catching it. I thought I was immune!
Thankfully though, it was nothing more than a runny nose and a slight headache. I wouldn’t even have tested had my boyfriend not been laid up in bed for a week, completely incapacitated.
We laughed about our varying fortunes. How ironic that I, the one with a chronic illness and a compromised immune system should barely suffer while my usually fit-as-a-fiddle boyfriend felt the worst he ever had in his life. Oops.
Fast forward to late November, when I have my three-monthly check-in with my rheumatologist. It couldn’t have been more timely, given my lupus symptoms have really been ramping up lately. Joints I didn’t know I had are aching, and the tell-tale sharp pain when I breathe suggests lung-swelling is back. Uh-oh.
“I don’t understand it”, said the doctor. “Your blood tests had all returned to normal, but now your inflammation levels are sky-high again.”
“Since when?” I asked.
“Since about the middle of August”, she replied.
Oh.
I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you that covid is no fun, but even if your infection was mild, take note of seemingly unrelated symptoms afterwards, especially if you have underlying conditions. This has set back my journey to remission of my symptoms and I am peeved!
