Notes From a Dark World
What it's like to have long Covid, in their own words.
These are a few of the stories from the Long Covid Reddit thread.
“I’m in a bad flare today, I’m so sick, I literally can’t get out of bed, it starts with a migraine, I keep pushing through work, made it one hour, I got so dizzy, throw up barely made it home. I legit feel like I was going to pass out, it forces me to lay down. That’s the only thing that helped a tiny bit, The tachycardia sets in, drop in blood pressure. I lay down and end up sleeping 7 hours. Only to wake up feeling the same. I am Dx’ed with dysautonomia. However, I feel there’s so much more going on, PEM for sure, and the migraines never stop, headache 24/7 like no other, 😭😭 My whole family refuses to believe I’m sick. Some of them still ask to borrow money, and others won’t speak to me because I didn’t loan them money or go to the family gathering. I can’t, I’m sick. 🤢 Sorry in advance for any typos or misspelled words. My vision goes in and out, like there’s Vaseline across your eyeballs.”
“Tonight I wrote in my journal: "I'm more about me than I let on. I'm worried about me- about how my body is slowly failing. About how everything is slowly getting worse. My strength, my breathing, even my vision. But I don't let anyone see that far. I don't want them to either think I'm overreacting or be worried about me. But I want - I need - someone to lean on. Someone to tell me that I will be okay - not me telling them. I need a person to lean on.
So I decided to post here. Because everyone here knows what that feels like. It sucks. But it also gives me hope because there's so many of us in it together. Anyone else feel something similar? Or have something that helps you keep going? I’m reaching out because I’m really struggling to hold on to hope. It’s been 3 months and 3 weeks since my initial infection, and while the fever and cough are gone, I feel like I’m still stuck in the first week. The fatigue is absolutely crushing, like nothing I’ve ever experienced. I honestly feel like I’m dealing with a rare disease or the final stages of cancer – I’m not exaggerating. Every day feels like a battle just to get out of bed. I’ve been trying to pace myself and stay optimistic, but it’s hard when progress feels nonexistent. I keep telling myself that recovery takes time and that healing isn’t linear, but I really need to hear from others who have been in this place and made it through.”
“About a year of feeling normal with no symptoms, then slowly started to feel fatigue and then had a bad back injury and things got even worse. New symptoms and worsening of existing came on after having a bad virus or something end of 2023, and then I’ve just been feeling worse and worse to the point I had to quit my job, move in with my parents across country a year ago. Normal basic daily activities are difficult and uncomfortable. Def not normal at age 35 to feel like this.”
More to come as this country descends into madness.
For more on how this destroys your life, you can read.
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(I borrowed this from
I'm a retired physician/psychiatrist, LONG COVID and Prostate Cancer survivor, as well as lifelong C-PTSD SURVIVOR, and recovered alcoholic-addict. If the right one don't get cha, the left one will (Old boxing metaphor). I got infected with COVID-19 in 2019, and after a 10 d. flu-like episode, the increasingly life threatening symptoms of LONG COVID set-in, ending in a near death cardiac infection/arrhythmia relieved by two Pfizer vaxxs 3 and 4/2021. My heart is on a slow mend, as is my brain. However, the drastic radiation and chemo therapies for PC have taken a toll as well. Body is weak but mind is, well, you tell me. Anyone spouting the anti-vax BS is either insane or just very uninformed, or both, like RFK, Jr. If that horrible human is confirmed for HHS Sec., that will be end of any future generations of Americans. If you think that's a good outcome, as I do, then encourage your Senator to vote for him. Have a blessed day!
Appalling that even their own families don't believe them!