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1/ It has been exactly 9 months since I started having #COVID19 symptoms, which eventually worsened to the point where I wound up in the hospital, then on a ventilator.
Many folks ask: how am I doing now? Here's an update (thread).
#COVID #coronavirus
Many folks ask: how am I doing now? Here's an update (thread).
#COVID #coronavirus
2/ I'm doing very well, thank you. I don't really have any of the long-term symptoms experienced by so many #LongCovid sufferers (as discussed in, for example, this recent @NYTimes piece by @PamBelluck).
https://nyti.ms/340H1gJ #COVID19 #COVID
https://nyti.ms/340H1gJ #COVID19 #COVID
3/ It took me a long time to get here. As I wrote in July for the @LATimes, recovery from #COVID19 "is not like switching a light on or off. It’s like a dimmer switch, where the light gets brighter, then darker, then brighter again." https://lat.ms/2ZSHWgf
4/ I would say that I had serious symptoms for more than two full months after getting discharged from @NYULangone on April 1.
Specifically, I had a terrible cough, plus shortness of breath, for all of April and May, into June.
#COVID19 #COVID
Specifically, I had a terrible cough, plus shortness of breath, for all of April and May, into June.
#COVID19 #COVID
5/ But at some point in June, the cough and shortness of breath went away -- quite suddenly, actually. I'm not sure why.
Was it the maintenance inhaler I had been using since getting out of the hospital? Or just the passage of time?
#COVID19 #COVID
Was it the maintenance inhaler I had been using since getting out of the hospital? Or just the passage of time?
#COVID19 #COVID
6/ The ventilator damaged my vocal cords, and it took longer for my voice to return to normal -- but I think it's fairly normal now.
(But it's not quite the same -- and maybe it never will be. My husband thinks it's deeper -- maybe not a bad thing.)
(But it's not quite the same -- and maybe it never will be. My husband thinks it's deeper -- maybe not a bad thing.)
7/ I might still be considered #LongCovid, though, because my lungs still don't look normal on a CT scan.
At my last pulmonologist visit in September, the scan showed some lung scarring and "ground glass opacities" (haziness that shouldn't be there).
At my last pulmonologist visit in September, the scan showed some lung scarring and "ground glass opacities" (haziness that shouldn't be there).
8/ My pulmonologist said the lung scarring shouldn't bother me much on a day-to-day basis. And I don't think it does.
We have another follow-up in a few months. He said my lungs might improve further, or might not; we'll see.
#COVID19 #COVID
We have another follow-up in a few months. He said my lungs might improve further, or might not; we'll see.
#COVID19 #COVID
9/ I do have greatly reduced cardiovascular endurance. My limit for jogging without stopping is about 2 miles/20 minutes, after previously being able to run for miles, and I had to build up to even this (I had to use a wheelchair when I first came home).
10/ But I'm not sure how much of that is #COVID19 and the lung scarring, and how much is just deconditioning and being out of shape.
As I continue to do more walking and jogging, I'll learn how much improvement is possible and if there's a ceiling.
As I continue to do more walking and jogging, I'll learn how much improvement is possible and if there's a ceiling.
11/ In the hospital, I lost 15 pounds. In the weeks after getting out, I gained it all back, and then some. I weighed as much as 172 pounds at one point (and I'm 5'7").
I was eating a lot to deal with depression/anxiety, and I wasn't able to exercise much.
I was eating a lot to deal with depression/anxiety, and I wasn't able to exercise much.
12/ I have now returned to exercise, and I have improved my diet. I'm now around 164 pounds, down 8 pounds from my high point. (And I've also gained 2 pounds of muscle, which is good; I lost muscle in the hospital -- see photo.)
13/ For me (everyone's #COVID19 experience is different), exercise has been good. I feel healthier and happier, less anxious and less depressed.
I have been taking it slow with exercise (see this @NYTimes piece by @drjordanmetzl). https://nyti.ms/3nJKTtR
I have been taking it slow with exercise (see this @NYTimes piece by @drjordanmetzl). https://nyti.ms/3nJKTtR
14/ I went for my annual physical in October. My cholesterol and fasting blood glucose (blood sugar) were a little high.
I think this is a function of my unhealthy diet and weight gain, not #COVID. I'm going back in January for a follow-up.
I think this is a function of my unhealthy diet and weight gain, not #COVID. I'm going back in January for a follow-up.
15/ One anxiety-producing thing about being post- #COVID19 is that you wonder every time you have some malady: is that from #COVID?
Sometimes I have this weird itchiness (no rash). Covid? Or allergies?
Sometimes I have joint pain. Covid? Or getting older?
Sometimes I have this weird itchiness (no rash). Covid? Or allergies?
Sometimes I have joint pain. Covid? Or getting older?
16/ On the whole, I feel good -- and lucky. I don't seem to have many of the serious aftereffects that so many post- #COVID19 patients experience (crossing fingers, knocking wood; there's still so much we don't know about this disease).
17/ Again, everyone's #COVID19 recovery story is different, and I don't claim that mine is exactly like anyone else's.
On the bright side, I think my story shows that, at least for some (very lucky) subset of us, things DO get better.
#COVID #coronavirus
On the bright side, I think my story shows that, at least for some (very lucky) subset of us, things DO get better.
#COVID #coronavirus
18/ I don't think I'll ever be exactly the way I was pre- #COVID. But that's okay.
I'm still here -- which so many others cannot say. May they rest in peace. https://bit.ly/3qxvMGh
I'm still here -- which so many others cannot say. May they rest in peace. https://bit.ly/3qxvMGh
