Read on Twitter
Let me tell you about the main symptom of the chronic illness covid often gives people. It's called Post-Exertional Neuroimmune Exhaustion/Post-Exertional Malaise and it's like quicksand.
It means the more you push through, the sicker you get. https://twitter.com/swampflora/status/1350278331242049536
It means the more you push through, the sicker you get. https://twitter.com/swampflora/status/1350278331242049536
This means that there's a usually extremely limited amount of activity you can do in a day, mental as well as physical, before you bring on excruciating symptom.
That can mean severe fatigue, which is the most well known symptom, so I'll get to the others, but it's also one of the most underestimated symptoms.
You hear stories of going to get a glass of water & not moving for the rest of the day. And that's not the worst case scenario.
You hear stories of going to get a glass of water & not moving for the rest of the day. And that's not the worst case scenario.
But you can also experience cognitive difficulties. I've gone long periods of time not being able to read, having trouble following a conversation, completing simple tasks, doing even really simple math (imagine not even being able to answer what's 4+4).
Then you can get all manner of pain. 60% of us meet the criteria for fibromyalgia. It feels like you ran two marathons, got the flu, got hit by a bus and then set on fire 
.
.
It disturbs your sleep. So you either sleep far too much or you somehow end up too tired to sleep, a phenomenon I can't really explain to you unless you've experienced it.
I've definitely both stayed up for and been asleep for 3 days at a time during flare ups.
I've definitely both stayed up for and been asleep for 3 days at a time during flare ups.
Your senses can become more sensitive, almost like a temporary Sensory Processing Disorder, so now on top of all your other symptoms, your senses are incredibly overwhelming, something that's tiring and makes you sicker within itself.
You can also get muscle spasms. Luckily mine aren't too bad, but others have ones that are painful and really disrupt their lives. Some people even experience paralysis, a little known, but very real symptom of ME.
Many people have dysautonomia of some sort, which can cause things like fainting, lightheadedness, digestive issues, temperature regulation issues, etc. Many people also have MCAS which, to put simply, causes severe allergies to many things.
These aren't even all the symptoms, but I think you get it. All of this and more gets worse the more activity you do. And you often don't have to do much to set them off. Some people get flare ups just from trying to stand.
This is what people are getting from covid. This should terrify people. Especially because we don't have good treatment options and most people who get this will not have access to the care they really need. I know I don't.
This is not a disease we can afford to not take seriously. Even this is only a very basic overview that doesn't encapsulate the full amount of suffering this disease causes.
17 million people had this worldwide *before covid*.
17 million people had this worldwide *before covid*.
Many, many more will have it after.
It is a crisis. It was a crisis before covid. I'm not sure how to get people to understand how serious it is, but somehow they'll have to cause ignoring this won't make it go away.
It is a crisis. It was a crisis before covid. I'm not sure how to get people to understand how serious it is, but somehow they'll have to cause ignoring this won't make it go away.
