Thread by @simplesarahbear

For a long time, I chocked my Long COVID up to burnout. Being a nurse in a leadership role was exhausting, coupled with a toxic community of ppl who called themselves friends= perfect recipe.

The exhaustion never left. Then the other symptoms started.

I was off work for 5 months. Going to counselling and seeing an OT for my cognitive challenges. Diagnosed with ADHD, started vyvanse and was able to do a gradual return to work. My concentration was shot. My memory was now terrible. My once so capable brain was not familiar now.

Between gaslighting myself and a hefty dose of vyvanse I worked back up to FT hours.

Then the GI issues hit. GERD. Pancreatic pain, enlarged spleen and liver, wonky indefinitive blood work. Sever abdominal pain that landed me in the ER a couple times.

I went from being active and able to not being able to walk from my house to the car without being severely short of breath. Breaking out in sweats far worse than anything I've ever had even at the gym! Thought my asthma was to blame, nope. They told me I no longer have that.

But why can't I breathe?
Why do my legs turn into jello after walking 5 or 10 minutes.
Why can't I grocery shop without feeling like I hiked a mountain (which I've done. Twice.)

Then the fainting and heart palpitations. Sleeping 14 hours a day just to barely function.

Surely this is just the burnout?
Unable to work fulltime, I quit a job I loved and slept another month.

Then schools drop mask mandates and despite mine sticking it out, we get COVID-19 again.

Then the reproductive issues start. Pain like I've never experienced before.

Ended up in ER again for profuse bleeding and ultimately became so anemic, I needed iron transfusions. 4 weeks of those and I had some energy back.

But the cardiac stuff still there. Didn't quite meet the threshold for a POTs diagnosis. But eventually the fainting slowed.

Cue another round on unstoppable bleeding and I'm back to the ER where I get suddenly diagnosed with diabetes.

Surprise!

The latest treasure bestowed is electrical shock type pain up much spine neck and into my head.

Sure this isn't still just burnout.
#LongCovid

There is no known cure for this. In NB there is hardly even acknowledgement. No care pathways for family doctors to follow, just treating system by system. There wasn't even a mention of LC on the @Gov_NB website until a few days ago. O KY thanks to brave advocates and RTIs.

Pretty hard to get treatment for such a debilitating illness when they won't recognize a definition. No definition=no formal diagnosis. No diagnosis=no treatment. Our province is failing us.

You're not exempt from LC.

I was never hospitalized. Yet this is my life now.

https://twitter.com/PoPNB_kindness/status/1593252017073319936?t=LAYjWl5tjN_Ibofpu7QXEw&s=19

A worthy read.