I had Covid in October. It was not pleasant as you can imagine or likely know from personal experience. I survived, obviously. I was vaccinated and received my last booster in August. I was going to be on a long-haul flight in September and wanted to ensure I had maximum protection. All told, I was on six planes for a grand total of roughly 30 hours of travel time. I was extra careful and stayed masked on the planes and anytime we were in a crowd at the airport. I constantly used saline spray to flush my nasal cavities and took extra vitamins the whole trip. It worked. I traveled halfway around the world and back without even a sniffle. Less than two weeks after being home, I got Covid.

It started on a Monday with sneezing and a runny nose. I mean a lot of sneezing. I would sneeze eighteen times in a row. I was miserable. At the time, ragweed pollen was off the charts. Ragweed is the biggest culprit in my suffering every year. It only made sense that my allergies were acting up. By Tuesday, it had only gotten worse. I checked my temperature and it was only elevated a few tenths of a degree. I tested for Covid to be safe anyway. I had work and an appointment with my neurologist the next day. I wanted confirmation that it really was just allergies. From what I knew at the time, sneezing was not even a symptom of Covid. I was not worried and, as expected, the test was negative.

I went to work the following morning and saw my doctor in the afternoon. I continued to sneeze and have a runny nose. My fatigue seemed to be mounting now, as well. I still was not concerned. Fatigue is a daily symptom of life at this point. I continued on.

The next morning at work, I was starting to question the possibility of another virus. The fatigue was more than it should have been for that early in the day. I was also starting to experience GI issues. I took a couple of breaks from work to analyze what I was feeling. By early afternoon, I texted my boss to inform her I was leaving for the day. I told her I was ill and I was not sure what it was, but I would not be coming to work the following day either. I knew I was going downhill, and fast.

I stumbled the entire walk from work to the parking garage. It is nearly half a mile. Once in my car, I sat and rested. Once I felt it was safe to drive, I headed straight to the Urgent Treatment Center. I drove up and down the rows of parked cars looking for an empty space. I finally found one. It was so far away. I sat in my car and stared at the impossible task ahead. The distance to the entrance could have been measured in feet, but, given how I felt, it might as well have been miles. I restarted my car and drove home.

At this point, my symptoms were sneezing, runny nose, diarrhea, and extreme fatigue. I was dizzy, but not sure if that was the sickness or my MS being exacerbated. I took my temperature. It had finally ticked up past 99 degrees. I took another COVID test. This time it was positive. I was not surprised given how horrible I felt, but I still did not understand all of the sneezing. I did some research online and discovered that, while not originally a symptom of Covid, sneezing is now a prominent sign of infection in people who have received the vaccine. I learned that the list of common symptoms has been forever changing as people are receiving the vaccine and they are learning more about its effects. It made more sense now.

I spent the rest of that evening and the following day feeling pretty ill. I never developed a cough and my fever was easily controlled with medication. I drank at least two and a half bottles of DayQuil and even more NyQuil.

When I saw that positive test, I was immediately afraid. I had spent two years avoiding being in this very situation. I was diagnosed with MS on February 26, 2021. I started immunosuppressants two months later. The entirety of my life with MS has been spent in a pandemic. The extra precautions I needed to take were drilled into me by the pharmacists, nurses, doctors, and the news. I was told a cold could hospitalize me and that if I ever felt ill for more than three days with no signs of improvement to contact help. Now I was on day five of having Covid.

Covid was my first experience being ill with a virus since being immunocompromised. It was not pleasant by any means, but it could have been a lot worse. I am thankful for the vaccine. I feel having that protection went a long way in keeping the worst of the sickness at bay. I was back to work by the following Monday, only seven days after experiencing my first symptoms. I work in healthcare and directly with Covid patients. Even with all of the precautions, I am amazed I made it this far without getting to know the virus this personally.

Currently, I am in the throes of my second round with a virus since my diagnosis. Day ten and I am just as miserable as I was on day three. I did as I was supposed to and saw a doctor when I saw no signs of my symptoms improving. Five days in and I was still worsening. I have been diagnosed with an upper respiratory infection which is a common side effect of being immunosuppressed. I would very much welcome back my experience with Covid in exchange for this current neverending misery of nonstop coughing, stuffy nose, and headache. I will post about this experience and how it ends, if it ever does.

What was your experience with Covid? I would love to hear about other people’s experiences with being immunosuppressed and how you have managed to pull through.