Post AlGN5KyTtzjWWcZchs by eleanorrees@mas.to
 (DIR) More posts by eleanorrees@mas.to
 (DIR) Post #AlGN5DVVfJOpMjxt4q by eleanorrees@mas.to
       2024-08-23T15:31:49Z
       
       0 likes, 1 repeats
       
       Today I’ve been ill for a thousand days. #LongCovid has taken away my independence, my social life, my job, my plans. The way I used to be able to think and to move. My identity, piece by piece. I’m going to talk about it now. Fair warning if you want to mute.(Please don’t reply with medical advice: I guarantee that either I’ve already tried it or there’s a good reason why I haven’t.)1/n
       
 (DIR) Post #AlGN5EQEGQlmCeVBU8 by sullybiker@sully.site
       2024-08-23T15:45:31Z
       
       0 likes, 0 repeats
       
       @eleanorrees I don't have anything to say other than I'm very sorry you're enduring this and hope things improve for you. This is just digital but we're always here.
       
 (DIR) Post #AlGN5FSOPs5vPeWQUq by eleanorrees@mas.to
       2024-08-23T15:33:02Z
       
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       I was fit and healthy before I got Covid in 2021. It never crossed my mind that I wouldn’t be back to normal in a few days.Now I can’t work. I can’t walk 20 yards without a rollator. Simple thoughts take effort. If I exert myself beyond a small limit I get so ill I can only lie in the dark. And I’m not the worst affected. Some people are lying in the dark all the time.Resting isn’t restful. I ache and shake, I’m lightheaded, I can’t breathe properly. It takes a long time to fall asleep.2/n
       
 (DIR) Post #AlGN5HJFWpy99sG9WS by eleanorrees@mas.to
       2024-08-23T15:33:36Z
       
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       Brain fog is like being drunk and hungover at the same time - every day, for years.I lose words in conversation, or just zone out. On the phone I forget who I’m talking to or what we’re talking about.I can’t leave the house without a helper, because I get exhausted and confused. The noise of a public place is painful and my brain stops being able to process language. The last time I went to a cafe was January 2022. I used to love dining out.3/n
       
 (DIR) Post #AlGN5J6Yqz0Yj6L31U by eleanorrees@mas.to
       2024-08-23T15:34:17Z
       
       0 likes, 0 repeats
       
       I constantly forget what I’m supposed to be doing, multiple times every hour, every day. I can’t drive, because I can’t remember how to control the car or what a red light means.Reading was the most consistent joy in my life. I edited books for a living. Now I can’t read for work or pleasure: I can’t remember what I’ve read from one page to the next. Reading for more than a few minutes gives me a migraine. A huge part of my identity, gone. I can skim a bit online; it’s not the same.4/n
       
 (DIR) Post #AlGN5KyTtzjWWcZchs by eleanorrees@mas.to
       2024-08-23T15:35:38Z
       
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       I can’t watch two TV episodes in a row: the light and sound get overwhelming. I can watch cricket, but often have to mute the commentary. I have constant searing tinnitus.I can do one or two light household jobs a day, in small stages with long rests in between. I used to love cooking. Now I can cook a few simple familiar things using prepared ingredients, on a good day. I can't follow a new recipe.5/n
       
 (DIR) Post #AlGN5MjJNMmry9UXL6 by eleanorrees@mas.to
       2024-08-23T15:35:54Z
       
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       I can’t take my kids anywhere, or do anything with them that isn’t quiet and careful. (If you remember I mentioned a family game of Monopoly recently? Someone had to roll dice and move the counter for me, because I can’t physically do that for long enough to play a game.) I try and keep most of my day’s mental energy for the kids, because when I’m exhausted and noise is painful so I have to ask them not to talk to me, that’s the worst thing.My nightmare is that this happens to them too.6/n
       
 (DIR) Post #AlGN5OceL6e9q4OFEW by eleanorrees@mas.to
       2024-08-23T15:36:19Z
       
       0 likes, 0 repeats
       
       I have no idea if or when any of this might get any better. I stay positive day to day, mainly because I'm lucky to have supportive people around me. But it is no fun being dependent, and seeing how my illness restricts their lives too. Having to let go of plan after plan and hope after hope.It’s bad. And it’s not going away. People right now are catching Covid and it isn’t crossing their mind that they won’t be back to normal again in a few days...7/n
       
 (DIR) Post #AlGN5Qc0wRKK0g6lWK by eleanorrees@mas.to
       2024-08-23T15:36:56Z
       
       0 likes, 0 repeats
       
       In summary: if you enjoy doing things and having a life, Long Covid is well worth avoiding. I haven’t written all this for sympathy (although it’s appreciated). I also won’t have the energy to do much replying. I just hope perhaps it helps someone understand what their friend/relative/colleague might be dealing with, and maybe even avoid spreading one infection themselves. Even one would make a difference./end