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Long COVID — anyone else still dealing with this 2+ years later?

mike_lc
I got covid in early 2024 and I'm STILL dealing with the aftermath. At this point I feel like the world has moved on and forgotten that long covid is still ruining peoples lives. My symptoms: constant fatigue (not tired — FATIGUE), brain fog, shortness of breath with minimal exertion, heart palpitations, and this weird thing where smells are distorted. Coffee smells like burning plastic to me now. I've been to so many doctors. Most of them look at my labs and say everything's "normal" and I want to scream. My life is not normal. I went from running half marathons to being winded walking to the mailbox. Is anyone else still in this boat? I feel so alone in this. Everyone around me acts like covid is over and I should be "better by now." My own family has started doing the "have you tried exercising more" thing and I could cry.

5 Replies

covidfog_j

Still here. Got covid March 2024 and I'm still dealing with fatigue, brain fog, and shortness of breath. My smell is screwed up too — not the same as yours but certain things smell completely wrong to me. You're not alone. The world has moved on but we haven't and that's not our fault. The gaslighting from family is the hardest part honestly. "But you look fine!" Yeah well my lungs and brain didn't get the memo.

still_here_24

same here. got it in 2024 and still struggling. the exercise thing makes me want to scream. my MOM told me to "go for a walk" last week like that would fix 2 years of my body being broken. i did go for a walk once when i was feeling ok and crashed for 3 days after. PEM is real and people who havent experienced it cannot comprehend it

tony_cfs

I have CFS not long covid but the symptom overlap is huge and I just want to validate everything you're experiencing. The "normal labs" thing is probably the most maddening part of invisible illness. Your experience is real even if blood tests can't measure it. Also: push for a tilt table test if you haven't. A lot of long covid patients develop POTS and that's actually treatable.

2024_broke_me

this is literally my story except the smell thing is different for me — everything just smells faint. like i can barely detect anything. coffee doesnt smell like anything. flowers dont smell. its so weird and depressing. the loneliness is the worst part. glad i found this thread.

kevin_lc

Two and a half years here. The thing nobody warns you about is the identity crisis. I was a project manager, a runner, a husband who did his share, a guy who never missed work. Now I'm... this. Whatever this is. I've started seeing a therapist who specializes in chronic illness and it's helping me process the grief of it. Because that's what it is — grief. We're mourning our old selves. You're not alone, brother.

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