33-year-old Aishwarya Sharan was diagnosed COVID positive in mid August and tested negative in the first week of September. Her case was moderately severe due to pneumonia. She feels it is extremely important to spread awareness, especially given the casual attitude of people. Here’s her COVID story
I was going about my busy life when I started to notice my inability to work the usual hours. I would be out of breath on climbing stairs and felt dizzy. However, I developed no fever and did not consider having caught COVID. Few days later I started to develop a dry cough, so vigorous that my chest would hurt everytime I coughed. This went on for a few days, when finally my body gave up on me. I had to drop off a very important client call (those in management consulting will appreciate why I used the words ‘body giving up on me’, because you DO NOT drop off from client calls). I developed a splitting headache, excruciating body pains and was unable to keep my eyes open. My appetite had now been gone for a few days. No fever still. My sister who is a doctor suggested a swab test because one of our visitors had tested positive about a fortnight ago. Day after we received a call from the administration that I had tested positive for COVID-19. Panic struck immediately, because I had met all of my immediate family in the past week. All of us went into isolation.

TESTING NEGATIVE:
The first 4-5 days of the isolation are a blur. I could barely stay up, headache and body aches were unbearable, and I had no appetite. I took the usual dose of multivitamins, antibiotics to avoid secondary infection and the desi ‘kadha’ and ‘haldi doodh’. I was confined to my room with not much strength to move. I lay on my bed and prayed that I had not spread the infection to the ones I love. Moving pictures made me nauseous, so binge viewing was out of question. Headache made reading impossible. I counted to 15 days, no one else developed symptoms (Thank God). I tested negative in September first week, but decided to isolate for another week to be sure. I started to feel a little better and started to vigorously clean my space so I could get out of isolation.
LIFE AFTER:
I must be perfect now, right? Turns out testing negative isn't winning the battle after all. After 5-6 days of feeling moderately fine, my second bout of illness came in with full force. I started feeling uneasy and was rushed for an emergency ECG. My pulse was very low and we found arrhythmia. We consulted multiple cardiologists who were dealing with COVID patients. One of them suggested it might be dysautonomia, and he was right. Today, 8 weeks after testing negative, here is how I feel:

There is a spinning wheel of debilitating symptoms, but these are the top ones:

Palpitations (pulse anywhere between 45 and 150)

Fatigue (cannot sit up for more than 30 min or walk for more than 5) -- remember I am 33

Dizziness (with the slightest movement) -- postural hypotension

Body pains

Chest pain

Shortness of breath

Why am I not recovering? Am I crazy? When will I get better? When do I know that I am out of danger? These thoughts keep bothering me. So I started to research and found out that there are tens of thousands of people like me who are facing what is called ‘Long Covid’ (lingering illness, prolonged symptoms) At least I am not crazy (phew)

My reading validates that there are two broad reactions that people like me have to face:

Difficulty in being taken seriously at all [symptoms being branded as anxiety or psychosomatic]

Inability of doctors to help [I know your heartbeat is irregular, but I do not know how to make you feel better because this is so new]

I got less of #1 because doctors in the family test the heck out of you. After numerous tests we now know that among other things corona screwed up my Autonomic Nervous System causing a cardiac dysfunction (and thereby ability to regulate heart rate, blood pressure etc.)

But #2 is unavoidable. The recommendation course of action: Rest, wait and watch. There is no medication or protocol to accelerate recovery. It will heal with time

My top learnings / messages are:
There is nothing 'typical' about the symptoms (I did not get high fever). Stay alert to any unusual discomfort. You do not need ‘severe’ COVID to get ‘long’ COVID (case in point). Testing negative may not mean it is over. The virus may leave your body, but the damage done to organs stays on (enough on that already). It is causing cardiac, respiratory, neurological impacts. Build empathy and compassion for people dealing with unforeseen consequences of the infection - Do not question or trivialize their experiences, you do not know how bad it is till you get it and I sure hope you don’t. Also for vulnerable people in general - Wear a mask, for your own sake and for the sake of others. I have been EXTREMELY careful, I still got it. It is not just about me being cautious, everyone else must be careful as well. Everything can wait: shopping, eating out. Use the apps!

Stay safe for the ones you love even if you think of yourself as some superhero. Support your loved ones because isolation and recovery are hard. My family has been my rock and my husband an absolute sweetheart. It is not easy to be patient with inexplicable symptoms and prolonged illness. You may be tired of the virus, but the virus is alive and kicking. Please do not be casual about it. It is NOT ‘JUST’ A FLU, it is anything but a flu.

I am slowly getting better. I am doing my pranayama, taking herbs (ashwagandha) and medication for the nerves, staying hydrated, following up with specialists. 15 days ago I was bed-ridden, today I can sit and walk for a few minutes without being dizzy. It is still a long way from recovery. How long lasting is this impact on my body functions going to be? When can I get back to my normal self? I do not have an answer