Around a month ago, I became very poorly within a very short amount of time. It felt like a heavy cold, but one that knocked me out and left me reeling. I had a fever and became delirious one night, and the next day I could barely move out of bed. I felt shattered, kept falling asleep and had no energy at all. It felt like it had come out of nowhere, although I had been under a lot of stress the previous week and, looking back, I think I had started to be run down a few days beforehand and just kept pushing on.
I didn’t realise right away I had Covid, as it really did feel more like a cold. I didn’t have a cough or any of the other symptoms to start with and it wasn’t until I decided to take a lateral flow test ‘just in case’, which came back with a faint positive, that I even considered it could be Covid.
I went for a PCR test, which came back positive a couple of days later, and I continued isolating until the ten days were up, keeping away from everybody else in the household, including my mum who came to stay and help with the children and keeping the house ticking over whilst I was incapacitated.
The day I went for the PCR test, I also became a lot worse, the coughing started, alongside being completely bunged up, and I felt like I was fighting to be able to breathe at times, unable to catch my breath. I also completely lost my taste and smell within the space of an hour.
That really freaked me out and is the weirdest sesnation I have ever had. I ate KFC that evening and couldn’t taste it at all, I could just feel the sensation of spices in my mouth, it is hard to explain unless you have experienced it as well, it is just weird and unsettling.
I had to force myself to eat as I didn’t enjoy it anymore, and I still felt hungry after eating as my brain didn’t compute that I had eaten anything as I didn’t taste it. I also couldn’t smell a thing, which was horrible. I found myself sniffing everything in sight, desperate for it to come back. We take these senses for granted so much.
After a few days, I got over most of the symptoms, and my smell and taste slowly started to come back, but I was left feeling utterly exhausted, and both mentally and physically weak. I found it hard to focus on anything, and I was getting worn out from just walking up and down the stairs.
I ended up being signed off from work as I couldn’t focus enough on my work, or get the energy up to go into the office or even work from home. The recovery also left me feeling incredibly low, and I struggled to find interest in doing anything at all for the next week.
Eventually I got my energy back, and I am now back at work and doing things I enjoy again. I am still struggling a little, but I know I came out of it a lot better than many others. I wanted to share my experience, to give a little insight into what it was like for me, especially as my symptoms started off like a heavy cold, rather than the typical cough associated with Covid-19.
I have no medical qualifications, and am simply relaying my own experience of having the illness. Seek medical advice if you are concerned.
