COVID-19 and Its Impact on My MS: Part 2

In Part I of this series, I described what transpired during day one of my six days of COVID symptoms.

COVID-19 and my MS symptoms

This article will cover the rest of that first day, as well as how the virus impacted me and my MS symptoms during the remaining week I was sick.

Day 1: Confusion, exhaustion, and coughing

After a harrowing day of dry coughing, a bout of flash fatigue in the form of a passing out kind of spontaneous nap, and mental and emotional confusion...

A knock at the door brought me back to my senses and I composed myself. My friend Robin was due to arrive at seven and here she was, punctual as ever, bouncing into my living room with her cheery demeanor and chirping about her day — until she took a closer look at me. “Are you okay?” she asked. I burst into tears and collapsed in her arms.

“What happened? What’s wrong!” I couldn’t tell her. My brain wouldn’t work and I had no words even to tell her I don’t know. So I sobbed. And coughed. And sobbed some more. Then I tried to talk. “I—I—” and faltered to a stop, sighing and shaking my head. This went on for a good twenty minutes. I managed to tell her a few things and she comforted me. After she left I still felt bewildered, dazed, exhausted, and struggling to determine whether the events of the day were real or imagined.

Later that night a coughing spasm woke me. I couldn’t breathe lying down. I got out of bed and went to my recliner in the living room. Now my head was completely congested, I couldn’t breathe through my nose at all. I had a pounding headache, and a nonstop drip in the back of my throat that made me dry-cough so hard it could pop a blood vessel. I slept in my recliner for the rest of the night.

Day 2: Additional and worsening symptoms

I was greeted by an onslaught of cold and flu-like symptoms the moment I woke in my recliner:

• Sinus congestion
• Sneezing
• Pounding headache
• Constant drainage
• Dry hacking cough from the drainage
• Face beat red with accompanying fever
• Eyes would not stop watering

MS symptoms worsened, too:

• Increased dizziness/vertigo
• Arms and legs weaker than usual
• Increased muscle spasticity and pain
• Sensory overload
• Memory impairment

Strange symptoms that accompanied these more familiar ones:

• Blurred vision
• Inability to read, concentrate, absorb information
• Paranoia
• Confusion – inability to determine what was real and what I imagined happened
• Extreme short-term memory loss the first day of symptoms only
• Extreme inability to process thoughts and speech the first day of symptoms only
• The sensation of being outside my body, observing it fighting the virus

Day 2 through day 6: Disruptive coughing

Each day I experienced coughing spasms. This seems unique to COVID and very unlike coughs I had in the past. A throat tickle would start up suddenly and the hard coughing would commence. One surefire way to bring it on was to lean forward. My throat did not like that position at all. It’s an unconscious habit of mine and too late I would realize it. But I did finally learn to avoid the behavior.

*Note: I purchased Dayquil and Robitussin to treat my symptoms. They did nothing. But I kept up the dosage every 4 hours anyway, just to feel like I was doing everything I could.

Blurry vision and an inability to read and process kept me from my online work, and I soon let go of it. I did have energy, so I spent the weekdays cleaning and organizing my apartment instead. This was an unexpected benefit!

Each evening the cough and drainage would let up a bit. I would go to bed around 11:30, hoping I could sleep lying flat. But soon my nasal passages swelled shut and drainage brought on coughing spasms. After an hour I gave up and slept in the recliner. At 4 a.m., I went back to bed and was able to sleep lying flat for another few hours. This has persisted long after my recovery. As of this writing over 2 weeks later, I still have to sleep in the recliner for part of every night. I do, however, also have sleep apnea. A CPAP machine is being delivered soon and my sleep should improve.

Day 6: The upswing

Finally felt an improvement in all my symptoms, and MS symptoms returned to baseline. The cough quieted significantly, and the accompanying eye-watering stopped along with it. That night I was able to sleep in my bed all night.

Day 7: Finally better!

All symptoms ceased. It was as though I had never been sick. That afternoon I tested positive for COVID from a rapid test administered by Walgreens drive-thru service. I quarantined through day 11.

Final COVID-related thoughts

Here is one takeaway I want to investigate: I want to find out if my doctor can write a prescription for an adjustable bed. Between GERD, sleep apnea, allergies, and viruses, I would think some of these conditions might justify insurance coverage for this.

*If you are vaccinated and have tested positive for COVID, it is recommended that you isolate for the next five days, your positive test day being day 0. Afterward, take precautions by distancing and mask-wearing for five more days. Similar guidelines for those who are unvaccinated or vaccinated but not boostered. Here are the most current guidelines from the CDC.