Well… it took almost 3 years, but I got Covid for the first time this week. I’m on day 5-7? and am feeling a bit better – at least enough to write this! Here’s the thing though: I went to immediate care and my experience there has me questioning everything about Western Medicine Doctors (as compared to holistic care).
I really feel my immune system is lacking. My husband Gregg had a basic head cold and it lasted 3 days – that was a month ago. I got sick with the same bug, and it took about a month to fully recover. That wasn’t covid. Just as I was starting to feel better, last Thursday I woke up feeling a bit worse – more congestion and awful headache. It continued to get worse and on Saturday I could hardly move my body was throbbing so hard and so was my head.
So I took a Covid test and it came up positive. My whole body hurt so bad I was crying. It was horrible. I had a terrible cough and my throat was sore and I was just so tired. Luckily Gregg is a fantastic caretaker and got me some Nyquil and made chicken soup and kept my mug full of warm lemon/honey water. The Nyquil made a big difference, especially with all the aches. But on Sunday it got even worse and I had a bout of vomiting – with that I got super chills. I couldn’t stop my mouth from chattering which made my jaw hurt. At the same time I was sweating and getting my clothes soaked every few hours. My temp was running between 96.2 – 96.9 – usually it’s at 97.6. I felt horrible.
Doctors
Since it was the weekend, I didn’t go to the doctor right away. I did write a message through the health-portal and was told to go to the immediate care facility. When I did on Monday, there were already 30+ people in line ahead of me and I didn’t want to sit there that long, so I made an appointment for Tuesday.
So yesterday I went. Before I left I realized I was having dizzy feelings and felt extremely weak. I did also feel a little tightness in my chest. This made me even more concerned. Luckily since I made an appointment, I got right in. The nurse took vitals, asked the questions, and then I waited 45 min in that little lonely waiting room. When the Dr. arrived, the first thing she said was: “based on your vitals, we’re going to do an EKG and see if we’re going to send you to the ER or to the hospital.”
Needless to say, this fully freaked me out even more than I could have expected. The Doctor was concerned I was having a mild heart attack for some reason. I told her I did not think that was right, I didn’t feel the need to go the the ER. I also told her my iron levels can go very low and THAT can cause the dizzyness I was feeling. So I talked her into doing lab work there – along with the EKG she wanted, rather than at the ER.
She did prescribe Paxlovid for me and made me promise if my labs came back with certain numbers, that I would go to the ER later and I said I would. With that, I was on my way.
Results
Once I got home, I realized they didn’t even do a covid test there. I thought they would – or test for the flu? Then I got the bloodwork results back and they didn’t even check my ferritin levels (iron) and THAT was what I was most concerned about. All the other tests came back normal (my normal), including the EKG. I feel like I wasted a Dr. visit.
Luckily, by the the afternoon, I was feeling much better. I didn’t even need a Nyquil till I went to bed. BUT I’m still feeling dizzy/woozey and am pretty sure my iron is so low it’s affecting my brain… but it’s not anemia because my blood levels are normal. I’m trying to find any information on iron deficiency with NO anemia. Like my lips and fingernails are at best pale and at worst blue. My hair falls out. I get weak. I have a hard time just thinking. My last reading was 5 ng/ml.
Obviously it doesn’t matter how low it gets until I pass out or something. I am going to make an appointment with my regular Dr. to get that ferritin test and hopefully another round of iron infusions. I’m also holding off on the Paxlovid because it doesn’t work after day 5 and I’m not sure exactly when I got covid.
Here and Now
Today, Wednesday, I’m still feeling sick. Not as bad as over the weekend – much better! Unfortunately, the lightheadedness and weakness is not getting better which makes me feel my own iron deficiency diagnosis is correct.
I’m hoping to learn more about ferritin and why my body is not processing it – or just holding onto it properly. I don’t get it. Two years ago, when we first got insured (ever) I tested at 7 ng/ml and they gave me 5 iron infusions of 300ml each. After that I tested at 149 ng/ml and I felt the best I’ve ever felt… EVER. Even my anxiety was gone. 9 months after it was at 48 ng/ml.
This year our deductible is high and so I’d have to pay for the iron infusions at $800 a pop with insurance till deductible of $10K is hit – then they go down to $150 each. Basically it’s emergency only insurance. So when my last test was 5 ng/ml I found a clinic that will do iron infusions out of pocket at $300 each. I did 2 of those – one in August and one in September. It’s looking like I’ll have to get in there soon for another – I HATE this dizzy out of body feeling that just won’t go away.
Venting
Ah… venting. I get so frustrated with my body’s health. I wish I could get answers when I see and pay good money for Doctors. Makes me feel guilty too – I use so much of our combined spending money on Doctors and health stuff – it’s not fair to my family. I just don’t understand how it can be so hard to look at the WHOLE body when trying to get a diagnosis.
When they just pick one thing and run with it, it excludes SO MUCH. This immediate care Doctor was stuck on “heart attack” mode and that’s not even why I was there. I wish someone would HEAR me when I say I feel miserable all the time – I know something’s wrong – some sort of autoimmune thing. But according to the Dr. I’m totally fine, other than the Covid that she never tested for either.
Quilting
I promise to get back to posting on quilting projects next time. Currently I’m working on a secret project that I can’t share right now anyway. I just had to get this all off my chest – and this blog is my little corner of the world for that.
