Health Update: February 2026
Since my latest round of Covid, my body just hasn’t come back to me. 😢
Last year in March/April, I had Covid for the third time, and after that, I felt a significant change in my body —it’s like it did something long-term to me.
I started getting out of breath after just a short walk outside (10 minutes of walking is enough to make me winded and feel pressure on my lungs).
My joint pain got worse; now, just dicing two peppers and a chicken breast makes my fingers hurt and gives me cramps in the joints.
I have trouble getting up when I kneel for photography.
When we shoot weddings, around the 6th hour of shooting, I feel pain in my lower back, cramps, etc. Pushing through to 8 hours of shooting is always a massive strain, and then when we get home, I just collapse into bed and sleep through the entire next day.
I have sleep issues; I need to sleep at least 13 hours a day, sometimes up to 15–16 hours, just to have the capacity to get out of bed and do something.
I can manage to be okay for about 4 hours, and then it starts weighing on me again—a gradual fatigue. After 6 hours of being awake, I start feeling like weak and my energy suddenly leaves me, my body gets heavy, my eyelids too... I am suddenly completely without energy and the only thing I can manage is to crawl to bed.
It feels like someone threw a heavy, wet mattress on me and I have to carry it on my back. It feels like mollasses inside of my limbs.
I have to drink coffee or energy drinks just to get anything done during the day.
Sometimes I feel so sick that I have to breathe deeply in bed to calm my stomach because everything hurts so much that it actually makes me nauseous.
A year and a half ago, I was able to walk about 7,000–10,000 steps before I started feeling too tired; now I do about 2,000–3,000 and I’m done. If I do around 5,000, I know I’ll end up in bed the entire next day with terrible fatigue.
Showering or bathing is always a struggle to get myself to do; I literally have to talk myself into going because it exhausts me so much that I have to go lie down again afterward.
I went to my OBGY doctor and unfortunately, she found three new lumps in my breasts. My breasts feel like two big bruises—disgustingly sensitive and they hurt like hell; it’s awful, and they’re like that every day.
I experience brain fog and mix up words on some days.
Around the time I’m supposed to have my period, my belly swells and bloats, and even though I take hormones and don’t have a period at all anymore, my body still reacts to the cycle.
I feel strange sensations in my stomach and sometimes I’m so bloated I look pregnant.
Sometimes sleeping alternates with waking up at 3:30 AM and not being able to fall back asleep.
Occasionally I have very realistic night terrors where I’m awake with my eyes open, moving around the room at night, and I see a spider or mechanical things coming down from the ceiling. It’s so realistic that I normally try to swat them away with my hand, waving my hand in the air, and then I fully 'wake up' and realize I’m just waving my hand at nothing.
I can’t sit at the computer for long, so I either work semi-reclined in a gaming chair or I just can’t work at all.
I get a feeling like a sore throat and like I’m coming down with something when I’m extremely exhausted the following day.
I constantly feel cold and have to carry an electric blanket with me everywhere.
I have lost most of my sense of smell after my first Covid, and my nose feels like it’s permanently stuffed.
Summary of Symptoms
Fatigue & Activity Intolerance
▫️Post-Exertional Malaise (PEM):
▫️Significant "crash" (sleeping all day) after physical exertion like wedding day photography or walking up to 3,000 steps.
▫️Extreme Hypersomnia:
▫️Needing 13–16 hours of sleep to function.
▫️Reduced Stamina
▫️Drastic drop in daily step count (from 10k down to 2k)
▫️Short "active window" (approx. 4–6 hours)
▫️Physical Heaviness: Sensation of carrying a "heavy wet mattress" and extreme physical weakness, feeling like molasses in my limbs
▫️Basic Task Exhaustion: Simple hygiene (showering) causes enough exhaustion to require lying down.
Respiratory & Circulatory
▫️Shortness of Breath: Breathlessness after minimal activity (10 min walk).
▫️Chest Pressure: Feeling of pressure on the lungs.
▫️Cold Intolerance: Constant feeling of being cold, requiring external heat sources (electric blanket).
Musculoskeletal & Pain
▫️Joint Pain & Cramping: Specifically in the fingers during fine motor tasks (cooking).
▫️Lower Back Pain: Pain and cramping after standing/working.
▫️Mobility Issues: Difficulty rising from a kneeling position
▫️Pain-Induced Nausea: Pain levels high enough to cause stomach upset and the need for deep breathing exercises.
Neurological & Sleep
▫️Cognitive Dysfunction: "Brain fog" and difficulty with word retrieval (mixing up words).
▫️Sleep Disturbances:
Insomnia (waking up at 3:30 AM) despite extreme fatigue/ Hypnagogic Hallucinations/
Night Terrors: Realistic visual hallucinations and physical acting out of dreams while semi-awake.
▫️Flu-like Symptoms: Sore throat and "coming down with something" sensation triggered by exhaustion
Hormonal
▫️Breast Issues: Three new lumps and extreme, chronic tenderness/pain.
▫️Severe Abdominal Bloating: Cyclic bloating (resembling late-stage pregnancy) despite hormonal suppression of periods.
— THE DIAGNOSIS MARATHON —
I’m currently in the thick of doctor visits, blood work, and seeing specialists to figure out what’s causing these worsening symptoms. It’s A LOT.
I don’t look sick, but I feel 100 years old.
And it’s real easy to feel like a total failure. I am someone who wants to do so many things, but I'm trapped in a body that can’t do anything right now. Is this a cruel joke by the universe? Feels like it.
I am lucky to have a wonderful support system in my husband, family, and friends who keep checking up on me. 🥹 Chris treats me like a queen, and that makes all the difference in how I’m handling this.
Also, puppy cuddles help. 🐶🐶
Sending love to anyone else navigating a health battle right now 💕
🤍 Please be kind to yourself and to others. 🤍
