I can't read anymore - long COVID so far (4 months in)

I caught COVID-19 on January 21st 2022, here's a long video talking about my experiences of being seriously ill for the first time in my life, how stress may have led to it, and what I'm doing about work and money. I hope it's some comfort to others going through the same thing.
Things I forgot
I'm vaccinated (1st dose May 2021, 2nd dose July) and boosted (mid-December) with Pfizer-BioNTech. I dread to think how much worse my symptoms would be without that protection.
Updates since filming (filmed on May 6th)
- My company have been really wonderful and are now covering the weird week 13 for which I'd otherwise be paid statutory sick pay, and the initial 12 weeks of sick leave do now count towards other annual rewards. I wasn't expecting this and I wouldn't be in trouble without it, but it is lovely to feel that they have my back, especially since I'd only worked there a couple of months.
- The income insurance which kicks in at 14 weeks is not confirmed. Since I'm the first case of long COVID they've put together to claim on the insurance there's a chance they'll reject it for some reason. If this happens I'm in big trouble.
- My chest X-ray was all good and so is my oxygenation, blood pressure, and glucose levels. It's great that these tests aren't revealing anything worrying but boyyyyy I'm getting worried about doctors not believing my symptoms when there aren't test results to back them up. I'm hoping the long COVID clinic can provide some solace.
- Huxley had his groom and he is the smartest, cutest little pooch!
Timestamps and links below ↓
0:00 Intro
0:33 Initial infection
3:05 When the Body Says No by Gabor Maté
★★★☆☆|☆☆
Find on Chareads - chareads.com/books/when-the-b...
See on Goodreads - cha.rs/3GTOU97OX/gr
Buy on Book Depository - cha.rs/3GTOU97OX/bd
Buy on Amazon - cha.rs/3GTOU97OX/amzn
5:08 My attitude towards sickness
7:39 Stress leading up to my sickness
10:11 Being bad at resting
18:00 My symptoms
31:43 Medical help
36:53 Money
40:48 Goodbye (and dog)
🏡 chareads.com/
📚 / charlotte-dann
🌟 / charlotte_dann

[@almaseed1413]

Hi Charlotte, thank you so much for taking the effort to make this video. I have been glued to the screen watching it, as I could relate to so many things and haven‘t heard many people talk about them - like the pressure one has put on oneself prior to the illness. I guess I will be watching it again and again… Thanks again for sharing. Take care and all the best wishes from Germany.

[@thebookbelle]

So sorry to hear you're going through this! Wishing you a speedy recovery xx

[@cleverpighiding]

‘It hasn’t worked out too well to be honest…’ is a wonderful way of saying it’s sh*t - thanks for sharing your experiences

[@Mooooooooooooooooot]

So sorry to hear this - have always enjoyed coming to your channel when finishing your book to see if you have done a video on it and have missed them this past year. Particularly scary as am the same age as you and have been guilty of taking a very haphazard (/ arrogant) attitude to covid safety over past couple years. Hope it all get's better soon :)

[@scops2169]

Wow. You are bang on about the hole in our language and the accusatory undertones when we ascribe cause to illness. I’ve got a chronic disease and it’s definitely got links with stress, and I feel mentally lighter after hearing you say that…

[@asyaleonova3090]

So sad to hear about all the troubles that (this damn) covid brought you. Wishing you the fastest recovery

[@elizabethstranger3122]

Im so sorry to hear this! I am diagnosed with the nerological illness ME. I have been sick for five years now. Many experts on believe that long covid and ME might be the same illness. I suggest you seek out a proper ME clinic, but modt impotent of all, you have to pace your activities carefully everry day.dont push your body, cause thats what i did, and now ive been bedbound for almost 2 years. My light sensitivity has gotten so bad that i can only lie in a dark room alone 24/7. I have serious pain all over my body all the time. I also cannot read books anymore cause this illlness often affects your vision. It is a disease of the brain and nervous system, cause by inflammation in the brain and nervous system. I have not been able to walk or sit up on my own for nearly two years. And if you have ME, excersice can be very dangerous, and ive heard some say that it seems to be the same in long covid. Many people sadly still think that this is psychosomatic, but thats wrong, I was put in a mental ward where i collapsed on the floor because i was so weak and I could not get up, and the nurses just kept telling me to get up from off the floor.i hope you can find the proper help for you . I hate to think anyone else has to go through this

[@FatbikerChinoy]

How are you now? How did you get cured?

[@elizabethstranger3122]

@@FatbikerChinoy hi! Sadly, I'm not cured. I'm still bedbound and dependent on care 24/7, and I'm still in agony all the time, but I have started some new meds that have been helping me a bit, and I have some hope for a brighyer future because of all of this new research that are going on regarding both long covid and ME, so I try to keep on to the hope that a cure will be found in the not too distant future, that's the only thing that keeps me going

[@FatbikerChinoy]

@@elizabethstranger3122 praying for you.. there's nothing impossible, especially to the creator of the universe, im also fighting LC symptoms for 20 months now.. God bless us.. we will be healed, in the name of Jesus :)

[@kimbo1414]

I have it also x

[@electraandbooks5925]

I didn’t comment right away but first of all it was nice seeing your smile again on my iPad. I have heard about long COVID but have never met someone going through this. In France there’s a protocol to enter and then you are treated by several doctors accordingly to your symptoms. I knew it can touch young people. A friend of mine has a chronic illness and there are days or weeks she can hardly walk and has severe migraines. I have tons of allergies and now a fragile stomach but it’s definitely nothing compare to you. Glad to know you’re feeling a little bit better every day. Scientists didn’t know about these COVID long terms effects but I saw on TV several professional divers in their mid-twenties or thirties who got COVID in 2020 and they had CT scans a year later that showed how their lungs were severely weakened and couldn’t dive anymore. Thank you for talking so openly about your personal story. As for our relationship to our bodies, with my allergies and auto immune disorder we always feel guilty because it’s coming from us and as you I love working under a certain dynamic and listening to my body isn’t what I do the best either. Now you do !

[@lukem118]

Sorry to hear this. Hope things turn around for you. Stay strong.

[@laurasilvestri2559]

I had covid mid January this year and I am still in my long covid recovery. The thing I struggle the most is to give my self the permission to feel sick; I have always felt guilty about beening sick and have felt like people would not believe me. These past 4 months I had to learn how to listen to my body and accept its needs without judging myself. I hope this challenging time will teach us both how to deal with sickness and stress in the future. I wish you the best. Rest well and take it easy ❤️

[@Chareads]

Yeah that's been one of the hardest journeys for me. I hope that when I get sick in the future I'm much kinder to myself and give my body the respect it deserves.

[@gevisu]

Hi. Love your channel. Really sorry to hear you’re ill. I struggle with pretty similar stuff. I’ve developed severe CFS after chemotherapy. Much like you I have bad noise and light sensitivity. Been ill with this for the last 5 years. Really hope we both get better. All the best.

[@cryingaboutbooks]

sending you all the support 🙏🏼

[@awellreadlife]

Hi Charlotte, so sorry to hear you're struggling with long covid! We have certainly missed your videos over the past year, but it's great to know that you are putting yourself first and focusing on rest and recovery. Glad to hear that you are slowly but surely getting better. It's interesting that you experienced those symptoms from the virus; I experienced something very similar from the vaccine, and like you, received little to no help from the doctors I spoke to. Everything about this pandemic is so new and unknown, and I suppose we can only hope for more support and more answers as time passes. I hope all your medical tests will help usher you onto the right path towards a full recovery, and wishing you all the best.... And don't worry about what anyone thinks! We shall eagerly await your future videos when you are ready to return :) In the meantime, enjoy all the snuggles from Huxley. Take good care.

[@Chareads]

Sorry to hear you're experiencing similar things, there's so much more medical gaslighting when you feel effects from the vaccine rather than from getting the virus. My mum is in a similar situation and I'm sorry to say I didn't believe her when she said she'd felt unusually fatigued after her second dose, now she has all my sympathy. I don't think there's nearly enough being done on diagnosing and curing long COVID, but things can only get better.

[@elizabethstranger3122]

People getting sick from vaccines is not a new thing.. its called ME, and this illness is often triggered by a virus or a vaccine

[@tnan123]

I enjoyed your openness to share your experience. It sounds quite horrible. I do hope you find more answers regarding whether there is something else going on. An exercise regime in the meantime sounds like a great idea!

[@rqbecky]

holy smokes, i could have made this video myself - the symptoms (apart form your vision problems), the workaholism, the cycle of expecting to be better the following week and then that feeling never arriving... all of it. I got glandular fever at college in 2017 (and like you, i didn't know it was more than 'just a cold' until a few weeks of pushing against my symptoms and refusing to rest) and went on to be diagnosed with me/cfs and pots. I now have to use an electric wheelchair outside of the house, carers to help with household tasks, bathing etc. and I can only study one morning a week at university. If ive learnt anything in these five years of chronic illness is it that you have to honour what your body is telling you, if you feel like you need to lie down... lie down! (btw, this sounds like orthostatic intolerance so might be worth looking into pots) It's so great to hear you realising these things relatively early on in your journey and i wish you all the best in your recovery x

[@Chareads]

Gosh that sounds like such a trial. My heart is with you ❤️ I'm working every day to be sympathetic to my body. I'm still confident I'll make a full recovery, but slowly shifting that expectation from weeks to months, and hoping it'll be over before I hit years.

[@ANUPSINGH-it8jj]

Iam also tired after mastrbate 2 times 😂😂

[@saYed_Alaa98]

thank you for this greet summary

[@RobinPalmerTV]

I experienced post covid neurological symptoms, most of which went away other than the inability to sweat. I’m hypermobile (usually referred to as hypermobile EDS), and I’m also neuro divergent. It’s important you look into hypermobility and neurodivergency as part of your over all picture. Really hope your clinic can give you some answers so you can read again 💗

[@lukem118]

No sweat? You’ll be giving Prince Andrew ideas 😂

[@robotnic]

Sorry to hear you're sick. I do hope your hopeful projected timeline works out; my mum has been sick with ME since I was about 11 so I was really fearful about long covid once it started being talked about. It sounds like you've learned a lot, and what a relief your work came through money-wise. I'm curious, if you want to share it, whether you had your vaccine and booster at the time you caught it. I'm not in the UK so I don't remember the timeline.

[@Chareads]

Ah yes! A pertinent piece of information I totally forgot to mention. I'm fully vaccinated with Pfizer and had a booster in mid-December. One doctor mentioned that I'd probably have been hospitalised without it. Grim stuff. I'll add that to the video description, thanks for flagging it.

[@robotnic]

@@Chareads Oof, that is grim. I thought you probably forgot to mention it since 3 doses is so common in the UK. Meanwhile here in the states it can be a bit of an open question when people mention they’ve been ill with it.

[@Lisa3066]

I’m really sorry your going through this! I was diagnosed 2 months ago with Long Covid. After having Covid this past January. I get sick with a hellacious cold that goes for directly to my lungs. It’s been 7 months since having Covid. I’m experiencing fatigue and weakness as well. I’m unemployed and I asked my doctor how I can expect a future employer to okay with my getting sick every month for 3 or 4 weeks at a time. She said I can’t. So I have to wait for the 12 month period before I can apply for disability.

[@pfanderson200]

I also couldn't read for a long time after I got long COVID. I'm a librarian. I just want to let you know it gets better. At first, I couldn't read at all. I couldn't pick up a book. I couldn't hold a paperback book open. I wasn't strong enough to hold a book for reading, physically, and had so much brainfog I couldn't process reading cognitively. I couldn't concentrate on what I was reading. My auditory processing took a sharp nosedive, so audiobooks were (and are) out. At about six months, I used an e-reader propped up on a laptray, and then could read maybe a paragraph. What helped me get back into it was rereading books I already knew. Books I'd read 2 or 3 times already. I could do that. Then, at about 6-8 months I started reading books of short stories. It took me a few months finish the first book that was new to me. The good news: After two years, I was mostly back to reading as normal. I can read research articles again, and understand them (that came very late in my recovery). I'm now 26 months out, and I can now read almost as fast as I did before. I can tell this matters to you, so you will keep trying, and it will happen. Start with going back to old material, and look at it in new ways. Step 1. It'll get you there.

[@Chareads]

Thanks so much for your comment, I haven't heard of anyone else that's struggled with reading like I am so it's comforting to know I'm not alone! I can only imagine how hard that must have been as a librarian, but glad to hear you're almost completely back to normal now. Reading familiar material sounds like a good place to start. I'm really wary of pushing myself too far cognitively as much as physically because it's been drilled into me that I'd just relapse, but doing a page a day and slowly ramping up would be a good strategy.

[@pfanderson200]

@@Chareads Yes, yes, yes. Don't push cognitively. As soon as the brainfog emerges or a headache, I'd stop. Don't push through. Aggressive resting is critical to recovery. Wishing you a full recovery!!

[@magaretmclaughlin6086]

Maybe this would be helpful - I’m into month 7 LC and have visual impairment - low down on the list of L C symptoms Went to the optician - all okay - have come to realise that it is the brain that does not allow the eyes to function as they should and that’s why eye test reveals nothing unusual. I discovered that not feeling anxious doesn’t mean I am not anxious - it hides - it lies beneath the perceptive level but eats up energy and is, in my own experience, a major factor in keeping me on the red needle, sucking up energy, when we are doing our best to do the right thing, like rest etc. I found your portrait very helpful. Thank you.

[@lilyskreinig6994]

Thanks for sharing your story! I have been suffering with LC since March 22. I'm "glad" to hear that I am not the only one with reading problems. Along with the intermittent fatigue, migraines, dizzyness and concentration difficulties, that is my main problem. Oddly enough, almost exclusively when reading in German. I live in Austria but English is my primary language (we speak it at home, I think in it, count in it, etc.), my day-to-day and work language is German. I have been speaking it for nearly 20 years (I am 29) and am by all accounts fluent. After a few months of LC I was able to read in English again - started with "simpler" short books (Bridgerton etc.) and now "only" have problems with more difficult texts like medical papers etc. I work as a doctor so not only do I need to read and write in German, but in medical German. Which has presented me with a real challenge to the point where I am unable to work alone without supervision, because I cannot trust my own work. Besides not being able to learn anything beyond the status where I was when I got sick because I cannot read the textbooks... Still not sure how long it will last and if I ever will be able to work again as I used to... But here's hoping! Also you being apologetic for being chipper hit me like a ton of bricks. I go through the same feeling all the time, even to the point where I have impostor syndrome about having LC lol. The stress of constantly justifying your illness to the world and yourself is just unreal. Thanks again and hope you feel better soon!

[@Chareads]

Oh gosh I'm so sorry LC has effected your reading, very bizarre that it's mostly German, I bet that contributes to the imposter syndrome as well 😔 I made an updated video last month on my journey if that's helpful for you too. I've been seeing a neurologist who thinks my visual sensitivity is a 'gain of function' which he thinks can be treated with epilepsy medication because epilepsy is an overactivity in a similar area of the brain. I've tried one drug (carbemazepine) which I had to move on from after an allergic reaction and I'm on lamotrigine now, I'm very hopeful that something like that works because it seems like there are no other paths forward but waiting! I really hope your symptoms lessen soon ✊

[@pc24681]

Hello any idea on how you caught Covid and was your symptoms mild moderate or severe 🙏🏽

[@lkeeble]

Looking forward to new book reviews when you feel better.

[@christabell9592]

I’m almost 6 weeks in and yes I have fatigue and leg pain plus the tinglies!

[@m1dl1fecr1s1s]

Superb post

[@ChrisDailyReading]

Even though you read it everywhere, it still amazes me how hard a young healthy person can be hit by COVID. And it annoys the crap out of me that everyone is so easy about it now as if it’s gone or “well, might as well just get in and get it over with”. No. You have no idea how hard it will hit you. Best wishes to you and great video.

[@Chareads]

Right?! I had a very close friend talk to me about explicitly not testing because she didn't want to mess up her social plans, and her 90 year old grandma got it and was fine so it wasn't a big deal anyway. I was like--- do you see who you're talking to? how much it's messed up my life? It is so hubristic to believe it won't effect you. I am sympathetic that people want to enjoy life again but we should respond proportionally, like fine, party if the cases are low but if they're high maybe just wait a few weeks? and to me there's no excuse to not wear a mask when you're inside with other people. It's a small courtesy.

[@ThePathOfLeastResistanc]

Better to have natural immunity then get that shot. Look at the data

[@stanleysteamer3212]

Well you at least your taking it well..hopefully you get better soon..its been 10 months for me

[@beccascraps8141]

I’m not all the way through yet so this might have come up, but look into POTS. I got that when I had Covid in March 2020

[@erika7010]

Hello from México. I hope you well now.

[@Thomas-mk9cu]

Doctors can run many tests, but there is no official therapy. I had great benefit from ozone therapy (10-pass, high-dose), but it is costly. Also try cold showers and fasting.

[@GrapeWrath]

Hi... how are you feeling now? I too have LC since infected in April 2020 and on a vent for a month. I'm slowly writing a book on LC and would love to chat.

[@Chareads]

I was reinfected in June and I'm pretty much worse than ever. Can't stand up unsupported, can't walk more than 10 mins without collapsing, still can't read or drive. I'd be happy to talk about it, email me [e-mail]

[@GrapeWrath]

@@Chareads just emailed you....

[@muhammadfazil7157]

@@Chareads just discovered your channel but instantly became my favourite book reviewer. I wish you to recover soon.

[@stanleysteamer3212]

Tell me about the financial stress..I am self employed and a single full time father...the mother is gone and doesnt pay any child support..I dont what I'm gonna do

[@Chareads]

I'm really sorry to hear that Stanley, that sounds so difficult to handle. I hope you are getting some support from other family and friends and taking advantage of all the state/national financial benefits possible. All the best to you and your kiddo.

[@stanleysteamer3212]

@@Chareads thanks..how bad is your fatigue?

[@Chareads]

Eh it comes and it goes. I sleep for about 13 hours of the day which helps. I feel it pulling me down all the time but I can usually go for a walk outside once a day.

[@maureenmullen1236]

Best 2 you! I love your posts. I dislike victorian lit 2. Please post again!

[@keith48993]

Long jab and booster effects are real.

[@reedbender1179]

🎯 ...😂

[@ms-jl6dl]

So how are you so sure that what you have is not vaccine induced? Have your problems started before vaccination? Symptoms of long-covid and vaccine injury are almost the same.

[@Chareads]

I started experiencing symptoms over a month post booster. I then tested positive for COVID. I'm 100% sure that my issues were caused by the virus and not by the vaccination.

[@DontFollowCrumb]

@@Chareads how?

[@ZOKUUUUUU]

@@Chareads mine started after the booster shot.

[@stanleysteamer3212]

Get a mri

[@shadetreader]

The conservatives who have consistently refused to take this pandemic seriously deserve to lose everything, with all their resources being redistributed to people disabled by covid.

[@daverann]

Axa are the worst

[@pauliussvirskas6734]

Have faith, read Bible, Jesus Christ heals everything

[@Chareads]

This is quite insulting. Pushing your religion on people in a time of crisis as if it'll be some great saviour is false hope at best, entrapment at worst. My two best friends are Christians and pray for me every night which is really sweet of them, but not something I believe will make a difference.

[@pauliussvirskas6734]

@@Chareads sad answer

[@beccascraps8141]

🙄🙄🙄 of course. It’s Jesus. How’s a good time to respect Char’s beliefs