Age: 55.0
Sex: F
Vaccine: COVID19
Symptoms: Dyspnoea exertional, Ear congestion, Ear discomfort, Ear pain, Eye pain
Clinical narrative: I received my second Moderna booster for COVID-19 on 5/27/2022. On around 8/5/2022, I started to feel a little run down and mentally foggy. I then began to have a runny nose, sinus drainage in the throat, and ear pressure. I thought that maybe these symptoms were caused by the barometric pressure, so I didn't give them much thought. I then developed a headache around 8/12/2022. It was an unusual headache, as it affected an area that usually isn't affected whenever I have headaches. I thought that maybe I had dislocated a vertebra in my neck, so I saw my chiropractor on 8/18/2022. He adjusted my neck, but it brought no relief for my headache, my inner ear congestion, or my sinus drainage. On 8/19/2022, I woke up feeling fine, though I still had a headache and inner ear congestion; however, I wasn't as fatigued as I was previously. Around noon that day, I felt a burning sensation in my nose and the sensation of liquid moving in my ears. A short time later, I sneezed three times, and I thought that I had a sinus infection. After the sneezing, I then developed sinus inflammation, coughing, and eye pain. I began to feel unwell, because I also felt a little dizzy and my headache worsened. Shortly thereafter, I developed a fever of 99.9 and extreme body aches and earaches. At this point, I still thought that my symptoms were caused by a sinus infection and ear infection and that the body aches were the result of the fever. I also had an aching sensation in my eyes, and I couldn't keep them open on account of the pain. The body aches were among the worst things I've ever experienced in my life. When my partner came home, he told me that I needed to take a home COVID-19 test, so I did and the result was positive. The aforementioned symptoms gradually worsened. At about 6 PM on 8/19/2022, I called my doctor's office, and she told me to take OTC MUCINEX and TYLENOL. She also told me to drink copious amounts of water and to keep an eye on my oxygen levels. She told me that I was to immediately go to the ER if my oxygen levels dropped below 90 or if I felt worse in any way. We discussed the possibility of taking an antiviral, but she was hesitant to prescribe an antiviral on account of my pre-existing health issues and the possible side effects of the medication. She told me that if I felt worse or didn't feel any better by 8/22/2022, she and the other doctors on her team would discuss the possibility of prescribing me an antiviral. As it turns out, though, by the time 8/22/2022 rolled around, I felt somewhat better. I still had a cough and congestion, but the headache, fever, and body aches were gone. I think that TYLENOL really helped. The MUCINEX has also reduced the cough somewhat and seems to have gotten rid of the earache. I took a home COVID-19 test on 8/29/2022, and the result was negative. I then took another on 8/30/2022 and got another negative result. At the time of this writing, the body aches, fever, and headache are gone, but I still feel extremely fatigued and have brain fog. The nasal sinus on the right side and both of my ears still have a feeling of pressure, though it's not painful. My oxygen levels never dropped below 90, but I have still experienced shortness of breath. If I exert myself in any way, I easily develop shortness of breath and have to periodically stop to rest and catch my breath.