Age: 33.0
Sex: F
Vaccine: COVID19
Symptoms: Muscle twitching, Muscular weakness, Musculoskeletal stiffness, Myalgia, Nasopharyngitis
Clinical narrative: 04/05/2021: stiff left elbow; was more mild by 04/07/21's check-in on CDC's smart phone tool. 04/08/2021: left lymph node swollen, "pins and needles" from left shoulder to left ring and pinky finger, muscle aches. Coincidentally had annual OB/GYN exam that day and described symptoms; she recommended ibuprofen and monitoring it. 04/09/2021: left arm paresthesia continued. Regular PCP was not available, so visited other healthcare provider, who prescribed diclofenac (VOLTAREN) 1 % topical gel for arm pain. Afterwards, chills, body aches, fatigue, faster heart rate, random muscle twitches spread from left arm to rest of body, neurological "pinpricks" or "zaps" throughout body. This would get worse;  04/10/2021: paresthesia and fasciculations throughout body (but mostly left arm and leg), rapid heart rate, muscle and body aches, and fatigue continued. Fever, night sweats; did not take temperature. Felt shaky in the morning. Stiffness on left side of body upon waking; did not sleep on left side. 04/14/2021: sudden shooting pain in back of left thigh to the point of limping. Telehealth and urgent care advised going to ER if medication did not improve symptoms to rule out a blood clot. Although the shooting pain faded to a dull ache, went to emergency room as instructed. In hospital, left leg tested negative for proximal DVT, calf DVT, and superficial thrombophlebitis. Advised follow-up appointment with PCP. 04/19/2021: Described symptoms at follow-up appointment. Left leg felt better, but other symptoms continued. Blood work taken. Upon results, advised to take vitamin D supplement and drink more water. 04/21/2021: Woke up in pain. For past few days, had new symptoms of stiff, sore arms in mornings, heart palpitations especially when trying to sleep, chest pain, shortness of breath, and occasionally a sore stomach in mornings (may have been due muscle spasms at night). Neuropathy and fasciculations continuing. Inability to walk in mornings. Limbs feel heavy and hard to move for several hours. Possible case of Guillain-Barré syndrome, but was not tested for it. 04/23/2021: Follow-up blood work. Also, menstrual period unusually late. 05/10/2021: Follow-up appointment and more blood work. Some symptoms improving after deciding to go on anti-inflammatory diet. Still taking ibuprofen, vitamin D, and using Voltaren. Leg pain gone, muscle twitches still exist, peripheral neuropathy primarily in right fingers, foot,  and left thigh. Cramping in left arm. Right arm numbness persists. Left hand feels cool to the touch but not in pain. Fewer muscle twitches, but intermittently persist in right lower rib cage. Consider nerve conduction study if symptoms persist. 05/17/2021: More severe symptoms mostly resolved, but left eye often twitches and left arm does not feel normal. 10/02/2021: Still getting random occasional muscle twitches; they persist to this day, especially after eating inflammatory foods. Left arm still weaker than right.  11/23/2021: Started having cold-like symptoms. 12/01/2021: Cold-like symptoms continued off and on. Additionally, new tingling down to ring and pinky fingers of left arm, as they did after the vaccine. Due to this, took a COVID-19 test, which was positive. During quarantine, besides a cough, mild cold-like symptoms, and temporary loss of smell, had a (fortunately milder) replay of vaccine side effects, with paresthesia in left arm down to the same fingers, left leg feeling weak, more muscle fasciculations, fever, and tachycardia, but for a much shorter duration. It was as if my immune system attacked the spike protein, but also the same nerves as before, suggesting a new autoimmune reaction from the vaccine.