“COVID or parasite? ”
I have had a laundry list of symptoms I've experienced in the last 13 months that come and go in "waves" including:
Fever, fatigue, sore throat, shortness of breath, chest tightness, shallow breath, sinus congestion, cough, headaches, eye pain, eye itchiness, stomach aches, muscle aches, insomnia, and a very strange series of abdominal cramps, diarrhea, chills, and uncontrollable panic (anxiety) that happens only at night.
I have taken 4 COVID tests which have all come back negative.
My most recent (September) comprehensive blood work was normal except for four things that came back high, eosinophils, creatinine, triglycerides, and thyroid-stimulating hormone levels. *please note this blood work was not fasted.*
Some additional information:
I weightlift and do eat a high protein diet
I have been out of the country to Mexico (2014) and India (2016)
Momma of 2, normal period, no birth control
I do not smoke or drink alcohol, no drugs, no medications. Only vitamin D supplement.
First symptoms were experienced and shared with husband on October 6th 2020 with extreme fatigue. The nightly gastrointestinal issues and anxiety didn't come until October 16th and it was only me. Children have never experienced any symptoms.
I have three hypothesis of what it could be:
1. I'm a COVID long hauler who just for whatever reason always tests negative
2. I have a parasitic infection
3. Some autoimmune disorder, hypothyroidism or possibly lyme disease (most recent doctor thought lupus?)
Not sure where to turn, who to go to for help, what tests to do... I feel lost, my husband thinks it's all in my head so I'm doubting my own sanity at this point. My quality of life has declined and when it feel like my symptoms are improving and I feel better, boom, I relapse.
Any help is so grately appreciated. Thank you.
Fever, fatigue, sore throat, shortness of breath, chest tightness, shallow breath, sinus congestion, cough, headaches, eye pain, eye itchiness, stomach aches, muscle aches, insomnia, and a very strange series of abdominal cramps, diarrhea, chills, and uncontrollable panic (anxiety) that happens only at night.
I have taken 4 COVID tests which have all come back negative.
My most recent (September) comprehensive blood work was normal except for four things that came back high, eosinophils, creatinine, triglycerides, and thyroid-stimulating hormone levels. *please note this blood work was not fasted.*
Some additional information:
I weightlift and do eat a high protein diet
I have been out of the country to Mexico (2014) and India (2016)
Momma of 2, normal period, no birth control
I do not smoke or drink alcohol, no drugs, no medications. Only vitamin D supplement.
First symptoms were experienced and shared with husband on October 6th 2020 with extreme fatigue. The nightly gastrointestinal issues and anxiety didn't come until October 16th and it was only me. Children have never experienced any symptoms.
I have three hypothesis of what it could be:
1. I'm a COVID long hauler who just for whatever reason always tests negative
2. I have a parasitic infection
3. Some autoimmune disorder, hypothyroidism or possibly lyme disease (most recent doctor thought lupus?)
Not sure where to turn, who to go to for help, what tests to do... I feel lost, my husband thinks it's all in my head so I'm doubting my own sanity at this point. My quality of life has declined and when it feel like my symptoms are improving and I feel better, boom, I relapse.
Any help is so grately appreciated. Thank you.
Female | 27 years old
Complaint duration: 1 year, 1 month and 2 days
Medications: None
Conditions: None
1 Answer
You have a lot of symptoms and possibilities as explanations. Ideally you should work with your primary care provider to try and narrow these possibilities down. If you had abnormal blood tests aka the creatinine and thyroid, that is not normal and should be addressed. With the thyroid in particular this sometimes includes additional testing needed to see if you have true hypothyroidism vs sub clinical which means your body was just stressed at the time and not a true thyroid issue yet. Autoimmune is always a possibility and would require some specialized blood test to see. If you’ve had covid it would be something like long covid or just lasting symptoms that have not gone away. As I said the list of possibilities is long. If you have not had other items tested like autoimmune or follow up thyroid tests or vitamin d and such I would discuss further with your primary care provider and try to work through it. Good luck in your search.
Kay Kelts
Kay Kelts
