so post-illness syndrome from COVID is kicking ya in the teeth, huh

Wholeheartedly relatable. As someone who frequently gets pelted with a wave of fatigue so significant that I can’t stand — I got you.

Disclaimer. Not a doctor, just a spoonie. I have more chronic conditions than I can count. Take medical advice over my advice.

Image description — a hand reaching out to pet a cat that clearly doesn’t want to be pet. On the hand is ‘new symptoms’, and the cat is marked with ‘me’.

It can be pretty damn weird to exist in a body that works then suddenly be transported into a body that works… less well. Believe me, I’ve been there. It’s not, however, all that strange. Your symptoms (hopefully) will lessen across the weeks and months that pass, but it can be hard to look that far in the future when you’re living in the here and now.

Thus, here’s a few points of things I’ve learned as a chronic illness sufferer that can hopefully help you out while you recover.

Rest.

Yeah I know everyone says this, but seriously. Rest. Rest longer than you think you’ll need to. Studies say 6 weeks of decent rest after COVID is important to prevent issues down the line. Y’all need to rest, and that includes taking a break from the gym.

Take. It. Easy.

Try to avoid the news or things that will stress you out, and if you’re really fatiguey, avoid screens too. Listen to podcasts, listen to books. Find a hobby that’s not screen based but you can do while resting.

As an addendum to that — do not feel bad for resting! Sometimes we feel guilty for resting and we shouldn’t.

Capitalism says ‘get back on the horse as soon as you’re not actively dying’ and capitalism’s wrong as usual. Your body has gone through a lot, treat it kindly by giving it what it needs to recover.

A pink ticket stub that reads “permission to rest: admit one” on it.

Foods

Now is, shockingly, not the time to make five course meals. More often than not when I’m going through a symptoms flare up I’ll go, “Hey let’s make something big and nice,” and then I just make… butter rice.

Easy to digest things, rice cookers will save you and so will microwavable rice, packet/precut veges and frut, jelly is surprisingly good at rehydration and may help a sore throat — the tips are endless. Liquids are super important too but I know not everyone can drink plain water — you can get sugar-free drops to go in them to flavour them. I personally drink sparkling water, cause plain water doesn’t do it for me either.

Spoonie Foods is a great resource of easy to prepare meal ideas. My meal if I’ve not been able to keep food down all day is microwave rice in packet chicken noodle soup. It’s hot and hydrating, you can chuck in frozen veg, egg, whatever — it’s simple but very digestible.

Up & Gos and 1 Square Meals are good for me when I need carbs but can’t stomach anything else. They’re not a meal, but they do tide one over.

Digestive… stuff

Hey, are your guts fucked now? Relatable.

I have a very limiting diet which keeps my symptoms fairly minimal, but that might not be necessary for you. Honestly, bland is best. Rice, rice cakes, toast, bananas — things that are simple. I eat a lot of ginger-based things, keeps nausea to a minimal. Gin-Gins are a godsend.

(If this stuff keeps up for a while, Immodium is good too — your doctor can also get you pills that contain the same active ingredient but work better, I’m on a thing called lopermide. However, if you’ve had continuing gastro issues for over a week or are passing blood, go see your doctor. Seriously. This isn’t something you just wait on.)

For the most part, you can throw ‘public toilet’ into Google Maps and it’ll be right 90% of the time. There are also toilet map apps which I’ve had varying degrees of success with. If you’re from Wellington, you’re lucky. Wellington is full of accessible public toilets. Other places, not so much.

A line drawing image of a cat that reads “Tired but still alive and trying.”

Brain fog?

Yeah. I forget everything and find it hellish learning new games.

Sticky note apps for computer screens — write it down even if you didn’t used to. G-Cal, Microsoft Calendar — if you need to use these tools it doesn’t make you a bad person.

Your brain might work better in the morning or at night — see if there’s a pattern and lean into that.

Take breaks.

Reach out to people.

I get it. I’m stubborn too, and far too individualistic for my own good. I have trouble asking for peoples’ help or being vulnerable with them.

Ironically, that’s the most important thing to do when you’re suffering from post-illness or going through a chronic illness flare. People aren’t going to think less of you for asking for help, and often they’ll be super willing to help you. If you need support getting groceries or even just someone to talk to — ask people. Others tend to be more generous than you expect.

Illness and post-illness can be quite isolating, especially in a time of COVID, and it’s important to hold onto those connections. Sometimes when you’re feeling rotten the best medicine is a good friend sending you memes.

Most importantly — as i said above — treat yourself kindly.

It can be frightening to feel your body change dramatically and feel things work differently to how they used to.

If you need to sit while you’re cooking, do that. Look into accessible products like shower stools, precut fruits and veg or automatic choppers.

When I had a broken ankle I rolled around on my wheely chair the entire time. I sat on a shower stool. I used crutches.

It was acceptable then — no stigma attached to my injury.

There shouldn’t be any stigma attached to you listening to your body post-COVID and doing what’s necessary to support it. Treat yourself kindly, because you are the first person who can.

Fuck ableism, your pain is valid, and you deserve to be kind to the fleshy meat sack you call home.

xx peace

A cartoon dog sitting peacefully in the middle of a room that is on fire. The dog says “This is fine.”