‘I USED TO ENJOY MY FOOD – BUT NOT NOW’

For five months now I’ve felt as if my body has been taken over by a kind of poison. I had Covid at the start of May – I contracted it the same week my mother died from the virus – and spent two weeks in bed, grieving for my poor mum while sick myself.

Covid was like no illness I’d ever had; I suffered terrible fevers, chest pains and all-over aches that made me feel as if aliens had entered my bloodstream. There were a couple of times when I honestly felt I might die.

Eventually the most acute symptoms subsided, but to this day they have never entirely gone away. The past few months have been a living hell, as I have remained too ill to go to work as a press officer for a charity, and sometimes even to get out of bed.

I’ve had terrible fatigue that often leaves me confused and unable to focus. If I overexert myself, which I can do simply by crossing a room too fast, my body aches all over. I’ve had to relearn how to do everything. I’ve learnt how to unstack the dishwasher with the minimum number of journeys around the kitchen. One day my veins were so swollen my doctor sent me to A&E as he thought I was having a stroke or had a blood clot.

My sense of taste and smell still haven’t returned. Instead, my mouth permanently tastes like off, sweet garlic. I tried a glass of wine the other day and it tasted of chemicals, and I can often smell cigarette smoke even when no one is smoking. I used to love my food. You just think, what else are you going to take away from me?

I’ve had numerous tests but they all come back clear, which I’ve read other long Covid sufferers report. I don’t understand what’s happening. I just want my old body back.