Katrina Jenkins
What was your life like before you received the COVID-19 vaccine?
I worked years as a customer service rep and overnight inventory worker for stores. I was able to not only complete my work but be identified as an exemplary, friendly, and detailed oriented worker. I've always taken walks at the drop of a hat for years just to get outside for fresh air and new perspectives. I used to be able to have meaningful conversations without full pausing because I couldn't get simple words out of my mouth, remember what I wanted to say, or pull the words from my brain. I could actually complete whatever task I wanted and needed to do without shutting down in some type of way.
Describe the symptoms and the timeline of the reaction.
After the second shot, the facial numbing and swelling is on and off consistently. Pains in my head that go beyond simple headaches and are not migraines. The left side of my body from my feet to my head have had a tingling, numbing pain. The digestive issues just keep getting worse since the beginning. I'm lucky if I have a bowel movement once a day. I'm not at the point where it is painful to eat solid food, have not have a solid bowel movement, and getting bad reactions while digesting most of what I eat, which isn't much. I've had blood in my discharge that wasn't during menstruation. My vision is deteriorating at consistently since late summer of 2021. I developed tinnitus in October 2021. Any sleep pattern is nonexistent. I either can't sleep because of pain, wake up from pain, have to sleep uncomfortably sitting up, and also constantly wake up in the middle of the night. Since November of last year, the symptoms in my head and chest have worsened. I have a gapping, swollen feeling in the midchest area and back. It even sometimes feels like something throbbing against my best ribs on the left. There is a swelling, throbbing, squeezing pressure in the left side of my head, feels like the brain. Several emergency rooms visits, and doctor visits have yielded no solutions.
Describe the solutions that helped your symptoms
Nothing feels like it helps, maybe just quiets them a little. I take ibuprofen, liquid thc in juice to help keep my body calm (does not always work), and vitamin d. Vitamin d levels were really low last year so I take it. I also take digestive pills for the stomach and sometimes they help.
Which solutions were not helpful?
I tried a b complex vitamin in the morning and black seed oil in the night on day and ended up in the er. Still don't know why. I have different bottle of gas relievers and antacids, but they don't help. Aspirin makes me sick now. My doctor had me take benefiber that I mixed with water and that was horrible on my digestion.
What would you like others to know?
For those going through this, you are not alone. I was once scared to say it out loud that the vaccine that was given to me has destroyed me mentally, physically, and emotionally. Keep fighting please and offer support in any way you can, even a prayer, for those who need it because someone could be in a worse situation than you. And remember it's ok to cry, yell, and scream sometimes because it all you can do.
