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Lauren Goldstein


What was your life like before you received the COVID-19 vaccine?

I was a healthy 33 year old reality TV producer who exercised 5 times a week and worked 60 hour weeks with no issue.

Describe the symptoms and the timeline of the reaction.

I received my first vaccine in March of 2021 and my second in April of 2021. Within 6 weeks of my second vaccine, I started to feel pins and needles throughout my body and in my face. I went to my PCP and was undergoing tests for MS and autoimmune disease and received my booster in December of 2021. Within days of the booster, I started to experience the pins and needles in my hands, feet, back, and internal tremors with muscle weakness in my arms and legs upon waking. That same month, I received a connective tissue disease diagnosis (which may be a misdiagnosis or may have been brought on by the vaccine, I'm not sure). About a month later I started experiencing a sensation of pressure in my head and vision changes. This increased in intensity, I began to have blurred vision, and the pressure and visible swelling eventually spread to both eyes. I was diagnosed with trochleitis, an eye condition commonly associated with lupus.

Describe the solutions that helped your symptoms

Prednisone was temporarily helpful but only did a 10 day course. I also did a steroid injection (Canalog) into my trochlea (the tendons that control eye movement) which have helped the swelling in my face but has not resolved my eye issue.

Which solutions were not helpful?

any kind of eye drops, Plaquenil (so far, but have only been on 200/mg for about 7 months), NSAIDS, cetirizine.
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