Vaccine Injury of Gretchen Douma

Though I am 71, I have been an active senior. I'm retired from a 30+ year career in arts marketing. But I am also an actress and storyteller who has regularly performed on stages around Seattle.

And I work as a "standardized patient" for the University of Washington Medical School, helping to train student doctors, nurses, physical therapists, and pharmacists in their patient communication skills.

My physical activities have included gardening, walking our dogs, indoor cycling, water walking at the Y, yoga and other ways to keep flexible and fit.

I don't know exactly when I started not feeling like myself. But in looking back at my vaccine boosters, I'd say it corresponds to the booster I had in October of 2024. I've always had intense reactions to every Pfizer shot I've been given -- fevers of 100-101, chills, sweats, and body aches. Generally the side effecls last one to two days, followed by a day of fatigue and then they are gone.

But sometime after the October booster, I noticed I wasn't feeling like myself. I couldn't put my finger on why. But I knew what I was feeling Something is not right.

Since then I have had these symptoms. I am intensely tired. I fall asleep during the day repeatedly. I have no stamina for exercise of any kind. Even walking the dogs is too hard. I also feel dizzy all the time -- as if my head was a balloon on a string. A change of position doesn't make a difference in this light-headedness. My thinking is foggy and often unfocussed. I have noticed an increased difficulty in reading smaller type. The images are blurry. I have also developed a dry cough that comes on mostly in the evenings. And I have edema in my lower legs and my ankles severe enough to make it impossible for me to wear some of my shoes.

No solutions. But thanks to a friend of mine who developed Reiter's after getting the vaccine, I stumbled on the Yale study and read about PVS. The symptoms being described were exactly the same as mine.

I forwarded the information to my PCP who has agreed that this might be the cause of my condition. Knowing something is better than nothing. She is suggesting a medication to help with my fatigue, which we will be discussing this week. Fingers crossed it helps.

I sought help from my doctor and we did all kinds of blood tests -- complete thyroid panel, complete iron panel, Vitamins D and B12, CBC, glucose, the works. The results all came back in the normal range with one exception. My Ferritin level is high -- out of the normal range.

I also have had an echocardiogram and stress test, the results of which were normal, though my blood pressure was abnormally high prior to the test -- more than my usual "white coat" response to being at the doctor's office. I'm still trying to get in to see a cardiologist to have a more detailed discussion of the tests and the results. But it takes forever to get an appointment.

Listen to your body. If you don't feel like yourself, document what you are feeling and note how long those symptoms have lasted. Being your own advocate can be hard but don't give up.