'My heart rate was so high I ended up going into hospital'

Nicola McGrane, who got Covid-19 in March, is trying to get back on her feet after a long recovery from the virus.

Nicola McGrane, who lives in Rathfarnham in Dublin, also has 'long Covid'. She contracted the virus back in March. 

"I got it on March 27," she said. "I never had a fever so I was never tested."

She self-isolated immediately and experienced general flu-like symptoms. She stayed in bed, and after about five days she began to feel a bit better. "It sort of tricked me."

Then the heart palpitations and chest pains came. "My heart rate was so high I ended up going into Vincent's hospital. I got the worst headaches, down my spine even. The doctor said I probably had Covid and I should rest at home."

For the next two weeks, she rested, but still felt terrible. 

I remember I was sweating so much I was changing my sheets frequently. I could only do one pillow at a time, and I had to lie down for an hour after each one.

After a week of feeling somewhat normal, a dreadful fatigue came over her. "I would sleep three or four times a day. My muscles were just so tired. Then I got all these skin sensations, then a rash. My doctor thought it was shingles."

Ms McGrane got to the stage where she could work for about four hours in the morning, but then had to go to bed after. Despite how sick she was, she was trying to rescue her business, Conference Partners International, which focuses on organising events and conferences.

I started having these relapses which lasted for about a month. Then I had two weeks of where I was about 70% of my old self. No doctor could tell me what was wrong. My GP was lovely, he said I had post-viral fatigue, but there was nothing he could do.

She also had terrible joint pain in her wrists, elbows, and ankles, and her feet and hands got very numb.

Ms McGrane says she found her own way of recovery, where she walked for 10 minutes every hour, changed her diet to an anti-inflammatory one, and tried to get outdoors more.

She also recorded her every move, to understand what was depleting her energy levels. Once she figured out what her baseline was, she built on it, little by little.

"I had to exert myself. Just last week I felt like I was nearly there, for the first time in six months. I had to have such a strong mental attitude, that is what helped me."