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Carla Corbett


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

Zero health issues. No prescription medications. Retired, moderately active, normal weight.

Describe the symptoms and the timeline of the reaction.

Nov 2020: Initial vaccine was J&J - no reaction at all. Got Pfizer "booster" on Oct 27. Initially, a "normal" reaction - chills, feeling poorly for about a week. Three weeks later (Nov 15), experienced a searing pain across shoulders and down the arms. Extreme, unrelenting pain - worst I've experienced. Only labor pains come close, but without any breaks, continued through the day. Went to urgent care in the evening. All tests negative. They reluctantly gave me one Norco, which caused dizziness and I passed out and fell (won't go into the side story on that).

The next day, the pain subsided slightly, but felt extreme fatigue and very restricted breathing - about 25% of normal capacity. Shortness of breath exacerbated with any physical movement. I didn't want to use the steroid inhalers doctors prescribed, and was told to restrict use of Albuterol to 2 days per week. Pulmonology test resulted in diagnosis of asthma, and was told "controlling the asthma" with inhalers was the only treatment they could offer. Saw my Ayurvedic provider Nov 19, diagnosed "severe immune reaction and neurological response" and she was extremely concerned. Performed treatment and prescribed at home protocol of Ayurvedic herbs/oils. Physical limitations restricted my ability to conform to the protocol fully.

Dec 2021 - Mar 2022: Over the next several months, symptoms very slowly resolved, so that by March, I was at about 80-85% of normal breathing capacity and fatigue had mostly resolved. No improvement beyond that. Referred to pulmonologist, who recommended more/different inhalers. Was made to feel "difficult" because I didn't want steroid inhalers (didn't want to inhibit potential further healing). Found I could maintain an acceptable, but less than optimal (pre-vaccine) functioning using Albuterol every other day. But kind of up and down - seemed healing progress had stopped and I might have to accept this as "normal." Revisited Ayurvedic practitioner and began another protocol to try and overcome that last 15-20% of breathing restriction.

Contracted Covid on April 11. Breathing got worse for a few weeks, but for the past week, I have had a few days where I didn't need the Albuterol and felt almost "normal." So a combination of the Ayurvedic protocol and immune reaction to Covid helping heal the last of symptoms?

I do not see pulmonary difficulties listed in the symptoms listed on your website, but have heard anecdotally of ongoing breathing problems with long covid.

Describe the solutions that helped your symptoms

Time. Albuterol inhaler. Most recent Ayurvedic protocol may have helped.

Which solutions were not helpful?

Steroid inhaler (Alvesco) did not help and seemed to aggravate symptoms. (Tried in desperation at a few points, discontinued after a week of use.)

What would you like others to know?

I would like the medical profession (my insurance is Kaiser) to be educated about vaccine reactions. My insistence that my symptoms were due to a vaccine reaction was totally ignored by the many doctors I have spoken to over the past 6 months. I asked my PCP in April whether Kaiser was treating people for long Covid, thinking that could help since they were doing nothing for reactions. Was told they had "classes" for long Covid patients, but no treatment protocols. Obviously, your group and others have researched causes of and treatments for vaccine reactions. Shouldn't this be the responsibility of the drug companies and federal government? The vaccines were developed in record time, which I suppose is part of the problem. Responsibility and assistance for collateral damage seems non-existent. The information I've provided can be shared, but not my name or contact info.
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The individual experience shared above is offered for informational purposes only. React19 neither endorses nor recommends any treatment(s) noted therein. React19 does not diagnose medical conditions, offer treatment advice, treat illnesses, or prescribe medicine or drugs. It is strongly recommended that, prior to acting upon any information gleaned from a shared experience, you first consult a physician.