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Michael B


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

I was a very healthy, active guy who just turned 60. I had no history of chronic illness or blood clots. I have never taken any long term medications, I don't smoke or do drugs, wwas a light social drinker and exercised regularly. I received a Moderna bivalent booster 2 weeks before I was going to depart to Nepal to trek to Anna Purna base camp.

Describe the symptoms and the timeline of the reaction.

One week after I received my third booster shot - which was the Moderna bivalent booster - I developed a severe headache. I normally would have systemic reactions to the Covid vaccine/booster shots (chills and mild headaches mainly) so I didn't think anything of it and took aspirin which relieved it somewhat. But the headache returned and persisted for the next couple of days. I took aspirin to hedge against the possibility that I was having a clotting issue thinking that may help. When the severity grew and persisted, I went to the ER where I was diagnosed with a Dural Venous Sinus Thrombosis and admitted to the hospital. I was treated with IV blood thinner and, after many tests and scans, was released 3 days later and prescribed Xarelto to take daily. However, from that point on for the next 6 weeks, I had severe, unrelenting pressure in my head along with headaches, shooting pains (all over my cranium), stabbing pain/pressure in and behind my eyes, daily attacks of brain fog (I would feel like I had been drugged) that affected my daily life, heart tachycardia and palpitations, and tingling in my limbs (which later developed into tremors and weakness which I am still having). At the 4 week mark, I woke up with my severest headache yet, my hands were shaking and legs unsteady and I was nauseous - I thought I was having a stroke and went back to the ER. The did a brain MRI and said that it was not a stroke. After 6 weeks, the pressure in my head and the headaches, brain fog, stabbing pains started to subside - never completely going away but much less severe. However, about every 5-7 days, they would return for a day or two then subside. This went on for about 3 weeks after which the normal 5-7 day resurgence didn't occur. It was at this time I started having daily bouts of pounding, rapidly beating heart with palpitations and occasional severe stabbing pains in my chest. Several times I thought I was going to have a heart attack. I had a CT scan and echocardiogram which showed I have a pretty healthy heart. A 2-day heart patch monitor showed I was having excessive PVCs. These attacks went on for about 5-6 weeks and then subsided. It was at this time that my head pressure started to return. It's not as severe as it was at its peak but it comes and goes and I am noticing that the tremors in my hands and the perceived weakness in my legs (I feel at all times like I just ran a 10k) have become persistent and are increasing. That's where I'm at currently.

Describe the solutions that helped your symptoms

Time is the only thing that seems to have helped but I'm still not over this yet.

What would you like others to know?

I have seen at least 5 different doctors (hematologist, neurologist, interventional neurologist, cardiologist, primary care, and will be seeing a rheumatologist soon) and they all have only treated the symptoms. None of them have made any attempts to identify what caused/is causing this. I have brought up the booster shot and have had a variety of responses including: 1) There is no data supporting that's what caused this. 2) There's a good chance it did but there's no way to prove it. 3) No doctor wants to have anything to do with bad mouthing the vaccine because it's so political and there are no readily available tools to prove it - so why would they. 4. Verbally from the ER doctor on my 2nd visit: "We've seen a number of cases where the mRNA booster has seemed to have caused adverse auto-immune issues and you fit that profile." The response about having no supporting data is maddening because I am a data point ready to be collected and no one is making any attempts to collect it. How many countless others like me are there out there???
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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.