Hoops, Hoops and More Hoops!

I decided to get the vaccine as I was teaching swimming to infants and young children and thought the parents would be happy knowing that I was vaxxed. I haven’t been able to teach since unfortunately. So, I officially retired at 65 kicking and screaming.
Feb.10th, 2021 I received my first Moderna vaccine. I did have redness and swelling at the sight which lasted a week or two. I started having what I called “waves of headache.” I had always been able to take a Tylenol and the headache would go away. I hardly ever had headaches. Due to a bad snow/windstorm the top of a tree sheered off and came down on our truck. I was dealing with insurance and all so I probably blamed the headaches on stress and never thought about the vaccine.
March 10th, 2021 I received my second Moderna vaccine. I didn’t have as much redness and swelling that time. After about a week I was experiencing stronger headaches. I also started experiencing light sensitivity which I later found out was called Photophobia. I also struggled with loud noises, Phonophobia. I had friends who had told me about their migraines and I then realized that I was experiencing them. At night I would see lots of lights before my eyes and it felt like my head was spinning around. I would experience the headaches all day, worse in the evening and horrible in the night. Scrolling through emails was brutal on my head. I also started feeling totally fatigued and dealing with brain fog.
My PCP, Nurse Practitioner didn’t believe it was the vaccine. I was told I was possibly on my devices too much. Why were they happening in the night if this were the case I asked. This started the title of my story of “Hoops, Hoops and More Hoops!”
Four years later as I write this, 3/18/2025, I am on 5 different medications for the migraines. I am on Sumatriptan as needed, Propanarol and Venlafaxene due to their secondary properties of helping with headaches, Botox injections every 3 months, Ajovy injectable every month and MigRelief herbal supplement. I also take many supplements to help with cognitive ability, fatigue and gut health.
My diet has totally changed and I have lost several pounds and am now below normal BMI.
Eighteen doctors including Neurologists, Integrative Medicine and Infectious Disease later I am still not healed. I am also in the NIH Recover Study even thought I don’t believe I ever contracted covid. They took me due to experiencing all the Long Haul covid symptoms.
This has been truly horrible. I am thankful for MendaHealth as they are helping me with this chronic pain experience. Six months ago I started feeling arthritic/carpal tunnel/muscle sprain/strain symptoms in both hands. My Physical Therapist doesn’t understand why I am taking so long to heal!
Thanks for listening to part of my story. You haven’t heard the half of it but it’s too long to type out here!