[Episode 12] Long COVID | One year after the aftereffects, my daily life has gradually returned, and my current feelings

In March 2025, my long COVID symptoms intensified, and I became unable to move as I wished.
It has been exactly one year since then.

The aftereffects still remain.
Even so, there are things that have definitely changed over this past year.

There was a time when I struggled because working on my smartphone or computer made me feel unwell.

Now, I have reached a point where I can post on note for a week in a row.

The number of people reading my posts has gradually increased, which is truly encouraging.
Thank you always.

And, the fact that the things I think "I want to do again" have gradually increased.

That, too, has been one of the major changes of this past year.

This time, I would like to record how I feel now, one year after developing these aftereffects.

*You can read the progress so far in chronological order starting from Episode 1.
▶︎ Read the recovery record from the beginning

Exactly one year since developing long COVID

I was infected with COVID at the end of January 2025, and
from mid-March, I began to suffer from symptoms where just standing up made it difficult to breathe.

My pulse oximeter readings were normal.

Yet, just trying to walk a few steps made me breathless.
Even after undergoing tests at the hospital, no abnormalities were found at all.

Even so, for a period of time, I was in a state close to being bedridden.

It has been exactly one year in March.

At this milestone, I decided to leave my current situation and feelings on note.

Although I recovered significantly around June,
I crashed in July and my physical condition declined again.

*I wrote about the time my health deteriorated significantly in July in this article.

▶︎ Click here for the article about the July crash

And now, in March 2026, I feel that I have recovered more than ever before.

That said, the shortness of breath still remains.

I can now drive for up to 30 minutes,
and I can go shopping at a nearby convenience store,
but I feel that I am still far from my original physical condition.

Even so,
the reason I am strangely not pessimistic is because my family and friends encourage and support me.

Changes I could not have imagined a year ago

Looking back at that time,
my weight kept dropping even though I was eating, just standing up made it hard to breathe, and I didn't know what to do.

For 44 years, I had never had a major illness, and my hobby was marathons.

I ran the Nara Marathon in December and was infected with COVID at the end of January.

I was scheduled to run the Nagoya City Marathon in March.
Suddenly, instead of running, I ended up in a state close to being bedridden.

I had never expected anything like this.

I was someone who had confidence in my physical strength.

That is precisely why I think I was in the most despair I had ever felt in my 44 years of life at that time.

"Why?"

"Where on earth did the body of mine that used to do 100km ultramarathons and triathlons go?"

I was filled with such feelings.

Even when I went to the hospital, there were no abnormalities in the tests, and there was no special treatment I could receive.

I had an appetite, so I wasn't even given an IV drip.

Even so, my weight kept dropping, and the shortness of breath continued.

*I wrote about the changes in my weight over the year in this article.

In a situation where I couldn't even cook a meal without my husband, I was truly panicked.

For about a month after developing long COVID,
my chest would hurt just from looking at my smartphone,
and I had my husband handle even the most minimal communication.

I couldn't even make a phone call, and just turning on my mobile phone made me feel breathless.

It was a state that truly made no sense.

Looking back now, I think my nerves were on edge, and I had become
hypersensitive to everything, including sounds and stimuli.

Becoming less easily fatigued by smartphones and computers

Working on smartphones and computers was a normal part of my daily life, as I had blog and X posts to handle.
However, after developing Long COVID, I reached a point where I could barely touch them at all.

I really didn't know what on earth was happening to my body.

Even the slightest stimulus would make my chest feel tight, and just looking at my smartphone or facing a computer had become a burden.

There was a period when I couldn't even post on social media or reply to LINE messages myself, and I had my husband do it for me.

Because I couldn't be reached,
my husband would watch me sleeping via a monitoring camera from his workplace.

About a month after I completely distanced myself from smartphones and computers, I started to recover little by little.

I never imagined that I would end up in such a state.

That is precisely why I am so happy that I am able to work again like this now.

I have become able to post on note every day

I have become able to gradually publish some of the notes I have recorded on note.

Looking back on this past year, I felt it was really good that I had left behind those scribbled notes.

At the time, I was just writing them desperately, but

now, they are helping me.

Perhaps not many people develop Long COVID.

Even so, it might perhaps provide encouragement to those who are suffering in a similar way.

With that feeling, I decided to publish a record of my own real-life experience.

Now, the very fact that my records are taking shape makes me happy, and the fact that people are reading them little by little is also encouraging.

Now that I have more things I want to do, I feel both happiness and fear

Even after developing long COVID, although I had shortness of breath,
strangely, I didn't feel strongly negative about it.

It seems that many people with long COVID suffer from various symptoms, such as brain fog and mental depression.

In that sense, it might have been a blessing in disguise that I didn't have those symptoms.

Now, I want to work on my blog.
I want to write more on Note.
I also want to clean the house and work in my home garden.

It makes me happy to have more things I want to do.

But I also know that if I do it all at once, there is a high possibility that I will get sick again.

How to control it—that is my current worry.

My husband also saw how my health declined after I had once started to recover, so he has been careful to encourage me to rest actively lately, which is a huge help.

I feel that there is still little understanding of long COVID in society.

Even so, I don't expect everyone to understand.

Having friends and family who do understand is a great support for me.

It is a problem that comes with recovery, but it is difficult to control because using my arms or walking a little causes shortness of breath, which are essential movements for daily life.

I feel this is a challenge for the future.

The road ahead may still be long.

But, in a way that makes me think, 'Huh? Maybe I've recovered' without even realizing it,

I feel now that I might be recovering like that.

Even so, there are still symptoms remaining.

Now, one year later, I am able to post on Note consecutively with focus,
and the number of days I can sleep without waking up in the middle of the night has increased.

What remains now is shortness of breath after using my arms, and a strong, muscle-pain-like ache that occurs even with slight movement.

Even when symptoms appear, they often settle down after about 15 minutes of rest, and my anxiety has decreased significantly.

Of course, there is the annoyance of having to repeat the cycle of moving a little and then resting.

Even so, because it settles down if I rest and I can resume my tasks, I am managing to get by.

For me, as someone for whom marathon training was a part of life,
at the beginning of my COVID infection, I strongly wondered, "Will I ever be able to return to the point where I can run again?"

But having once lived a life close to being bedridden, my goals have changed now.

First, rather than marathons, I want to regain my daily life.

That is my number one goal right now.

Even now, there are times when even 10 minutes of activity is difficult unless I take breaks.

Still, I believe that if my daily life returns, I might be able to gradually get back to the running I have continued for nearly 15 years.
I think I can slowly return to it.

I want to return to my original body as soon as possible.

While I feel that way, it was a real salvation that I have been able to recuperate without trouble in my daily life, thanks to the understanding of my husband, my mother-in-law, and my parents who live in another prefecture.

I also want to be able to walk my beloved dog, Momo, for longer.

Before the COVID infection, walking for an hour or taking her to the park by car was a matter of course. I still can't do that yet.

But I have recovered enough to drive a car, so I feel hopeful.

As for food, the variety I can eat has increased since my trip in January, and my weight has increased by about 8 kilograms compared to when it was at its lowest.

*I wrote about the January trip in this article.
▶︎ Click here for the January trip record

The weight gain has led to a great sense of relief.

Weight is a savings account for energy. I truly think so now.

That said, the girlish desire not to gain too much weight hasn't disappeared yet, though (laughs).

To you who are struggling in the same way

To those suffering from Long COVID.

Even now, a year later, I am still struggling with symptoms.

I had recovered quite a bit around the four-month mark, but then I experienced a crash and my health declined again.

And now, in March, a year later, although I haven't returned to my normal life yet,
I feel like I have recovered quite a bit.

Honestly, no one knows what will happen from here on out.

But considering that my weight, which had been continuously dropping, is increasing, the variety of foods I can eat has grown, and

I am gradually recovering by managing my life without relying on medication,

I feel now that the possibility of a major illness is low.

Tests show nothing. Immediately after being diagnosed, I was confused and wondered, 'Why?'

But now, my feelings have changed to thinking that if no abnormalities show up, there is a possibility of recovery someday.

What I think after a year is that not thinking too pessimistically can sometimes lead to recovery.
Recovery is not a straight line.

Still, small steps forward definitely add up.
There is no need to rush. That is one of the things I felt strongly over this past year.

Summary

I caught COVID, developed aftereffects, and it has been a year as of March.
It feels like a very long time.

Even so, I am definitely better than I was a year ago.

Right now, I still live a life where I rarely go out.

I only talk to friends via phone or LINE, and I haven't met anyone in person this past year.

But I was able to attend the funeral for my two family dogs.

In January, although I was in a wheelchair, I was able to go on a trip.

Those things were a great encouragement to me.

I still don't know how much further I will recover from here on out.

Even so, I hope to continue living a life without overexertion for another year, moving forward one step at a time.

I also plan to update my note regularly from now on.

Thank you for your continued support.

*Now that I am feeling a little better, I have summarized in the next article the things I am careful about so as not to overdo it.