My Initial Symptoms

** Now that I know a little bit more about what some of my symptoms are from, I put in parenthesis and link to a general definition - if there was an actual medical term or explanation for them.) 

January 2020

• Starting around the end of January, I developed a rash on my back that spread from my hairline all the way down to my waist. 
• After I ate, I started feeling nauseous and sick to my stomach. 
• I was exhausted all the time and just felt overly fatigued. (Because of these last two symptoms, I took a pregnancy test, but it was negative.)

February 2020

• Severe stomachaches
• Dark yellow urine (a symptom of acute liver failure) **
• Yellow stool (a symptom of acute liver failure) **
• Bloating (ascites) **
• Night sweats
• Gastral burping after eating
• Diarrhea after eating
• Being awake at night for hours (inverse sleeping) **
• Wake up starving

The most concerning to me was that my stomach started to swell up and I looked like I was pregnant! I would get really bad stomachaches so bad that I would curl up into a ball and lay on my side. Sometimes I would get an upset stomach after eating. I would wake up starving in the middle of the night soaking wet from sweating and have to eat. I often was up for hours after I woke up and then would be exhausted the next day. 

March 2020

All of the same symptoms continued and more piled on top. Everything just seemed to get more extreme and I felt worse and worse every day. 

• Puffy, swollen eyes
• Swelling, tingling in hands
• Fever/chills
• Chronic exhaustion and inverse sleeping to the point where I would sleep all day
• March 7th-9th I was pretty much in bed that Saturday through Monday. I called in that whole next week because I was so weak and in so much pain. 
• I had "good days" where I actually got out of bed for a few hours and saw my kids, but there was no way I could care for them on my own. I had to take constant naps and wasn't eating very much.
• Disorientation, confusion, and not being able to do basic tasks. (hepatic encephalopathy) **
• One evening I wasn't even able to set my alarm for work. I knew that I could do it and that my phone was able to do it, but I couldn't figure it out. 
• March 12th I don't remember until after I was admitted to the hospital.

See the next post for more information on my initial Urgent Care and ER visit.