My sciatic symptoms began in August 2021 as intermittent left buttock pain and hamstring twitching following an increase in running and rowing volume. The initial symptoms lasted only about two months, but I subsequently developed left leg numbness and paresthesia, which have fluctuated in severity since mid-September 2021.
I experienced several common side effects of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in November 2021, such as injection site inflammation, myalgia, and nausea. However, the most annoying complications of the vaccine were brain fog and vivid and intense dreams, which lasted ten days.
Over the past nine months, three laboratory-based fasting blood glucose tests yielded measurements at or above the American Diabetes Association’s cut-point for prediabetes. However, some factors point against a diagnosis of prediabetes, and there is at least one alternative explanation for my abnormally high fasting blood glucose levels.
My ulcerative colitis remains in clinical and biochemical remission. Despite regular exercise, a healthy and modest diet, and shedding 850 grams of body weight, my fasting blood glucose level was higher than that six months earlier.
Failure to carry out an administrative protocol to manage persons with known allergies led to a 47-day delay in my COVID-19 vaccination. In addition, my initial COVID-19 vaccination series saw a few lapses in compliance with the prescribed clinical guidelines, which fortunately did not lead to adverse sequelae.
Left-sided sciatica I developed in December 2021 appears to be improving after weeks of avoiding running, rowing, and cycling. Sleeping face up with a thin pillow under my calves has also helped.
My bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome recurred in mid-November 2021 and worsened in the ensuing weeks. The symptoms in my hands and fingers eventually came under control in mid-January 2022 with conservative treatment and the addition of an Apple Magic Trackpad 2 to my desktop setup.
