During her opening monologue, DeGeneres recalled, “On the fourth day, I woke up with back spasms, and I thought I had pulled a muscle or had slept weird because I was in a different bed. But it just persisted.” She said doctors prescribed her pain pills and muscle relaxers to help ease the discomfort. However, the medication didn’t work, and her back pain only continued to get worse. “It felt like I had cracked a rib,” DeGeneres said. “You know how I make you feel when you laugh so hard your ribs hurt? That’s how it felt—I finally understand how you feel.” This isn’t the first time DeGeneres discussed the back pain she experienced from COVID. On Dec. 16, the host gave an update on her health via her Twitter account. DeGeneres told her followers in a video, “One thing that they don’t tell you is that you get, somehow, excruciating back pain. Didn’t know that was a symptom, but I talked to some other people … Who knew? How come? Back pain. Bad.” And for coronavirus symptoms you need to know, If You Have One of These Symptoms, the CDC Says Go to the Hospital Now Although back pain is not explicitly noted as a COVID symptom on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) website, “muscle or body aches” is one of the more common manifestations of the virus.ae0fcc31ae342fd3a1346ebb1f342fcb DeGeneres said she ended up going on a steroid pack because nothing else seemed to be working. Once she began the steroids, she finally found some relief from the tormenting back pain. And for more up-to-date information, sign up for our daily newsletter. At the beginning of her bout with COVID, before the back pain kicked in, DeGeneres was just exceptionally tired. “For the first three days, I slept like 16 hours a day,” the host said. And for more on her coronavirus experience, Ellen DeGeneres Reveals the “One Thing They Don’t Tell You” About COVID. Before detailing her experience with COVID, DeGeneres related the moment when she learned she had tested positive for the virus. “I was in hair and makeup … and my assistant Craig walked in and said, ‘You tested positive for COVID,’” she remembered. “And then everyone around me ran away.” Following the discovery, DeGeneres said she “left the studio immediately, and our COVID safety team had informed everyone that I had contact with.” And for more on the long-term complications of coronavirus, learn The Disturbing New Symptom of Long COVID Doctors Want You to Know. For many people who get COVID, it can be hard to pinpoint exactly where one picked up the virus, barring any especially risky behavior. “The weird thing is, I don’t know where I got it. I still don’t know where I got it,” DeGeneres said. “I wear a mask, I wash my hands, I only lick three or four door handles—so it’s a mystery how that would happen.” And for more from iconic talk show hosts, Oprah Says This Was the Worst Guest She Ever Had.
