OT: Discussion about COVID 19 if you have had it or think you might have it

[Pugsy]

Been wondering how many of our members have actually experienced COVID 19 and what their experiences were.
I will be moving one post to this thread where the member talked briefly about his experience.

Me personally....patiently waiting for antibody tests to be routinely available because I had something the first week of March that kicked my butt. Hubby had the same thing at the same time. Long story that I am not going into at the moment but I had classic symptoms.
Didn't see the doctor though...testing wasn't available here anyway.

[Pugsy]

Posted by Joshkins » Sat Apr 11, 2020 8:52 pm
Just wanted to take a moment and tell everyone that I hope they stay safe until a vaccine is completed for this. It's a rough one. I can finally say I'm over it. Never got to the point that I needed to be hospitalized. Best way to describe my experience with it would be a constant asthma attack that you can't get under control. The night sweats are sooo bad, I am throwing my mattress away and going to buy another. As for as my machine, I didn't use it, because for me it irritated the coughing even more.

I spotted this one above and another forum member suggested we break this discussion out of the COVID ventilator Mega thread and I agree. It was lost in that thread and deserves it's own discussion. Have there been any others I might have missed? If so, point me to them.

Further questions

by Dog Slobber » Sun Apr 12, 2020 8:54 am

ChicagoGranny wrote: ↑
Sun Apr 12, 2020 8:16 am

Joshkins wrote: ↑
Sat Apr 11, 2020 8:52 pm
Just wanted to take a moment and tell everyone that I hope they stay safe until a vaccine is completed for this. It's a rough one. I can finally say I'm over it. Never got to the point that I needed to be hospitalized. Best way to describe my experience with it would be a constant asthma attack that you can't get under control. The night sweats are sooo bad, I am throwing my mattress away and going to buy another. As for as my machine, I didn't use it, because for me it irritated the coughing even more.

This is the most important post in this thread. Glad to hear you survived. Do you mind saying your age? What is the quarantine period?

Yes, I'm wondering too.

I'd also like to ask whether you're an asthma sufferer?
Have you since been tested for antibodies and been advised regarding immunity?

and the response

by Joshkins » Sun Apr 12, 2020 9:41 am
I'm 42 years old, i have asthma, and OSA. I was sick for just over 2 weeks. Not sure when I caught it, but will say when the symptoms started, it came on fast, like in the time frame of an hour felt fine to and hour later felt awful. Hope they come up with a better way to test because sticking the swab all the way to the back of you nasal passage and then twisting it is no fun, plus drive thru, you don't feel like driving and waiting in a car line when you have 102+ fever. Test result came back in 2 days. I was prescribed a Z-pack and rescue inhaler. I haven't been "cleared" by a Doctor. I am just mostly symptomatic free now but I am still staying away from anyone. In my area, I have heard that they are suppose to start testing medical and first responders for antibodies this week or coming week, and if it's anything like the testing went, then about 1 week later they will open it to the public.

[greatunclebill]

I got tested because a fever and cough together with copd made me a likely candidate. in the end i was negative' just a cough. here is what the covd19 test consisted of:

covid19a.jpg

[babydinosnoreless]

Been wondering how many of our members have actually experienced COVID 19 and what their experiences were.
I will be moving one post to this thread where the member talked briefly about his experience.

Me personally....patiently waiting for antibody tests to be routinely available because I had something the first week of March that kicked my butt. Hubby had the same thing at the same time. Long story that I am not going into at the moment but I had classic symptoms.
Didn't see the doctor though...testing wasn't available here anyway.

I'd like to know also. Mid January before all this started with covid 19 my whole family was sick. It started with a headache, fever and fatigue, I told my husband I'd never felt like that before. I missed just one week of my aquafit class and by the next Tuesday I felt fine except for a lingering headache so I went to class. I told my classmate that it was weird I couldn't catch my breath and I had only missed one week. She had also been out and we joked about how missing just one week and we felt completely out of breath and out of shape. Later that week I got dizzy and almost passed out in the sauna but I chalked it up to overdoing it. Now I've seen it suggested it the news that it could have been circulating in January and I have to wonder did we all luck out ? Are we safe or was that just some other weird seasonal bug ?

[kteague]

Can't say what we passed around in this house, but it was the meanest bug I've seen in a while. My daughter went to Urgent Care and got steroids and a potent antibiotic. After a week of toying with a sore throat and a headache a mean cough set in with shortness of breath and fever. Four weeks later we're all still coughing. I saw my doc after about a week. Flu test negative. Prescribed me Zicam but never filled it because I'd read that those meds are only worthwhile if taken early in the episode. I already had a rescue and a steroid inhaler at home. This was about a week before the virus testing started being available. I have an oximeter so I've kept an eye on our oxygen for signs of trouble. No real trouble. Lowest mine went was 92 for a short while.

I am no stranger to coughs. When I read that Covid-19 gives one bilateral interstitial fibrosis I thought, great - I already have that. I would not expect to survive this current virus with all my comorbidities. That's the only thing making me doubt if we really had that. But it was a cough different from anything I've had before. For the most part it was a dry cough, but there was a little something coming out of my lungs in very small amounts. Not phlegm, more of a creamy thick mucus (sorry). After nearly 2 weeks that stopped. Strangely enough our little dog has been sneezing and sometimes acting like she's got something in her throat or mouth she's trying to get out. During one episode of this she sneezed and a little blob sprayed out that looked exactly like what I coughed up.

The strangest symptom I had that I can find no record of others reporting was with my tongue. I don't think I lost my sense of taste, but I did have several days I was too sick to eat much. But my tongue felt like a weird severe burning/tingling along the sides of the back half of my tongue. It covered below the tongue and just above the outer edges of the top of the tongue. Never affected the middle or front half of the tongue. Sure would be interested in if anyone else has experienced that.

I don't place much stock in a negative test. I'm reading there's a lot of false negatives. Read today the story of Nick Cordero, actor and dancer, who is in a battle for his life. His wife said he had 2 negative tests before he finally tested positive. I'm hoping to get one of the antibody tests at some point.

[Midwest_non_sleeper]

My daughter was in France on a school sponsored trip to stay for 14 days. They were supposed to stay with a French student that visited here in October.

Needless to say, things went downhill quickly and France was upgraded to a Level 3 country, which meant CDC guidelines for 14 day quarantine kicked in upon her return. They were slated to return on the 24th, but that got pushed to the 17th, and then three days before that, France basically told them "Leave no, if you don't you will be stuck here." The group leader called and got all oft heir flights changed to Sunday, March 15th. They had to go through a checkpoint in Detroit, which was the airport that they were rerouted through.

Anyway, I self-quarantined with her for the 14 days. I wasn't going to pin a $20 bill to my daughter's short, leave her at home and simply say "Good luck!" I sent my wife and son to my in-laws for the two weeks so they wouldn't be under forced quarantine.

Per the CDC guidelines, I took both of our temperatures twice daily and basically confined her to her room. Prior to their arrival back in the US, I moved a dual monitor gaming PC with internet access into her room, a 42" TV with a Roku, a mini-fridge stocked with water, a few sodas and some other goodies, and plenty of healthy snacks in there. The idea was to keep her comfortable in her room for as long as possible without her needing to come out too much. She had her own bathroom to use that I had scrubbed prior to her coming back. I also had clorox wipes, hand sanitizer, masks and other cleaning stuff in her room for her to use. She was required to wipe down at a minimum of once a day.

I cooked every night for us and left her plate on a stand outside of her door. I meticulously gloved up and wore a P100 respirator and sealed goggles when I went in to take her temperature. Afterwards, I immediately disinfected everything.

After five days, she complained to me that she could neither smell nor taste anything. Three days later and I lost my sense of smell and taste as well. Mine returned after a few days, hers took a little longer. This was right around the time when scientists were figuring out that loss of sense of smell/taste was likely a strong indicator.

Neither of us developed any other symptoms and unless we can get an antibody test, we will never know if we had it. I found the fact that both of us lost our sense of smell and taste at the same time sort of interesting. Circumstances happen, but I don't know if they happen like that.

As a first responder, I would love to have an antibody test done, because if I have antibodies, that means that I can take the place of some people up on the front lines and not have as much to worry about. Putting ourselves in the line of fire is what we do, it'll be just like in the Military again!...just, less incoming fire.

Edit: Forgot to say that in January, I started a daily Vitamin D regimen. I don't know if that helped, but it probably didn't hurt.

[Lucyhere]

My daughter got very sick the middle of December. She does have asthma which I'm sure made it even worse. When her fever spiked to 102, and she was having great difficulty breathing, we took her to the hospital. They tested her for the flu, not Covid-19, because no one was talking about it in December. They said no flu but gave her a script which helped her breath, cough medicine, and she stayed in bed for a week. It took her 3 weeks to get completely over it. She had pretty much every symptom people who have had Covid described.

She feels certain she had Covid. Thing is, none of us who were around her even got a cold, so I think it's doubtful. She is going to have a antibody test as soon as there is a place to have it done.

[raisedfist]

In early March my doctor had me come in and said after a physical exam and observation that I definitely had a viral infection. Flu/viral panel came back clear. You can't get a coronavirus test where I live unless you're critically ill and in the hospital, or have severe symptoms and underlying conditions.

For about a week I had a mild fever, severe bodyaches and headaches, low energy, and was breaking out in cold sweats. I can't prove I had coronavirus until antibody tests are available...not holding my breath as I don't live in one of the "special" cities .

[chunkyfrog]

Obviously, the shortage of testing will result in unusable statistics for both spread and severity.
Wishing everyone good health.

[Dog Slobber]

My daughter got very sick the middle of December. She does have asthma which I'm sure made it even worse. When her fever spiked to 102, and she was having great difficulty breathing, we took her to the hospital. They tested her for the flu, not Covid-19, because no one was talking about it in December. They said no flu but gave her a script which helped her breath, cough medicine, and she stayed in bed for a week. It took her 3 weeks to get completely over it. She had pretty much every symptom people who have had Covid described.

She feels certain she had Covid. Thing is, none of us who were around her even got a cold, so I think it's doubtful. She is going to have a antibody test as soon as there is a place to have it done.

Well unless she was dining on Bat Soup at the Wuhan Live Market, she could not have had COVID-19.

[socknitster]

My daughter got very sick the middle of December. She does have asthma which I'm sure made it even worse. When her fever spiked to 102, and she was having great difficulty breathing, we took her to the hospital. They tested her for the flu, not Covid-19, because no one was talking about it in December. They said no flu but gave her a script which helped her breath, cough medicine, and she stayed in bed for a week. It took her 3 weeks to get completely over it. She had pretty much every symptom people who have had Covid described.

She feels certain she had Covid. Thing is, none of us who were around her even got a cold, so I think it's doubtful. She is going to have a antibody test as soon as there is a place to have it done.

I disagree with Dog Slobber. I don't know that we truly have all the facts yet. I had something in late December that took me a month to get over. It was very much like the symptoms described for Covid-19. I got very close to having to go to the hospital due to shortness of breath. It was scary. I have rarely been that sick. I'd be the first to admit that it's likely a coincidence, but I'd also like to get tested for antibodies. A friend recently relayed to me that someone she knows was tested for antibodies and was positive and the only cold they had symptoms for was in December. They might also have been an asymptomatic carrier. I'm just… keeping an open mind about this. The Chinese government hasn't exactly been forthcoming. Hell, even our own country (USA) hasn't been exactly on the up and up about everything involved with this virus. I think there will be some interesting investigative reporting done on this topic and hopefully some interesting books in the coming years.

[Dog Slobber]

I disagree with Dog Slobber. I don't know that we truly have all the facts yet. I had something in late December that took me a month to get over. It was very much like the symptoms described for Covid-19. I got very close to having to go to the hospital due to shortness of breath. It was scary. I have rarely been that sick. I'd be the first to admit that it's likely a coincidence, but I'd also like to get tested for antibodies. A friend recently relayed to me that someone she knows was tested for antibodies and was positive and the only cold they had symptoms for was in December. They might also have been an asymptomatic carrier. I'm just… keeping an open mind about this. The Chinese government hasn't exactly been forthcoming. Hell, even our own country (USA) hasn't been exactly on the up and up about everything involved with this virus. I think there will be some interesting investigative reporting done on this topic and hopefully some interesting books in the coming years.

Not only are you disagreeing with me, you are disagreeing with the leading experts in various diciplines,who have been exhaustingly tracking the spread, genome and characteristics of the virus. None of which would agree with you and others who believe they could have contracted COVID-19 while it was emerging in Wuhan.

The first known case of COVID-19 outside of China did not occur until mid January. "Keeping an open mind" does not mean considering theories that contradicts all known facts and evidence. Those who believe the earth is flat are not keeping an open mind.

The sequencing of the genetic material and accumulation of genetic material matches exactly the tracking of the virus by time stamp and country.

https://nextstrain.org/ncov/global

[ChicagoGranny]

Not only are you disagreeing with me, you are disagreeing with the leading experts in various diciplines,who have been exhaustingly tracking the spread, genome and characteristics of the virus. None of which would agree with you and others who believe they could have contracted COVID-19 while it was emerging in Wuhan.

The first known case of COVID-19 outside of China did not occur until mid January. "Keeping an open mind" does not mean considering theories that contradicts all known facts and evidence.

+1

A word of caution to those who think they had COVID-19 early this year but were not tested. Talking to a friend whose husband is head of our local family practice, I told her of two friends who are convinced they had COVID-19 earlier. The friend warned me that her husband's practice had tested some people who were very sick. The tests were negative for strep, influenza and COVID-19. So, there was something going around with a fever and nasty cough. The doctors don't believe it was COVID-19.

[zonker]

"Keeping an open mind" does not mean considering theories that contradicts all known facts and evidence. Those who believe the earth is flat are not keeping an open mind.

my favorite author taught me long ago to keep an open mind, but not so open that the wind blows through.

[jnk...]

I cooked every night for us . . . she complained to me that she could neither smell nor taste . . . I lost my sense of smell and taste as well. . . . Neither of us developed any other symptoms . . .

Ya might wanna see about having someone else do the cooking next time. Just sayin'.

I'm sure you are aware of this, but for other readers I would like to stress the point that although the symptom obviously takes on added significance during a viral epidemic, the loss of smell and taste is not necessarily unique to this particular virus.

"A variety of viruses can attack the cranial nerves related to smell or the mucosal tissue that surrounds those nerves. Cranial nerves control things in our head and neck -- such as the nerves that allow us to speak by using our vocal cords, control our facial motion, hear and smell. For example, COVID-19 is just one type of disease caused by a coronavirus. There are many other types of coronaviruses that cause colds and upper respiratory illnesses, as well as rhinoviruses and influenza viruses. Any of these viruses are known to cause inflammation, either directly around the nerve in the nasal lining or within the nerve itself. When the nerve is either surrounded by inflammatory molecules or has a lot of inflammation within the nerve cell body, it cannot function correctly -- and that is what causes the loss or dysfunction of smell. And it can happen to anyone: young and old, healthy and sick."--https://scopeblog.stanford.edu/2020/04/ ... -of-smell/