My experience with Covid

Iris L.

I am an older woman, over age 70, with systemic lupus, allergies and asthma, and a few other chronic illnesses.  I successfully protected myself from Covid over these past two years until this past week.  I attended a house party on Saturday, and on Tuesday I noticed runny nose and sneezing.  Since I have allergies I was not too concerned.  But then I developed a scratchy throat and a few coughs.  I had a doctor's appointment for the following day, so I did a home test and it came out positive.  I called my hostess and a few other guests to make them aware, so they could test themselves.  I found out today that five others besides me out of sixteen tested positive.

I treated this infection the same way I would treat a common cold URI, with bedrest, fluids and vitamin and mineral supplements.  I never had headache or body aches or lung problems.  My highest temp was 101.1 degree F.  Today, I am on my fifth day, and I have no runny nose, no sneezing, no cough, and my temp was 97.3 degrees F.  I was told to quarantine for five days, then I could go outside with a mask for another five days.

I wanted to share my experience for those of you caring for your LOs who never had Covid or for yourselves who never had Covid.

* Anyone can still get Covid.  Even though it seems to be less prevalent and our localities are opening up, there appear to be surges of new variants.  I am in Los Angeles County, and we had risen back up to the "high" category of cases.  It's important to stay aware of the prevalence in your area.

* The party was outdoors, but I did hug one or two women.  I believe this is why I got infected.  Also, I was not as diligent about handwashing as I usually am.

* Contract tracing is important to me.  I immediately notified the people I had been around.  But the health department and my medical office was not interested in determining where I had gotten infected.

* I called my medical office and got no advice from the Advice Nurse.  The next day I did get advice from a different Advice Nurse.  In the meantime, I had consulted an Advice Nurse who I knew personally from a different medical plan for current advice.

* I chose not to take Paxlovid, because I was concerned about the rebound positivity.  Also, I wasn't that sick, since my symptoms were localized to the upper respiratory areas.  Paxlovid costs $530 but it is supposed to be available from some clinical sites without charge.

* I had two vaccinations and one booster.  I had been delaying my second booster until there was one formulated against the B variants that are prevalent in my area.  Would a second booster have saved me from getting infected?  I don't know.  My vaccinations and one booster did save me from serious illness.  Basically, I had a bad cold.  Actually, I was sicker after getting vaccinated, although those side effects lasted only for 36 hours.

* I had soup, oatmeal, and frozen foods, also pet food, so I was not in dire straits from needing to quarantine.  I also had enough of my medication to last until after quarantine.  

Sayra referred me to Dr. Daniel Griffin on YouTube, he is a virologist with good information.  I had visited cdc.gov, also WebMD and mayo.com for advice.  I also have clippings from my local paper because everyday they publish something about Covid trends and what to do if you test positive.  It is unfortunate but what to do seems to change depending upon the local circumstances.

This is all I can think of right now.  We still need to protect from Covid.  Ten percent of cases are re-infections.  Covid has not gone away yet.  I hope my experience can give you some ideas about your own Covid precautions.

Iris

[Deleted User]

The user and all related content has been deleted.

Stuck in the middle

Thank you, Iris.

I was waiting for the new vaccine also, but saw my doctor for an annual physical yesterday and was advised to get my second booster "sooner rather than later" because we are having a surge in SW Missouri.  My doctor said she recently had Covid and was miserable for three days - and she's at least 20 years younger than I am.  

Quilting brings calm

I’ve been putting off my second booster because we have vacations planned over the winter. I wanted to wait until fall so as to have maximum protection during the winter season.  

I have spring, summer and fall allergies, and thought that was the issue I was having two months ago, which turned into a cold - but no fever, no chills, no loss of taste or smell, no loss of appetite, no fatigue, no stomach issues. Just the basic stuffy nose, scratchy throat and a cough.  I must confess I did not go get tested( had no at home tests at the time)/ didn’t even think about needing to.  I did avoid other people.  Figured colds  would spread like wildfire after all the social distancing of the past couple years.   It was only later that month  that I was told that the fully vaccinated seemed to get COVID which presented as a cold.  There were people at that point that I had not been around that had colds and tested positive. My son also had a cold, but my spouse did not.  

We now have at home tests ready and waiting.  

ZackFootInMouth

COVID is such a strange inconsistent thing.

I was staying over with some old friends, a pair of siblings who live together, for a night and it turned out the younger one picked up the disease possibly a week before we all gathered, mingling and sharing dinner. This was just after the super bowl so around March? The older one and I both tested negative as the patient quarantined in a hotel for a week with only a runny nose. A few weeks later the older sibling gets it, and for a week she has no control of her fluids, can't keep solid food down, and the two of us are delivering food and doing laundry and the like. It lasted two weeks and it was just a mess. Compared to other friends who had fevers, lost their sense of taste and/or smell, this was unexpected. And a month later around independence day, the young sibling gets COVID again (and it's just the sniffles again)... this time his sister definitely got it from him (and her symptoms were a fever and an upset stomach). But since they both had it (and his symptoms were much milder) they quarantined at home together, and both recovered rather quickly this time.

I do worry about long term effects; I've got a litany of breathing issues so I have experience with being winded from reading a book in the park under a blooming tree. I hope this doesn't happen to them when they get older.

caregiving daughter

It is very kind of you to share your experience. I was holding on 2nd booster for same reason. Now I'll rethink due to an upcoming wedding. Hope you continue to feel better!

Ed1937

Thank you, Iris. I've had two boosters, so I think I'm good until fall. No problems yet. But what about Biden? Surely he thought he was well protected.

​fesk

Glad you are feeling better, Iris.

Iris L.

I tested on the fifth day and was still positive.  My temp was down although I still had runny nose and sniffling and occasional cough.  So I isolated for two more days except for taking the trash out.  Today, the eighth day, I went to CVS and to the market wearing my N95 mask and with liberal use of hand sanitizer before and after I touched anything.  I still have a little runny nose and I coughed one time, but overall I feel back to normal.  I never lost my sense of smell or taste.

As far as Biden's experience, it is a puzzle.  I chose not to use Paxlovid because I was hesitant about the rebound positivity.  I have learned that this is not uncommon for viruses, although I never heard of it before.

The new vaccines with coverage for the latest omicron variants, BA4 and 5, are expected to be available in September.  

When the vaccines were first available, patients who had had Covid were warned to wait at least ninety days before getting vaccinated.  But when I asked my health department, they said that rule is no longer in effect.  Just get vaccinated when it becomes available.  But I am still going to check around.  

It is very odd not to become immune for several years after a viral infection.  Covid is very strange and very distuptive.  Nevertheless, I am grateful that I have had a light case!

Iris

GothicGremlin

I'm glad you're doing so well, Iris. And thank you for all of the great info.

Glad to know that boosters for the omicron variants will be available soon. I'll be first in line for that!

I wonder if we'll ever be able to safely go back to how we did things in the before times, or if this is just the way things are now.

Iris L.

I tested negative today!  I still tested positive after five days, so I waited five more days.  I wore an N95 mask the few times I went out.  I still have a light runny nose and occasional non-productive cough, otherwise I feel good.

The CDC has reduced national guidelines regarding masking, quarantining and social distancing.  Of course, local conditions may warrant different guidelines.  I will continue social distancing.  

Iris

Joydean

So very happy for you Iris!!!

GothicGremlin

That's great, Iris!  I'm glad to hear that.

I'm with you -- I'll be social distancing for awhile yet, and I never leave the house without an N95.

Rescue mom

I had it, too; not special but Ed’s question about the prez. getting it while so careful, sort of got me thinking (such as it is)..

I’m fully vaxxed, double boosted, masked in public, and avoided most—but not all—large gatherings. I still got it: agonizing unbelievable sore throat, terrible fatigue, and an awful headache. NO fever, and no loss of taste-smell. Blood ox only 1-2 points low.

I have many chronic health issues, but not headaches. Heard that was a symptom, so tested. Positive. Called doc, given my lack of other covid symptoms, they had me come in for another test. (THAT was a process). Positive.

Doc was reluctant to Rx paxlovid (? That “basic” treatment now) b/c some of my other health issues. He did, but it was not available nearby and I didn’t have the energy to pursue.

I quarantined for 5 days, symptoms went away in 2-3 days except still bad fatigue. I hired temp help at home after quarantine and neg. tests; DH was clueless throughout and can’t do anything anyway, but training/dealing with them was so tiring it was barely worth it.

I would say except for fatigue, it was not awful. I’ve been far sicker. But we don’t  know longterm, which is scary.

The Pres. Took all precautions, but was still out and about to some degree. The docs all say this version is so very contagious; I could have picked it up in many ways or places, even masked. I guess the same principles might apply to him. The big thing is, we were vaxxed.

Interesting, though—DH never got it (vaxxed, boosted etc. like me, but out much less). And the relatively few people I saw socially in the 2 weeks or so before my symptoms appeared, none of them had or have it. Of course I was also doing errands so briefly “encountered” countless people.

AND I took DH to ER for an injury, 3 days before my symptoms/positive test. We were both tested at ER, and both negative then. 

Still so much to learn. I’m thinking some version will be around forever, like flu. We’ll take shots (or not) and some people will still get it regardless. The long-term thing, though….

Iris L.

Rescue mom, regarding Biden: contact tracing is a valued public health strategy to determine the source and progress of an infectious disease.  The people he is in close contact with are known, and they should all have been tested daily.  My opinion is that Covid is not spread by casual exposure, but by direct contact with an infected person.  In my case, six out of sixteen of us got infected.  I have a hypothesis about the index case, but I don't have proof because there was no way of testing that person.  The problem is that people can be infectious before they become symptomatic.  Or their symptoms are so light that they don't believe they are infected.  But like you, I believe Covid will always be with us, like influenza.

Iris