My Covid experience

[live love laugh]

Got home Saturday night feeling a little run down and sniffly after a week long road trip. The lymph nodes behind my ear / side of my neck were kind of pulsing and my throat tingled a little. But no fever. Took a home test Sat. night—negative.

Sunday, constantly runny nose and watery eyes took a second test and it lit up like a Christmas tree. Positive.

Then, lots of coughing at night; extremely stuffy nose—more than I can ever remember but it subsided once I drank fluids and moved around. Also I can’t smell or taste when it is stopped up. It was really hard to breathe in or out of my nose at one point though and I shudder to think what breathing would be like if I wasn’t vaccinated and boosted once.

This affirms to me that all of the “colds” that seem so prevalent right now aren’t just colds. I haven’t had a cold in at least 5 years. I followed up with a second test. I had friends tell me I was being overly cautious. Most people see the negative result and accept it at face value. I have since gotten two positives at home. I was told by the dr. today that home tests are prone to false negatives but that two positives is pretty valid.

Contacted my primary for paxlovid because even though my symptoms are mild idk if they’ll stay that way. However, further checking shows the drug has undesirable side effects and interactions and I’m in a quandary as to whether to take by tomorrow’s deadline or ride out the mild symptoms.

Also I’m constantly astounded at people that I am okay with until politics are involved. I texted a contact who replied telling me I should read RFK Jr’s book “The Real Dr. Fauci”. (Jesus. H. Christ. WTAF is wrong with people?!)

[Ms. Toad]

1. At least 25 of the 100 people on a recent dive trip I participated in

contracted COVID. Most of those tested only because a few of us "overly cautious" people posted that we had returned home to positive tests (including me andy my spouse).

As to Paxlovid - I'm at risk for a number of reasons (recent cancer treatment, age, BMI, diabetes). I didn't seek treatment with it based on the mildness of my symptoms. I had a scratchy throat (no worse than usual after 5 days of diving) and a stuffy nose so "bad" that I used all of 2 dozen tissues. I also had a bit of a cough. Timing would have made it difficult - but I mostly ruled it out based on symptoms.

Mine were likely mild becasue I had been boosted 21 days before I contracted it.

[live love laugh]

2. Glad you're OK. I notified the people from my trip. They can do what they will.

[Ms. Toad]

5. I notified the group of 8 I spent the most time with

(my dive group). Of the 8, 3 tested positive, one tested negative but is more symptomatic than most of us who tested positive. The mother of another couple in the group tested positive.

I notified by local board of health following my positive test. In theory they are supposed to initiate contact tracing with the airline . . . in theory. I received my threat of criminal sanctions if I don't isolate for 5 days the day before the order expired. My spouse received hers the day after.

Definitely glad I'm OK, at least as to acute symptoms. Now we wait to see if any of the known (or unknown) impactrs bite me in the butt (increased risk of shingles, increased risk of heart attack, increased risk of stroke)

[Hugin]

9. Oh, no! Not you Ms. T!

Dang, I am doomed.

I have had a number of seriously intense exposures over the last month and haven’t shown up positive. Due to a couple of vulnerable people in my proximity, I test often. Two were PCRs. I have entertained the idea I may currently be immune. Something I don’t take for granted because I believe with the nature of the COVID virus, immunity may be transitory.

To pass the time I have been asking those I encounter wearing a mask if they’ve had COVID. They almost universally say yes lately. I ask them why they are wearing a mask and most reply, they don’t want it ever again. I would like to ask about vaccination and haven’t so far. Masks can be seen and to me vaccination status is a private matter.

[Ms. Toad]

10. My spouse almost certainly contracted it mid-week.

That has always been my achilles tendon - since she is not careful. (At home, when she has been taking unreasonable risks, I can sleep in my recliner in the living room with an air purifier running. Not so easy in a single hotel room.)

She had a massive "allergy" attack on Wednesday during the trip. She does have massive allergy attacks and has always consistently tested negative before. She tested negative on Wednesday - and her symptoms were consistent with all of her past allergy attacks. She mentioned to me, the same day of her allergy attack, that several divers got hit with "Montezuma's Revenge." Each of those divers later tested positive - but none tested before they returned home. They simply didn't connect (and I didn't either) their GI symptoms with COVID.

We did sleep in the same room in separate beds for the first time in 40 years following her "allergy" attack - but that wasn't even enough to convince her to maks on the airplane, or in our nephews' home where we stayed overnight on the way home.

My experience with COVID was mild enough that - if I were short-sighted enough to care only about the immediate impact - I might not wear a mask. BUT - my concern (post vaccine availability) has never been limited to personal experience. I am concerned about creating additional new variants, about exposing others, and about the long-term consequences that we won't know about for a couple of decades.

So I'll continue to mask unless the community transmission rate falls to below the previous standards for low transmission. (And given that a lot of people aren't even bothering to test - or report if they do test - I am not sure what my new standard will be.

[Hugin]

15. I have heard several tales of the allergy vs GI manifestations.

Although the last GI manifestations I heard about were pre-Omicron and mostly in vaccinated individuals.

I developed the hypothesis that the manifestations had something to do with where the virus managed to take hold. If it was ‘allergy’ it seemed to make sense it was inhaled and the GI was a droplet or something swallowed. In the allergy case the virus starts in the sinuses and ‘wind pipe’. For the GI it attacks, the esophagus or lower in the intestinal tract.

I was also wondering if the nasal swab test was very sensitive to the early GI manifestations.

Maybe the GI manifestations are going to become more common again with the later Omicron variants, .4, & .5?

Few seem to care, although, there was news last week another round of boosters was secured for the Fall.

[Ms. Toad]

17. COVID transmission by the GI route is uncommon

Early on, people were worried about groceries, contact with dirty surfaces, etc. Also relatively early on, that was established to be an uncommon means of transmission - virtually all of it is via aerosolized matter.

From the CDC (since I'm multi-tasking and need to avoid focusing on better research):

The principal mode by which people are infected with SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) is through exposure to respiratory droplets carrying infectious virus. It is possible for people to be infected through contact with contaminated surfaces or objects (fomites), but the risk is generally considered to be low.

COVID is just darn unpredictable. It impacts so many body systems (even within the it same variant) that someone with no, or mild symptoms, could transmit it to someone else who dies, or loses a leg due to blood clots, or requires one or more organ transplants due to organ damage.

20-25% of those infected out of our group had very significant GI symptoms.

I don't know of anyone in our group with GI symptoms who tested themselves at the time of the GI symptoms. We were in Cozumel, where it isn't safe to drink the water (or brush your teeth with it, or use ice cubes in your drink made with local water, etc.). They all assumed they had accidentally consumed the local water. for the most part, for folks who had both GI and respiratory, the GI symptoms came 1-2 days before the respiratory. No one has reported GI symptoms and a later negative test (although not all with respiratory symptoms, alone, tested positive - including one couple who tested negative (the one with pretty severe symptoms) and positive (the one with very mild symptoms).

But since BA.4 and .5 are currently the dominant variants, it's almost certainly what we got. In addition to the GI manifestations, at least two had very significant lung involvement (less common with the earlier versions of omicron).

I'm pretty discouraged about the lack of caring (especially on DU), and the refusal to take simple precautions like wearing masks. This disease doesn't seem to be following the normal path of more contagious = less serious. I think the decrease in deaths is because of vaccinations, not because the disease is less severe. If we don't start caring - and this thing keeps mutating at the same rate (and to the same severity of disease), we are in for a heck of a public health crisis as all of the long-term manifestations appear.

[multigraincracker]

3. Best of with the

recovery.

[live love laugh]

4. Thank you.

[Retrograde]

6. If you're fully vaxed it's usually not bad

Both my doctor and a Kaiser covid specialist said just treat the symptoms, which in my case was a cough and general tiredness - which could also be due to have just flown back from Europe and being generally tired. No fever, no loss of taste or smell.

The common cold is a corona virus itself, so it makes some sense that a Covid-19 test might show as positive if you have one (not a MD, just speculating). The current Covid-19 variants going around are very contagious, but don't seem to have a big impact on people who are fully vaxed, but everyone is different.

[Tree Lady]

8. I had such a bad cold end of April

I thought for sure had to be covid, cough, fever for days, zero energy, sneezing runny nose etc wouldn't go away. I took home test negative but got so sick I ended up in clinic thinking maybe it was bronchitis. At clinic they gave me better test and it was also negative. Doc told me that because we have been wearing masks for a few years we have not been partially exposed to germs so when we catch something it will be worse.

Oh joy...I caught from my daughter who thought it was allergies.

Too many things same symptoms. She had tested before I came and was negative.

[vsrazdem]

7. Same here. Got back from a trip to Minnesota from AZ.

Second day back, sore throat, then nasal congestion, sneezing like crazy for 3 days, fatigue. Chest was a little congested but not too bad considering I have asthma and my asthma attacks have been much worse than this. Took an at home covid test on day 3, totally positive. I am still coughing at about 2 weeks and a little bit congested, but not near as bad as I thought i would be. I had 3 shots and the booster. Tested again at day 10 and was negative. I believe the numbers are way higher than reported, due to all the people testing at home and in self quarantine. I never had a fever and never lost taste or smell.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

11. Best of recovery for everyone

[JCMach1]

12. Everyone had it (new Omni variant) in Kenya when I visited a month ago

No one was testing, except for us poor souls who had to do it for travel

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

13. I think I am very grateful that i live alone.

I have not had Covid. I live alone, rarely go out in public, have been masked appropriately. I also have an amazingly wonderful immune system and essentially never get sick. Haven't had flu since about 1972. Haven't had a cold in at least ten years, although that would be associated with my age, currently 73.

As for colds, there are several hundred cold viruses. Once you've had one specific one, you arae immune from that one forever.
which is why when we are little kids we get lots of colds, and as we get older we get far fewer. At the risk of repeating myself, I'm 73 and haven't had a cold in at least ten years.

[LeftInTX]

14. I probably would not take a chance with a med with undesirable side effects with mild symptoms

You should be feeling better in the morning.
If it seems like you aren't improving, maybe take it.

Mine got better after like two days.

[RazzleCat]

16. Most Important

Tell your doctor (yes I see you did). You need this because you will test positive for a while, even when you no longer are. I am assuming that Covid restrictions will come back, if so you can get a note from the Dr. re: will test positive, even when negative.

I too got Covid, I also tested myself twice, first test was positive, but I did it again the next day to make sure it was not a false positive, then contacted my Doctor with my results, and any recommendations. FYI, my experience was worse than a cold, but not as bad as some flu's I have had.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

18. "WTAF is wrong with people?" Simple -- brainwashing for autocracy.

If you can keep the marks mad, and make them believe left is right, you can get them to do anything.