I have Covid-19

[Watercolors]

I just had another telemedicine visit with another urgent care doctor. I’ve been having lightheaded ness since this all started. The urgent care doctor today told me that her Covid patients who have the same lightheaded symptom has to do with low blood pressure. Great. Another scary symptom to worry about: low blood pressure. She did a great job of managing my recovery expectations too. She told me not to expect to be 100% back to normal b/c Covid isn’t like the cold or flu. She told me to expect a full recovery in at least 1-2 months from now. She said if I continue to have the leg pain and low blood pressure symptoms, to be seen in person. I may have to start blood pressure medication, which seems kind of scary to me. I think I will order a blood pressure cuff on my next Instacart grocery order. Tomorrow is my last day of stay at home quarantine. Not sure if I will leave my apartment tomorrow. Kind of scared to. 

[poppyfields]

30 minutes ago, Watercolors said:

Tomorrow is my last day of stay at home quarantine. Not sure if I will leave my apartment tomorrow. Kind of scared to. 

Can you explain this^ WC, I'm confused by it.  Specifically, your nurse advised you may not fully recover for the next 1-2 months, but after 12 days you essentially no longer have covid, or are not contagious and the quarantine ends?  Is that standard for everyone with covid?  Even the ones whose symptoms are so severe they need to be hospitalized?

I was under the assumption (apparently mistaken assumption) that it was only when one tests negative for covid when their isolation/quarantine ends.    

So confusing!!   Try to not worry, it sounds like the worst of it is over?  Or close to?  

Re leaving your apartment, the fresh air and light exercise may do you some good.  

Edited December 22, 2020 by poppyfields

[Watercolors]

On 12/22/2020 at 1:12 AM, poppyfields said:

Can you explain this^ WC, I'm confused by it.  Specifically, your nurse advised you may not fully recover for the next 1-2 months, but after 12 days you essentially no longer have covid, or are not contagious and the quarantine ends?  Is that standard for everyone with covid?  Even the ones whose symptoms are so severe they need to be hospitalized?

I was under the assumption (apparently mistaken assumption) that it was only when one tests negative for covid when their isolation/quarantine ends.    

So confusing!!   Try to not worry, it sounds like the worst of it is over?  Or close to?  

Re leaving your apartment, the fresh air and light exercise may do you some good.  

Please go to the CDC website for that information. I can only repeat what I've been told by the doctors who've spoken to me during virtual visits.

My state dept of health and my local doctors' office told me to quarantine for 12 days. So that's what I've done. [redacted]

Edited December 24, 2020 by a LoveShack.org Moderator

[BC1980]

5 hours ago, Watercolors said:

Add to that, research has shown, the longer you have symptoms of Covid, the more accurate your test (nasal or saliva) will be. I did the saliva test on Day 7. By then, I had ALL the Covid symptoms. So it makes sense that my saliva test would be positive.

That's true for the flu too. It can take 48 hours after symptoms appear to show a positive flu swab. 

[Watercolors]

Just now, BC1980 said:

That's true for the flu too. It can take 48 hours after symptoms appear to show a positive flu swab. 

Yeah that makes sense. If you have the symptoms longer, then its definitely easier to detect.

[BC1980]

58 minutes ago, poppyfields said:

Can you explain this^ WC, I'm confused by it.  Specifically, your nurse advised you may not fully recover for the next 1-2 months, but after 12 days you essentially no longer have covid, or are not contagious and the quarantine ends?  Is that standard for everyone with covid?  Even the ones whose symptoms are so severe they need to be hospitalized?

I was under the assumption (apparently mistaken assumption) that it was only when one tests negative for covid when their isolation/quarantine ends.    

So confusing!!   Try to not worry, it sounds like the worst of it is over?  Or close to?  

Re leaving your apartment, the fresh air and light exercise may do you some good.  

You can test positive via a PCR (deep nasal swab) but no longer be contagious or shed the virus. A PCR can pick up dead virus particles that are no longer replicating. 

Edited December 22, 2020 by BC1980

[Watercolors]

My doctor told me today that I will continue to test positive for Covid because I"ll have the dead virus inside my blood. But they can't predict how long I will test positive for.

I just don't want to become a long hauler where I have ongoing symptoms from my immune system's response to Covid. I believe my doctor when she told me it will take me a good 4-8 weeks to feel back to  normal since this isn't like the cold or flu where you just recover and feel back to normal quickly. I'll have to wait and see how Covid effects me long term.
 

[poppyfields]

4 hours ago, BC1980 said:

You can test positive via a PCR (deep nasal swab) but no longer be contagious or shed the virus. A PCR can pick up dead virus particles that are no longer replicating. 

Thank you BC. 

[Watercolors]

So its been more than 12 days now since i was diagnosed with Covid=-19 and I feel a lot better. The only thing lingering is the weird leg pain in both of my upper thighs, a cough with phlegm that feels like bronchitis (I had a sinus infection, then it moved down into my lungs) but doesn’t sound like it, b/c I don’t have the “honk” cough. Whenever I get bronchitis, I don’t really cough that hard. But I still get diagnosed with it. 

Anyway, what I’m upset about is that my cousin messaged me to ask me how I am doing. She used to refer to me by name, but she sparkly refers to me as “Covid Cousin,” and supposedly doesn’t believe that I really had it, since I didn’t have to go to the hospital to be ventilated or put into a coma like the more serious Covid-19 patients.

But, mine was no vacation by any means. I literally had the loss of taste and smell, the crushing fatigue where I couldn’t even get off my bed b/c I just slept all day for the first few days, and then came the nausea, vomiting, all over body pain so bad I felt like my body was on fire (I still have pain in my upper thighs that won’t go away either), and a horrible sinus infection with congestion that was so thick, when I steamed my head the first time, thick, white rubbery mucous came out of both nostrils. Yet, my cousin doubts my sincerity. 

This is the same cousin who initially said I could move across the country to live with her and her roommates. Yet, when i asked her to call me or video skype with me about that plan, she just couldn’t be bothered. Then, she got mad at me for backing out, and staying where I currently live. And that’s when her behavior towards me changed from super friendly and communicative, to snarky and cold. Like, telling me, she rarely checks her messages on her phone unless she’s in the bathroom, when I gave her and her boyfriend an update. Like, what did I do to deserve being treated like that?

I wasn’t about to move across country without first video Skyping with a cousin I hadn’t met in person growing up. We just connected online regarding a family reunion that Covid-19 thwarted. As if to say, I’m not important enough to check-in with or stay in touch with, unless she’s on the toilet. How petty and immature is that. Glad I never went through with moving across country to live with her. That would have been a disaster out of epic proportions. But I’m also angry that I have to defend the legitimacy of my Covid-19 symptoms.

Sorry that I wasn’t in a coma and ventilated. Sorry that I had a mild-moderate case with all the symptoms that didn’t kill me. Sorry it has ruined my life for the time being, so much so, that I had to turn down a new job b/c I don’t have the energy to be on my feet all day. Sorry I don’t have the honk cough with bronchitis that most people do. When I’ve had walking pnuemonia I get all the symptoms but rarely do I get the cough too. I don’t know why. I have a cough right now but it’s not hard or keeping me awake at night. I have insomnia but think that’s due to the stress of the way Covid-19 just messed up 3 weeks of my life and the stress of worrying about bills and finding a job where i won’t be exhausted b/c of my stupid Covid-19.

[Wiseman2]

Glad you are on the mend.

Covid is a strange animal indeed. From asymptomatic to flu-like hit by a truck feeling to hospitalizations to deaths 

Avoid talking to this relative if they irritate you.

[introverted1]

On 12/21/2020 at 8:12 PM, poppyfields said:

Can you explain this^ WC, I'm confused by it.  Specifically, your nurse advised you may not fully recover for the next 1-2 months, but after 12 days you essentially no longer have covid, or are not contagious and the quarantine ends?  Is that standard for everyone with covid?  Even the ones whose symptoms are so severe they need to be hospitalized?

@poppyfields Here is what the CDC says about isolation for confirmed covid patients.

Quote

You can be with others after

• At least 10 days since symptoms first appeared and
• At least 24 hours with no fever without fever-reducing medication and
• Other symptoms of COVID-19 are improving**Loss of taste and smell may persist for weeks or months after recovery and need not delay the end of isolation

If you had severe illness from COVID-19 (you were admitted to a hospital and needed oxygen), your healthcare provider may recommend that you stay in isolation for longer than 10 days after your symptoms first appeared (possibly up to 20 days) and you may need to finish your period of isolation at home.

Isolation is for confirmed cases; quarantine is for people who have been exposed but who have not tested positive.

 

Edited December 27, 2020 by introverted1

[poppyfields]

6 hours ago, introverted1 said:

@poppyfields Here is what the CDC says about isolation for confirmed covid patients.

Isolation is for confirmed cases; quarantine is for people who have been exposed but who have not tested positive.

 

Thank you introverted!  Extremely helpful information. 

[Watercolors]

14 hours ago, Wiseman2 said:

Glad you are on the mend.

Covid is a strange animal indeed. From asymptomatic to flu-like hit by a truck feeling to hospitalizations to deaths 

Avoid talking to this relative if they irritate you.

Thanks Wiseman. 

I have bronchitis now. My stupid sinus infection traveled down into my lungs. Every time I get a sinus infection, I just now expect it to morph into bronchitis. I have left over antibiotics from earlier (doxycycline and amoxicillin). I think I will just start one of the left over antibiotics since the urgent care is closed and hope for the best. If its a viral bronchitis, obviously, antibiotics won’t do anything. I have an inhaler and if my breathing gets bad I can request prednisone as I’ve taken that before and it helped me a lot with no side effects other than insomnia. But I breathed great while on it for a week. So, I may need it again. 

My feelings are still hurt by my cousin. I mean, why be so mean to me? She is in her 40s. It makes no sense. We don’t live in the same state and she never initiates communication with me anymore, so avoiding talking to will be quite easy. I’m just surprised at her sudden meanness and I think it’s tied to me not moving in w/her and her roommates. In hindsight, if I had, it would have been a disaster as we’re not compatible personalities as it turns out. So, I would have been far worse off moving there, than where I decided to stay put. 

[Watercolors]

So this article popped up in my newsfeed today about Covid patients suffering major psychosis weeks to months after recovering from Covid, and it has me suddenly anxious that the same thing will happen to me. 

http://a.msn.com/01/en-us/BB1cigNp?ocid=se

 

[Miss Spider]

Being sick sucks. I am sorry, watercolors

[Watercolors]

4 minutes ago, Shortskirtslonglashes said:

Being sick sucks. I am sorry, watercolors

Thanks Shortskirts. I’m more worried now that I’ll turn into some psychotic person, after reading that MSN article about a small percentage of Covid sufferers who became psychotic because of the way Covid wreaked havoc on their immune system - to the point where cells crossed the blood brain barrier and caused the psychosis. 

I still have bronchitis and was told not to start antibiotics until its been at least 7 days of the symptoms. I just want to be physically and mentally healthy again. 

Oh, to add. An old man who lives in one of the apartments on the 2nd floor of my building, wasn’t wearing a mask when he came downstairs to bang on my door to confront me for having Covid. He seemed like he was looking for a confrontation. I had to text the building managers (a married couple) who live onsite and tell them what he did. He scared me to death. He yelled at me, telling me I’d better wear a mask. I could see through the keyhole that he wans’t wearing a mask and there are signs all over our bldg about wearing a mask when you walk through or around the outside of my apt bldg. 

Edited December 28, 2020 by Watercolors

[Watercolors]

So, update from me. I saw my doctor in person, who I'm establishing long term care with. No more urgent doctors. 

She asked me about my post-Covid symptoms so I told her: fatigue, weird leg pain, my menstrual cycle is whacked off its cycle, and I can't walk 2 blocks without wheezing. (This past summer I could walk 2 miles without using my inhaler.)

I did get my sense of smell and taste back. THANK GOODNESS. 

There's nothing my doctor said that she can do for my post-Covid symptoms. My x-ray from the time I had Covid doesn't show "Covid lung" either. Just that I had bronchitis. 

I did a bunch of lab tests and all were within the normal range. While that's good news, it doesn't explain the idiopathic symptoms of leg pain and how my hormones got messed up, and my fatigue and shortness of breath. 

I did catch a cold which makes me paranoid that it could be the variant of Covid. I'm sneezing, coughing, have watery eyes. Same symptoms I had when I was diagnosed with Covid. I hope that it's just a cold virus though. 

[poppyfields]

5 hours ago, Watercolors said:

So, update from me. I saw my doctor in person, who I'm establishing long term care with. No more urgent doctors. 

She asked me about my post-Covid symptoms so I told her: fatigue, weird leg pain, my menstrual cycle is whacked off its cycle, and I can't walk 2 blocks without wheezing. (This past summer I could walk 2 miles without using my inhaler.)

I did get my sense of smell and taste back. THANK GOODNESS. 

There's nothing my doctor said that she can do for my post-Covid symptoms. My x-ray from the time I had Covid doesn't show "Covid lung" either. Just that I had bronchitis. 

I did a bunch of lab tests and all were within the normal range. While that's good news, it doesn't explain the idiopathic symptoms of leg pain and how my hormones got messed up, and my fatigue and shortness of breath. 

I did catch a cold which makes me paranoid that it could be the variant of Covid. I'm sneezing, coughing, have watery eyes. Same symptoms I had when I was diagnosed with Covid. I hope that it's just a cold virus though. 

Goodness WC what a nightmare this has been for you, I'm so sorry.  And so disheartening the doctors can't treat the post-symptoms. 

I've been reading more and more about that, it happens to so many.  

I'm glad you have your taste and smell back though.  Hopefully, the other post symptoms you're experiencing will eventually dissipate as well. 

Hang in, and try to stay positive.  Sounds hokey but I think that's important.  There is a strong connection between mind and body, I believe there is anyway. 

Wishing you all the best.  And I hope your next update will be a more positive one.  ((Hugs))

 

[Blind-Sided]

Glad you are feeling better.  I'm just getting over a bad case of COVID also.  Today is 3 weeks.  I had a fever on/off for 12 days.  The late night chills, and being alone was the worst.  My GF wound up with it, and wasn't as bad, so she helped me as much as she could.  I didn't lose my taste... but I did lose my smell.  That was the strangest thing. It's just coming back now, but it's not perfect.  I don't smell much, but if I put my nose in something strong smelling (candle) I can sort of smell it. 

I just shake my head to all the people who say it's not real, and it's a political stunt.  I'm in the low risk category (Healthy with type O blood)... and I was hit hard enough that 2 of the nights, I was wondering if I needed to call an ambulance. 

[Alpacalia]

11 hours ago, Watercolors said:

So, update from me. I saw my doctor in person, who I'm establishing long term care with. No more urgent doctors. 

She asked me about my post-Covid symptoms so I told her: fatigue, weird leg pain, my menstrual cycle is whacked off its cycle, and I can't walk 2 blocks without wheezing. (This past summer I could walk 2 miles without using my inhaler.)

I did get my sense of smell and taste back. THANK GOODNESS. 

There's nothing my doctor said that she can do for my post-Covid symptoms. My x-ray from the time I had Covid doesn't show "Covid lung" either. Just that I had bronchitis. 

I did a bunch of lab tests and all were within the normal range. While that's good news, it doesn't explain the idiopathic symptoms of leg pain and how my hormones got messed up, and my fatigue and shortness of breath. 

I did catch a cold which makes me paranoid that it could be the variant of Covid. I'm sneezing, coughing, have watery eyes. Same symptoms I had when I was diagnosed with Covid. I hope that it's just a cold virus though. 

Jeepers. 

The frightening uncertainty of post-Covid symptoms is troubling. 

Glad to hear that you feel better!

[Watercolors]

11 hours ago, poppyfields said:

Goodness WC what a nightmare this has been for you, I'm so sorry.  And so disheartening the doctors can't treat the post-symptoms. 

I've been reading more and more about that, it happens to so many.  

I'm glad you have your taste and smell back though.  Hopefully, the other post symptoms you're experiencing will eventually dissipate as well. 

Hang in, and try to stay positive.  Sounds hokey but I think that's important.  There is a strong connection between mind and body, I believe there is anyway. 

Wishing you all the best.  And I hope your next update will be a more positive one.  ((Hugs))

 

Thanks poppyfields. I saw my endocrinologist today. he ordered a (creatine kinase CK-MM blood test that measures the muscle creatine in the body. He wants to rule out Guillain–Barré syndrome (GBS) which can be triggered by viral infections, like Covid-19. If my CK levels are higher than normal, then its GBS or something else that causes muscle inflammation like the diseases MS or something like heart disease, since the heart is a muscle. 

I also believe in the power of the mind, so I am trying to use my humor to get through this. I've known my endocrinologist for over a decade. He's like a brother from another mother with me. I trust him 100%. 

6 hours ago, Blind-Sided said:

Glad you are feeling better.  I'm just getting over a bad case of COVID also.  Today is 3 weeks.  I had a fever on/off for 12 days.  The late night chills, and being alone was the worst.  My GF wound up with it, and wasn't as bad, so she helped me as much as she could.  I didn't lose my taste... but I did lose my smell.  That was the strangest thing. It's just coming back now, but it's not perfect.  I don't smell much, but if I put my nose in something strong smelling (candle) I can sort of smell it. 

I just shake my head to all the people who say it's not real, and it's a political stunt.  I'm in the low risk category (Healthy with type O blood)... and I was hit hard enough that 2 of the nights, I was wondering if I needed to call an ambulance. 

Thanks Blind-Sided and I'm really sorry to read that you also had to endure and suffer through Covid-19. Your symptoms sound horrible. I hope you won't have any long-hauler symptoms that prevent you from being healthy and happy. I agree with you that a large population in our society doesn't take Covid-19 seriously at all, and it horrifies me. It's a very real virus.

6 hours ago, Alpaca said:

Jeepers. 

The frightening uncertainty of post-Covid symptoms is troubling. 

Glad to hear that you feel better!

Thanks Alpaca. I'm worried that a month from now I'll be worse off than I was before. I just picked up a daily steroid inhaler from my pharmacy today. I normally have an albuterol rescue inhaler for exercised induced asthma. I used to be able to walk 2 miles as recent as this summer. Now, I can't even walk 2 blocks without wheezing. I just hope that by spring, I'll feel back to my normal self and won't catch Covid-19 again. I can't wait to get the vaccine for it. And, I normally avoid vaccines like the plague. 

[Alpacalia]

1 hour ago, Watercolors said:

Thanks Alpaca. I'm worried that a month from now I'll be worse off than I was before. I just picked up a daily steroid inhaler from my pharmacy today. I normally have an albuterol rescue inhaler for exercised induced asthma. I used to be able to walk 2 miles as recent as this summer. Now, I can't even walk 2 blocks without wheezing. I just hope that by spring, I'll feel back to my normal self and won't catch Covid-19 again. I can't wait to get the vaccine for it. And, I normally avoid vaccines like the plague. 

That sounds awful. Hopefully, it's not permanent or the severity of "post symptoms" lessons, at least.

[Watercolors]

2 hours ago, Alpaca said:

That sounds awful. Hopefully, it's not permanent or the severity of "post symptoms" lessons, at least.

It's no fun, that's for sure. 

[Wiseman2]

12 hours ago, Watercolors said:

It's no fun, that's for sure. 

Hopefully you're on the mend. This Covid is a very strange and unpredictable animal.

That's why it's tough to say which sequelae someone will get and how long they'll last.

The good news is that you are on an upward healing trend in general and that bodes well for you.

[introverted1]

On 1/17/2021 at 7:50 PM, Watercolors said:

So, update from me. I saw my doctor in person, who I'm establishing long term care with. No more urgent doctors. 

She asked me about my post-Covid symptoms so I told her: fatigue, weird leg pain, my menstrual cycle is whacked off its cycle, and I can't walk 2 blocks without wheezing. (This past summer I could walk 2 miles without using my inhaler.)

I did get my sense of smell and taste back. THANK GOODNESS. 

There's nothing my doctor said that she can do for my post-Covid symptoms. My x-ray from the time I had Covid doesn't show "Covid lung" either. Just that I had bronchitis. 

I did a bunch of lab tests and all were within the normal range. While that's good news, it doesn't explain the idiopathic symptoms of leg pain and how my hormones got messed up, and my fatigue and shortness of breath. 

I did catch a cold which makes me paranoid that it could be the variant of Covid. I'm sneezing, coughing, have watery eyes. Same symptoms I had when I was diagnosed with Covid. I hope that it's just a cold virus though. 

Glad you got your taste/smell back!

WRT hormones and menstrual cycle, IIRC you are close to 50, so this could be perimenopause or even the start of menopause itself.  Apologies if I've misremembered your age.

Hope it all starts to get better for you.