Today is the three week “anniversary” of the day I first showed symptoms of Covid. My daughter and SIL had symptoms a day ahead of me. He recovered in three or four days, she was sick for a week or so, and I’m still feeling lousy, although not as sick as I was.
Since I’m 85, I quickly asked for and was given the antiviral drug, which supposedly prevents death in many cases. The NYT today had an article claiming that the death rate is higher for older adults from the current Omicron variety than it was from the earlier Delta strain. It’s also far more contagious.
I was good and sick for three or four day, then felt somewhat better, then felt sick again. I am weak and tired and out of breath. Light headed. And now I know what “brain fog”is. I use my oximeter several times a day, and it never went below 90, but only recently is back up to my usual 95.
How are you all doing?
Trini
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So glad you’re doing better, trini!
I got covid I think the first week in April. I didn’t feel very sick. If it weren;t for it being covid, I wouldn’t’ve gotten medical care. And all I did was ask my dr to prescribe paxlovid, which she did.
I always feel somewhat cr@ppy (chronic Lyme, bronchiectasis & asthma–>O2 usually in mid to low 90s on an ordinary day, don’t get nearly enough sleep, I’m a 72-yr-old caregiver). And I just felt a bit crappier/cloggier than usual. I’ve had way worse bronchitis/pneumonia that scared me into thinking I might not wake up in the morning. I luckily never felt like that with covid.
The hubster coughed a couple times maybe 3x/day for a few days. You wouldn’t have guessed he was sick (of course, he cannot say how he feels, but seemed like his regular, er, demented self-).
I’m feeling my usual self now, so I presume no long covid.
“How are you all doing?”
No one in the family has had any symptoms to date. That covers family in SC, Ohio, Pennsylvania,
Maryland and Virginia.
Howie52
Folks say they lose their sense of taste.
Others say they had a fever.
How did you decide to get tested? What symptoms did you first display?
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My first symptom was muscle and joint pain. I thought it might be arthritis. By day two I was running a fever of 101 degrees. Called my doctor and was prescribed Paxlovid, the antiviral that lowers your chance of death. It has side effects - diarrhea, a truly horrible taste in your mouth, I forget what else. By day five I was feeling better, but then by day six I was ill again with new and different symptoms - coughing, post nasal drip, weakness, and I kept falling asleep. Some people who take Paxlovid have a rebound of symptoms - I don’t know if I was having a rebound or if that was just the way my illness developed. I never lost my sense of taste or smell. I did lose six or seven pounds in one week and had no appetite.
I’m no longer coughing. I get lightheaded just walking from room to room. I can’t concentrate ( I think that’s called brain fog.) My pool exercise class started last week and I missed it. This morning I wanted to try to go - even if all I did was walk back and forth a bit in the pool, but I got exhausted jus pulling on my bathing suit and never got out the door. I really love that class - bunch of nice old ladies - we call ourselves “The Aquayentas!” Maybe next week.
Trini
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I’ve run a low grade fever twice in the past year. One was right at 100F, the other a bit lower. In both cases it resolved in a day or so. I did a home test for the second one (last week), and it was negative.
We’re really good about masking, and I make a point of distancing as much as possible. Even if everyone else isn’t. We are starting to resume more normal activities. We’ve eaten out a few times this year, and one wasn’t even on a patio (it’s getting too hot).
If I had it, I didn’t have any symptoms.
Hope you’re over it soon, Trini. Knock on wood, so far we’ve escaped it.
Wow—I’m so sorry to hear what a difficult time you’re having! My husband and I both had covid end/May and early April. I tested positive on Sat. April 30 and negative on May 8. My husband was positive on May 3, negative on the 10th. We’re both cresting on 80 (end of July for me—just does not seem real!). May 1 was my one bad day, and also the day that I began paxlovid (in the evening). My husband had an easy time of it throughout. A much younger neighbor and her husband had covid shortly before we did. Easy for him and very rough and drawn out for her. More recently, a 70-ish neighbor had covid—no big deal. Another neighbor and her husband—early 60s—had it, and have both had a very difficult time both during and after. Everyone I’ve mentioned here has been vaxed and boosted, and one neighbor had had her 2nd booster. The sickest people also had such a horrible time with paxlovid that they had to stop taking it.
I saw todoay’s NYT article, and the experts interviewed attribute the higher omicron death rate amoung seniors to a combination of further time since vaccine and boosting plus omicron’s ability to avoid antibodies.
I attended an interesting webinar last week, hosted by an excellent company that creates their own supplements as a result of very solid research (EuroPharma, whose products are under the names EuroMedica and Terry Naturally). It was an interview with Dr. Joseph Teitelbaum, who has focused for many years on fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome. And he finds that the tremendous fatigue, depression, brain fog, aches that many experience during long-covid are actually fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue that the patient’s response to the virus has triggered. He uses a red ginkgo supplement by EuroPharma—under the brand Terry Naturally—to support his patients’ energy level: HRG8 Red Ginseng Energy, 1-2 caps/day. Amazon carries it.
I would suggest trying a group of supplements that, each in their own waym address aspects of inflammatory damage and healing from it. They’re good to take regularly, but at half the dose I’m suggesting here.
= vitamin C, 2 twice a day: antioxidant, promotes healing and immune support
https://www.allstarhealth.com/f/solaray-liposomal_vitamin_c_…
= SPM Active, 1 twice a day: stimulates the body’s endogenous anti-inflammatory pathways
https://www.nhc.com/spm-supreme-by-designs-for-health
= NAC (N-Acetyl-L-Cysteine), which the body converts to glutathione, one of the primary antioxidants; also provides signicant immune systemm support: 2 twice a day
https://healthyplanetshopping.com/products/nac-biotics-resea…
=sheila
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It seems like every day we get a broadcast announcement of two or three new covid cases in our Old Folks Home (Out of a population of around 350). So far we have dodged hat bullet.
My husband and I both had covid end/May and early April.
Change that to end/April and early May!
In terms of symptoms, we had very different experiences. I began with having to blow my nose frequently and sneezing on that first day, which I chalked up to worse pollen and thus more intense allergic response. The next day though, my nose was like a broke faucet that ran nonstop, and then in the early evening I experienced a sudden surge of fatigue. I googled to see if my hugely runny nose and sneezing were among current covid symptoms, and they were. Did a home test—negative. Next day the broken faucet in my nose was even worse, and I felt increasingly off kilter as the day progressed. That afternoon a home test was highly suggestive of positive, and I found a place a few blocks from me that does rapid-result PCR tests. I had my result that evening—positive. The next day was my one truly bad one, like a horrible flu. Couldn’t get out of bed. Couldn’t eat. Began paxlovid that evening, and felt like an almost normal person the next day—though still quite tired and no appetite. I had begun running a mild fever the day I tested positive, but it had begun coming down before I began the paxlovid. Getting energy back took a bit of time, and I was also somewhat forgetful initially.
My husband’s primary symptom was a cough that began out of nowhere the day before he tested positive. On that first day of coughing, he did a home test in the evening that was negative. At work the next day he had a PCR test (he works at a medical center), and got the positive result that afternoon. He was more tired, and it took his cough some time to clear (with the help of some herbs). He took paxlovid as well.
=sheila
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