I have COVID-19 and No, It's Not the Flu

[Another Reader]

For those that are interested in convalescent plasma as a treatment for COVID-19, there is an excellent article in the Washington Post on the just completed Mayo Clinic study on convalescent plasma effectiveness and tolerance.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/heal...overed-is-safe-covid-19-treatment-study-says/

Stanford is planning a small double blind study of patients that test positive in the ER but do not require hospital admission.

https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show...D-19&cntry=US&state=US:CA&age=2&draw=2&rank=1

If you are interested and have a lot of time on your hands, searching on clinicaltrials.gov gives you a lot of information on treatment possibilities.

 

[audreyh1]

Only because the OP very kindly asked for peoples opinion .... we've have a lot of threads like this and they usually end up closed eventually. And just for a personal gut check on my own anxiety level. I'm interested if other posters can read threads like this without getting anxious. .I kind of want to read it and I kind of don't want to read it...

Threads get closed when people start bickering, not because someone is sharing their story and the resources they have found. Even if this thread is eventually closed, hopefully it’s long after the OP has completed their contribution.

 

[Gumby]

MOD NOTE: Each of us can make our own decision to read this thread or not. If you are one who feels you may be upset by it, I recommend the ignore thread function, which can be accessed by clicking on "thread tools" and choosing "ignore this thread" from the pull down menu. That said, if the thread does run off the rails, it may be closed. Let's all help to keep things within bounds. Thanks.

 

[audreyh1]

For those that are interested in convalescent plasma as a treatment for COVID-19, there is an excellent article in the Washington Post on the just completed Mayo Clinic study on convalescent plasma effectiveness and tolerance.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/heal...overed-is-safe-covid-19-treatment-study-says/

Stanford is planning a small double blind study of patients that test positive in the ER but do not require hospital admission.

https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show...D-19&cntry=US&state=US:CA&age=2&draw=2&rank=1

If you are interested and have a lot of time on your hands, searching on clinicaltrials.gov gives you a lot of information on treatment possibilities.

Is convalescent plasma routinely offered? I have rarely heard it mentioned.

 

[brewer12345]

Is convalescent plasma routinely offered? I have rarely heard it mentioned.

Convalescent plasma is a really old fashioned way of treating diseases. With most things it works, but hard to do large scale.

 

[ivinsfan]

Threads get closed when people start bickering, not because someone is sharing their story and the resources they have found. Even if this thread is eventually closed, hopefully it’s long after the OP has completed their contribution.

Don't even mean to bicker, I think I have COVID overload and need to check out of the whole COVID forum for awhile...

 

[Another Reader]

This is an article published in Medium with the thesis that COVID-19 is a vascular/endothelial disease. The author is a science writer and interviewed several experts on the subject.

https://elemental.medium.com/corona...isease-which-explains-everything-2c4032481ab2

 

[CaptTom]

Thank you OP!

We hear so much from folks with an agenda. It's good to hear a first-hand experience, even if others experience it differently.

It's perfectly valid to choose not to read this or any other thread. [MOD EDIT]. I do hope we can stay within the lines. This is very informative.

More first-hand accounts would be good, too.

 

[audreyh1]

Convalescent plasma is a really old fashioned way of treating diseases. With most things it works, but hard to do large scale.

Yes, I do know that it has been used in the distant past, but I have only heard it mentioned a few times for COVID-19. I think I remember it mentioned for treating Ebola.

 

[Another Reader]

Is convalescent plasma routinely offered? I have rarely heard it mentioned.

It was not at first. Now that so many people have had the disease, and so many of those have volunteered to donate, it is more available. The Mt Sinai doctor quoted in the second to last and last paragraphs of the Washington Post article explains.

 

[Calico]

I am interested in reading it . There are so many variations of this disease that each story is different .

+1

OP, I wish you a complete recovery and thank you for sharing your experience.

 

[harllee]

I think this thread is valuable and should remain open--it addresses a very real issue that many people do not seem to be aware of-- the fact that many people with Covid-19 do not get well--they are sick for a long time and may be permanently disabled. Personally I hope Another Reader will continue to post here. I would like more information on his or her personal journey, symptoms, treatments, etc. i would find that very helpful.

 

[Teacher Terry]

Ivan, adults need to decide for themselves to read it or not. The world already has too much censorship.

 

[Another Reader]

I thought long and hard about going public with this. I chose to go public here because this forum is made up of intelligent and thoughtful people with diverse backgrounds. People from all over the country participate in the forum. It is clear to me that the nature and impact of this disease has not been communicated well anywhere in a public space like this one. It is my hope that each of you will read my posts, look at some of the links, and be able to discuss this virus within your circle more knowledgeably as a result.

I have said many times over the last two months that this disease will be the AIDS epidemic of our time. I'm old enough to remember that time and I lived in the Bay Area then. I read that Dr. Fauci made the same comment in one of the briefings. There are a lot of sick people out there that will need care and more are coming. The cost in medical expenditures is going to be astounding, far beyond what was spent on HIV.

 

[street]

You are still sick with what conditions?? Cough, fever, throwing up, sore throat or what do you still have when you say your still sick?

 

[Another Reader]

You are still sick with what conditions?? Cough, fever, throwing up, sore throat or what do you still have when you say your still sick?

I would like to keep my symptoms out of the public discussion. If you would like to send me a PM with a question, I will try to answer.

 

[street]

I apologize, and hope you recover 100% and I respect your privacy, on that question.

 

[sengsational]

I'm back now to give my perspective on COVID and to point people to more detailed, accurate information about this disease.

Thanks for sharing.

Your account is of interest to me because I don't have many first hand accounts; I have heard details of the disease from only one person in my family and friends. She is recovering now, but was very, very sick. We were not sure she was going to make it. But to confirm your reflection on testing, she never tested positive; by the time she was admitted, the virus wasn't where they swabbed. The endothelial symptoms were raging and kept going to the point where we were convinced she would not survive. But she did, thankfully! Not a close family member: the daughter of my wife's cousin. I've never met her, but my wife got daily briefings from her aunt. That's a long way to say that one person's perspective (yours), after having gone through as much of it as you've been through so far is probably educational for those of us without many first-hand accounts.

The news does concentrate on the big picture and the statistics, especially life and death. But there's a lot of suffering in between. Your first-hand perspective, although n=1, can be helpful to understand what it might be like to go through it. I've thought to myself (rarely, and not seriously) "maybe I should just get it and get it over with", and then I slap myself for being an idiot! I'm pretty wimpy when I'm sick and recall the last time I had a garden variety flu, which had "bad" symptoms for a day or two. I was the worst example of a human during that bout. I'm not sure I'd be sane after having to go through symptoms as you've referenced.

 

[rodi]

I'm curious, (not being skeptical or cynical here - truly curious) how you know for sure you have Covid? You say that you tested negative for both covid and the antibodies. I know there are issues (and you discuss them) of false negatives if the virus is attacking something other than the nasal passages. And the antibody tests are pretty unreliable from everything I've read.

One of the reasons I'm asking is that I'm 100% convinced that my younger son had it in early March. 10 days of high fevers, aches and pains, chest constriction.... We could not get a test for him for covid - just for strep (negative) and the flu (negative). At that point the tests were hard to get. The doctor conceded he probably had it... but wouldn't write the referall for the test.

I've had ebbing/flowing chest constriction and aches for more than 2 months... some good days, some bad... No fever since the original occurrence. I have speculated I might have it... but so far it hasn't been terrible... but during the bad cycles I lack energy and tend to stay in bed all day. I have toyed with getting tested - but since I have no nasal congestion, I'm not sure it would show up. So I stay at home, wear a mask when I go out to walk the dog, wash my hands, and stay far away from other people outside my household. (I'm that person risking getting hit by a car to move away from someone on the sidewalk.)

 

[REWahoo]

I think I'm AB positive. Most studies you see are of the pneumonia cases that proceed predictably through hospitalization, treatment and outcome. What applies there does not necessarily apply to other presentations or disease courses.

+1

I am simply curious to know if the preliminary association found possibly linking blood type to the severity of Covid 19 (linked here) might also be associated with recovering relatively quickly vs. having "long haul" COVID.

 

[Another Reader]

+1

I am simply curious to know if the preliminary association found linking blood type to the severity of Covid 19 (linked here) might also be associated with recovering relatively quickly vs. having "long haul" COVID.

Sorry, I did not mean to offend. I automatically put that warning label on responses to questions or statements that reference "studies."

 

[Another Reader]

I'm curious, (not being skeptical or cynical here - truly curious) how you know for sure you have Covid? You say that you tested negative for both covid and the antibodies. I know there are issues (and you discuss them) of false negatives if the virus is attacking something other than the nasal passages. And the antibody tests are pretty unreliable from everything I've read.

One of the reasons I'm asking is that I'm 100% convinced that my younger son had it in early March. 10 days of high fevers, aches and pains, chest constriction.... We could not get a test for him for covid - just for strep (negative) and the flu (negative). At that point the tests were hard to get. The doctor conceded he probably had it... but wouldn't write the referall for the test.

I've had ebbing/flowing chest constriction and aches for more than 2 months... some good days, some bad... No fever since the original occurrence. I have speculated I might have it... but so far it hasn't been terrible... but during the bad cycles I lack energy and tend to stay in bed all day. I have toyed with getting tested - but since I have no nasal congestion, I'm not sure it would show up. So I stay at home, wear a mask when I go out to walk the dog, wash my hands, and stay far away from other people outside my household. (I'm that person risking getting hit by a car to move away from someone on the sidewalk.)

I have many of the known symptoms other that the pneumonia. There's an incomplete list in the study summary I linked from the Slack group. They are also described by some of those interviewed in the articles.

In your case, you have some of the long haul symptoms. Antibodies, if you have them, apparently tend to disappear at around 60 days, so it's unlikely you would test positive. Even if you had lingering virus, unless you are currently shedding at the test site, it won't be picked up. I wouldn't bother with a virus test.

In your shoes, I would keep an eye on your symptoms. Occasionally, people experience flare ups. Sometimes this is a post-viral syndrome. If the flare ups are severe and persistent you may need treatment.

You would be eligible to join the support groups, but it might depress you more than help. I would probably start by reading some of the stories in the Long Haul Covid articles I tagged.

Fingers crossed this fades away!

 

[spncity]

I have many of the known symptoms other that the pneumonia. There's an incomplete list in the study summary I linked from the Slack group. They are also described by some of those interviewed in the articles.



In your case, you have some of the long haul symptoms. Antibodies, if you have them, apparently tend to disappear at around 60 days, so it's unlikely you would test positive. Even if you had lingering virus, unless you are currently shedding at the test site, it won't be picked up. I wouldn't bother with a virus test.



In your shoes, I would keep an eye on your symptoms. Occasionally, people experience flare ups. Sometimes this is a post-viral syndrome. If the flare ups are severe and persistent you may need treatment.



You would be eligible to join the support groups, but it might depress you more than help. I would probably start by reading some of the stories in the Long Haul Covid articles I tagged.



Fingers crossed this fades away!

I would very much like to hear the details of your story and I thank you in advance for sharing. Every symptom, timeline and nuance you care to share can help someone or even save a life. If you want to tell, what happened after you barely made it to your bed?

 

[Midpack]

From what I gather those infected range from mild symptoms to life threatening serious, and everything in between. There can also be permanent damage or none, and everything in between. There’s a strong correlation with age and underlying health, but they’re not absolute predictors. There is no “typical case?” What happens to one person likely won’t happen exactly the same for another, could be better or worse. And it appears there’s still a lot the experts don’t know about COVID-19.

 

[harllee]

I have 3 friends that had Covid-19 over 2 months ago and are still sick--2 are husband and wife in their 40s and one is in his 50s. All 3 are still very fatigued, 2 are still having breathing issues (one is having to use oxygen and they are trying to "wean" her off of it). One still has reduced smell/taste. One has developed hearing problems/tinnitus, one still has a cough. They all have a temperature off and on. One is having stomach problems. None of them feel well enough to return to work full time.