I've got Coronavirus - FWIW

[fwafwow]

I have the Coronavirus. I’m 50 years old. I'm not looking for sympathy and I won’t bore you with too much of the details. (EDIT - more details added below per request.) This also isn't meant to start a political discussion. Just intended as my story so far.

I contracted it in SC while out of town, but I don't know how. My symptoms have been “mild” as the cases are defined, but they still sucked and I had a few nights when I debated going to the hospital (the concern being over tightness in my chest behind my breastbone). My first symptoms started June 25th and on July 9th I learned that I have pneumonia. (That sounds worse than it is, but it is something more than nothing.) I’m confident I will be fully recovered (I already have received a positive antibody test), although who knows if that will equate to immunity? My son and I are currently quarantined in our basement, which isn't perfect, but we hope we can maintain enough separation so that my wife doesn't get it. (She's wavered back and forth on wanting to get it and "get it over with", but I'm too paranoid that she will have a different experience.)

One of the hardest parts about having it was the worry about who else I may have exposed before I showed symptoms. Not a good feeling. So far I think everyone else is OK.

My $0.02 PSA - if you don’t already have a relationship with a physician, try to establish one. Then do not hesitate to push for a proactive approach to your treatment if you get sick. (My medical provider - communicating with me remotely - advised Tylenol and Advil. I eventually got some meds that I think helped a lot, and wish I had pushed for same sooner.)

 

[007hunter]

I hope you recover quickly. I suppose it’s just a matter of time until we all get it.

 

[Lark Bunting]

So sorry to hear. Hope you have a full recovery and the rest of the family stays healthy.

 

[Rob5589]

Feel better soon!

 

[Akwoodchuck]

Scary...my wife works at the hospital, she worries constantly about inadvertently bringing it home to me and the kids, or to our parents, who are in their 70s-80s....hope you feel better soon.

 

[strawman]

Thanks for sharing. Hope you a have a quick and full recovery. Did your son also test positive?

 

[WannabeHunter]

Praying for a quick recovery. Do you mind me asking which area of SC you visited?
I work at a hospital in Columbia

 

[KyleJames5280]

That sucks man, take care of yourself.

 

[strawman]

Scary...my wife works at the hospital, she worries constantly about inadvertently bringing it home to me and the kids, or to our parents, who are in their 70s-80s....hope you feel better soon.

I hear you. I'm a pediatric Physical Therapist and, although taking all possible precautions with my patients and their families, I've been avoiding my parents as much as possible since this all started. In their 70s, with co-morbidities like diabetes, COPD, and heart disease. It's not a stretch to say they would likely not survive if infected.

 

[BHallstead]

good luck, thanks for the info. Its nice to hear some real world experiences with this stuff.

 

[cnelk]

I for one would like to hear more about the ‘details’ you eluded about.

It seems like the details is the stuff that nobody wants to talk about but everyone wants to know.

 

[zorkieo]

if you can get through it without spreading it then you have done your best.

 

[fwafwow]

Thanks for sharing. Hope you a have a quick and full recovery. Did your son also test positive?

My first test came back negative - but I wasn't surprised because of the way the test was administered and because it is said to have ~30% false negative results. My son wasn't tested initially. We were tested on July 9th and are still awaiting results. We were, however, tested on July 10th for the antibodies. Mine came back positive, but my son's was negative.

 

[fwafwow]

Praying for a quick recovery. Do you mind me asking which area of SC you visited?
I work at a hospital in Columbia

Not at all. We were in downtown Charleston.

 

[fwafwow]

I for one would like to hear more about the ‘details’ you eluded about.

It seems like the details is the stuff that nobody wants to talk about but everyone wants to know.

Sure thing. But please, one reason I avoided some details was to mitigate the chance of political or other debates - whether based on masks, my meds, etc.

Background - my 19 year old son and I had been staying in a 400 sq. ft. house in downtown Charleston while he did a summer internship. I had not, and still have not, seen my wife since the end of May.

I had been following mask protocols (no fights please) - such as they existed at the time - meaning I wore them when a business asked me to do so (basically at the grocery store). I was not wearing a mask in restaurants, but those restaurant workers were (with one exception). They were practicing physical separation of tables, but it's impossible for that to work perfectly - IMHO. And I'm not judging - I went out knowing full well that doing so could expose me. And I'm not sure it matters, as it is possible that my son got exposed when he was working at a summer internship. (Note - he felt tired one day, had a slight headache and took a nap. That's it.)

First symptoms started the evening of 6/25 - with a sudden onset. I was tired, feverish and went to bed. I had the worst headache that night in 30+ years, and I didn't have any Tylenol in the house with me (and I was still operating under what is apparently now dated information about avoiding NSAIDs).

I went to a hospital system remote site and was swab tested the next morning. Qtip was handed to me and I was told to swirl it 3x in each nostril. Results came back 4 days later as negative. Test reportedly has 30%+ false positive rate, so I wasn't convinced.

Tylenol and Advil rotated every three hours handled the headaches going forward, as well as my temperature. (I never registered above 100.9. Body aches were minor in comparison to the Flu A I had in February, but the night sweats were pretty intense. I had to roll to the other side of the bed to get out of my sweat puddle. I didn't sleep much at all.

I never lost my sense of taste or smell. I did have some minor nausea for a couple days starting around day 4, and there were days that I had zero appetite.

Chest tightness started around day 3, but mainly when I was forcing myself to breathe deeply. This was the hardest part mentally for me. "Is this more serious? If I wait, will I end up in the hospital and wish I had gone in sooner? Does my durable power of attorney work for my 19 year old son, and is he capable of making sure I'm not put on a ventilator?" These were fleeting thoughts, but you get the point.

Around day 6 I was beginning to wonder how long this would last, so I reached out to a doctor through a friend and he prescribed a Zpack and Dexamethasone. He assured me it would knock it out in a few days.

Cough didn’t show up until around day 7, and it was very slight. It really only picked up in the last few days, and just enough for me to expel some of the fluid in my lungs.

Day 8 from my journal “97.7 at 10am. Seem to be all better.”

Symptoms got worse around day 10 - mainly in my chest. I reached back out to the doctor and he prescribed another Zpack, more Dexamethasone, an Albuterol inhaler and hydroxychloroquine (which I specifically requested). Probably didn’t help that my son and I went out to a farm on July 4th to get out of the house and fish for a bit. It was hot as hell and a dumb thing to do in hindsight. I have no idea what worked among those meds, but the inhaler was really helpful.

Returned home on day 14. It was not an easy decision to do so, as coming here places my wife in some risk. But we discussed over several days and finally agreed that I needed to be at home, in familiar surroundings. My wife also didn't trust me to tell her if I went to the hospital.

Got diagnostic test (not the rapid test - although it was available - due to high false negatives) on day 15 (still awaiting results) and chest X-ray shown above with pneumonia in right lung. Doctor prescribed Levofloxacin for pneumonia and advised to stop the Zpack.

Antibody blood test taken on day 15 with positive result for me, negative for my son, in less than 24 hours.

My son and I are quarantining in our basement. We are fortunate to have a separate AC system for this floor, but I realize that's not perfect. We do not know how much longer the quarantine will last, as it will depend on the results of the diagnostic test from a few days ago.

 

[menhaden_man]

Thanks for sharing.

My brother and sister and law had it - both reasonably healthy (early 40s/late 30s) and showed almost no symptoms. She had lost sense of smell and that was it between the both of them.

Her mother is an infectious disease physician of all things. She tested positive, he tested negative, and after quarantine they both tested positive for antibodies?

My wife is a nurse and near as we can tell this thing is all over the board in terms of symptoms.

Hope you’re able to recover quickly and start preparing for hunting season!

 

[IN_Varmntr]

I'm on a "Coronacation" because my wife and kids were experiencing cough, runny nose, mild fevers, etc...so as a precaution I'm not allowed to go back to work until our tests come back.

We get tested tomorrow morning.

Take care OP!

 

[AKDoc]

Thank you very much for sharing your experience, and speaking as a fellow citizen I think you have an excellent and helpful perspective for others to hear...thank you. I wish you and your family the very best in your recovery and future.

 

[Trial153]

Get well soon. I seen enough of this, patients that recovered and some that didn't to know that it's not something you want to experience if you can help it.

 

[handwerk]

Thanks for sharing the information...I'm hoping for you guys to be over it soon.