Forum Members with COVID-19

[Tortoise]

I thought we could start a thread dedicated to hearing updates from forum members who have COVID-19 (either confirmed via official test, or even just suspected/presumed based on recently developing COVID-19 symptoms like fever, chills, etc.).

There still seems to be a lot of mystique surrounding this virus and its effects on various people, so I think it would be informative to hear first-hand from some of our own forum members what the experience of fighting and (hopefully) defeating the virus is like from beginning to end.

Maybe this will be the most boring thread ever if catching this virus is just like catching the flu for most people. But I hope we might also learn at least a little something new.

Ad Orientem, care to share any updates?

[Ad Orientem]

Mild but persistent cough. A couple short bouts with being flush/really hot and the achy blahs. When that hits, even very mild exertion leaves me dead tired and I lie down for a while. Generally a couple Naproxen do the trick. Only leaving the house to walk the dogs and trying to do that at odd times to minimize contact with other people. At some point a trip to the grocery store will become necessary. That will be interesting.

[Xan]

Can you ask a neighbor to bring you supplies? Does your grocery deliver?

I'm assuming you haven't been officially tested/diagnosed?

[dualstow]

Your symptoms match up very closely with this guy's. Temperature, cough, aches, exhaustion.
https://twitter.com/GoughCJ/status/1239 ... 98305?s=20

[Ad Orientem]

Can you ask a neighbor to bring you supplies? Does your grocery deliver?

I'm assuming you haven't been officially tested/diagnosed?

No. I haven't been tested. My symptoms are far too minor. Given the chronic shortages of tests and the enormous strain on the medical community I would be embarrassed to even ask.

(add) I am considering options for shopping. Not too worried about it yet.

[dualstow]

What about your mom?

[Ad Orientem]

Her symptoms are even more mild than mine Deo gratias. She actually doubts we have it.

[dualstow]

Ok, good. I thought I read earlier that she was vomiting and you weren't.

[stuper1]

Not to be alarmist, but if you haven't been out shopping for several days, you may be in for a surprise at how things are. I definitely wouldn't want to get very low on supplies right now. The stores I've been in generally have food available, but not always what you are looking for. We have a pretty full pantry at this point, and I intend to be out shopping more within a week so that we keep stocked up.

Again I'm not trying to scare you. It's just that it sounds like maybe you've been cooped up for several days and may not realize that things have gotten a bit weird at the stores. I imagine that if the virus case count were to rise much, that it could get even weirder.

[yankees60]

Not to be alarmist, but if you haven't been out shopping for several days, you may be in for a surprise at how things are. I definitely wouldn't want to get very low on supplies right now. The stores I've been in generally have food available, but not always what you are looking for. We have a pretty full pantry at this point, and I intend to be out shopping more within a week so that we keep stocked up.

Again I'm not trying to scare you. It's just that it sounds like maybe you've been cooped up for several days and may not realize that things have gotten a bit weird at the stores. I imagine that if the virus case count were to rise much, that it could get even weirder.

I heard this morning that a few days ago the food suppliers told Trump that that the food supply is fine.

The head of Krogers stated that they make a lot of their own food and that their factories have been working overtime, 3 shifts a day.

Vinny

[Tyler]

Yeah, the stores are picked pretty clean near me. But from what I understand it's mainly a supply chain issue rather than a supply issue. The massive sudden demand just threw off their warehousing buffers. It may not get back to 100% for a while, but I suspect it will get a lot better soon as the supply planners adapt to the new situation.

The one thing I've noticed the last few weeks now that I'm hyper-focused on how I feel is that a lot of symptoms that initially make me nervous (feeling hot, mild cough, scratchy throat, etc) turn out to be caused by acid reflux or allergies. Just gotta dial down the paranoia and dial up the attention to what I eat.

[dualstow]

Ha, I've also noticed symptoms briefly that were caused by something else, or perhaps never there in the first place.
I have reduced my acid reflux, but this new "freezer diet' with more bread & oatmeal has caused it to rise again.
When they talk about mild lung scarring on TV, I swear my chest hurts a little. EDIT: and I've had a dry cough for decades.
Time to switch that off.

[Benko]

I doubt anyone is sure, but don’t take NDAIDS eg Advil, Naproxen, etc as I saw at least one article suggesting it may worsen things. Don’t remember details.

[Cortopassi]

I doubt anyone is sure, but don’t take NDAIDS eg Advil, Naproxen, etc as I saw at least one article suggesting it may worsen things. Don’t remember details.

https://drmalcolmkendrick.org/2020/03/1 ... -covid-19/

And yeah, I have had a dry cough and phantom scratchy throat for 2 weeks now. Hypochondriac I have become.

[dualstow]

^^From Corto's link above^^

In short, Vitamin C can help prevent respiratory infections.

Aha, you see, Vinny?

[WiseOne]

Ad, if you have a fever you could definitely have COVID - that sounds exactly like it, per our medical briefings. You're doing the right thing just staying home. And in this AM's briefing we were cautioned against using ibuprofen (similar to naproxen) but no info on why that would be. Fear of Reye syndrome maybe. See if Tylenol works for you? A personal steamer could help also.

Can you order groceries online? Amazon Fresh, Peapod, Fresh Direct? Or just phone your local grocery to see if they'd deliver to you given your situation?

[Smith1776]

I haven't left the house since Monday...

I am so glad I'm stocked up on vitamin D supplements.

[Ad Orientem]

Ad, if you have a fever you could definitely have COVID - that sounds exactly like it, per our medical briefings. You're doing the right thing just staying home. And in this AM's briefing we were cautioned against using ibuprofen (similar to naproxen) but no info on why that would be. Fear of Reye syndrome maybe. See if Tylenol works for you? A personal steamer could help also.

Can you order groceries online? Amazon Fresh, Peapod, Fresh Direct? Or just phone your local grocery to see if they'd deliver to you given your situation?

I don't know if I'd call it a fever. Just the occasional episode of feeling very hot and achy. Usually when I have a fever I feel chilled. But it tends to fade with a few hours of sleep and some OTC pain/fever reducer. I will see if I can get some Tylenol.

[dualstow]

For what it's worth, this contradicts the Malcom Kendrick link above that advises against. NSAIDS.
Who knows? I don't know.

However, scientific evidence does not indicate that nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) consumption puts patients who otherwise might have mild or asymptomatic infection by severe acute respiratory syndrome–coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)—the virus that causes COVID-19—at risk of more severe disease. People taking NSAIDs for other reasons should not stop doing so for fear of increasing their COVID-19 risk.

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/ ... ce.abb8034

[Ad Orientem]

The achy blahs are back. Mom is not feeling well either. Time for a nap.

[Libertarian666]

I haven't left the house since Monday...

I am so glad I'm stocked up on vitamin D supplements.

Stay in as much as possible.

But you might want to stock up on cannabis. It is an anti-inflammatory and is effective in some respects against a cytokine storm, which apparently causes at least some of the covid-19 deaths.

See my other thread about this issue.

[Kriegsspiel]

The achy blahs are back. Mom is not feeling well either. Time for a nap.

If you're achy, doesn't that denote the flu, not the Wuhan? I got laid low by that stuff earlier this year when it swept through my office, it was a pretty bad year for the flu.

[dualstow]

The achy blahs are back. Mom is not feeling well either. Time for a nap.

If you're achy, doesn't that denote the flu, not the Wuhan? I got laid low by that stuff earlier this year when it swept through my office, it was a pretty bad year for the flu.

Aches are also a symptom of the Wuhan virus.

[Ad Orientem]

The achy blahs are back. Mom is not feeling well either. Time for a nap.

If you're achy, doesn't that denote the flu, not the Wuhan? I got laid low by that stuff earlier this year when it swept through my office, it was a pretty bad year for the flu.

The pestilence mimics the flu in milder cases. This has been on again off again for more than a week where the flu typically comes... and goes, usually over a few days.

[Kriegsspiel]

Well shit, I might have already had it then!