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Both DH and I got pretty sick with respiratory issues in March. He still says he had a bad cold, but he says that about everything he gets. Our symptoms were slight fever, severe coughing, congestion, feeling ill and some chest tightness. We both had night sweats a couple of times. His symptoms were slightly worse than mine. My daytime fever did not go as high, but neither of us us got over 100 deg. When I was finally on the mend, I remember the deep coughing up of mucous for a number of days. Coughs came up from what seemed like the depths of my lungs. And they were “productive.”
We did not have that characteristic raw throat and drippy nose that I think of as cold symptoms.
I would like to be tested for antibodies to know for sure that we did/did not have the virus. I suspect we did not. But I’d like to know for sure.
I ask because I've heard a couple of people say that looking back on it.....they think they might have had it back in early-to-mid February, and even back into January?
They definitely think the virus was in the U.S. before the time we've been told so far.
I think I had it back in mid-February. I had friends and family members who knew I was sick at that time suggest the same thing without my bringing it up. No way to know I guess, unless I can go get an accurate antibody test.
I suspect that I did. I haven't been tested (yet) as my symptoms were different than many - mostly GI issues of a major magnitude. But now they're saying that GI issues can be evident in older people. That's me. It was like doing colonscopy prep on a daily basis for three weeks. I lost quite a bit of weight which I haven't gained back, in spite of being ravenous throughout the whole ordeal. I'm still eating more than usual but holding steady at my post-illness weight, which is actually OK.
This began on Thanksgiving morning and lasted three weeks. My walking buddy's son works in Shanghai and had returned from there a couple of weeks before this started so I'd been around him daily for that period of time. That was my first clue that I had something unique. My friend has tested positive although asymptomatic.
I was tested for everything under the sun - all negative. My doctor and I discussed the possibility of Covid-19 but at that time there hadn't been any indication that gut issues were involved. Now we think otherwise.
Maybe it was a less common presentation of Covid-19 or maybe not. Maybe it was some other exotic virus that his son brought back with him. Whatever it was, it was the most virulent thing I've ever had and I wouldn't wish it on anyone.
When the dust settles and everyone who really urgently needs a test gets one, I'll probably do it, even though it's just academic at this point.
I am pretty sure I had it. I live in Chicago and use the train, specifically the train that goes from our international airport to downtown. Everyday on that train we are packed like sardines, with people who just arrived from the airport. Then in downtown, I'm in a building with hundreds of people touching the same elevator button that I do to get to my office.
But that is not reason alone. Back at the end of February, I got home from work, and had a very mild fever and got the sweats. It felt like my throat was swelling up, and then all of a sudden I had horrible diarrhea like really bad. The thing is that day I didn't eat anything that would have upset my stomach that bad. But the diarrhea was one of the worst and I was feeling feverish.
I went to bed and thankfully next morning it was all gone. The diarrhea, mild fever, and swollen throat were completely gone. I think my body was able to get rid of the virus swiftly and quickly. Normally my immune system is impeccable. I haven't had a cold in more than 2 years, and the last time I had the flu I think it was like a decade ago. I am lucky to come from a family that immune systems are super strong. Everyone dies in their 90s in my family, and even at that age they have zero health problems for the most part, they die because of things like falling down the stairs or just die in their sleep all of a sudden. But illness in my family (again both sides) is very rare.
I think my body was able to get rid of it quickly, that and I am young too (34). I am planning on getting the antibody test soon.
It wouldn't have surprised me if I had caught it early, simply because I've been pretty cavalier and indifferent to COVID-19. Unsurprisingly, I ended up catching it more recently. I was a little surprised about how it felt, but not by the outcome. I was pretty confident my immune system could handle it.
What ended up happening is that "mild" case is an overstatement. Of all illnesses I've ever had, COVID-19 wouldn't even crack my top ten in terms of how bad I felt. Quite in fact, if this weren't going on in the periphery, I would've gone to the office, gym, or anywhere else in public because it really didn't do much. At worst, one night I had a very light fever and got cold a bit easier, and the next morning still had a slight fever that went away. So, the surprising thing there was that I was expecting to feel worse. Overall, in terms of not feeling 100% healthy, the whole thing lasted about 4-5 days for me, which includes something as minor as a little fatigue or sore throat; the worst of it was maybe a 12-14 hour window. And to be clear, I didn't need to see a doctor or visit a hospital; my body cleared it out on its own.
I do get that some people will get much sicker than I did, so I'm not downplaying it. However, I will say that, above all, the worst part of it for me actually wasn't the virus itself. I feel like the media's incessant fearmongering put more unnecessary pressure on me, so I just didn't read the news while ill. Unfortunately, stories like this get brushed to the side because death sells.
Wow same boat as you only I had diarreha as well. It went away so quickly for me. Got home from work was feeling it around 6pm that whole evening felt like I was getting sick, like something just hit my body. Went to bed like at 10pm, by the time I woke up the next day I was back to normal.
I was sick in early Feb.. coughed for 2 weeks that eventually developed into fever, chills, and aches... basically stayed in bed for 4 days... flu test was negative. I just had the antibody test last week from LabCorp... negative. So I don't know what I had in Feb, but it's the 2nd-sickest that I've ever been (1st was flu in 2003).
The LabCorp test is available everywhere, and you can schedule it yourself on their website... you don't need a physician to order it.
My husband and I think we might have had it in mid February. More recently, we both got a headache and chills, so we used the city's symptom checker and it said to get tested. They would only test one of us, whichever one was sicker, and my husband always thinks he's dying when he has a cold, so he said he was sicker and he was tested. It came back negative.
I have a friend who is a nurse who was sick in January....took a week off and got written up for it! another friend says her daughter who is a sheriff's deputy was also sick in january as were several people in her department.
I would be stunned if they were wrong. I think MANY people had it without realizing it/thought it was just a cold or flu bug. I hope I'm right because that means more of us have immunities than previously thought.
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