So what's it like to get the Virus? - not good...
 

So what's it like to get the Virus? I contracted Covid-19 a few weeks ago whilst we were on short-stay break at our home here The Villages. A few people have asked "what was it like" in a nutshell "pretty crappy". Here I give brief synopsis in the hope it reinforces the absolute need to isolate yourselves and no matter how much of pain it is to be stuck indoors it really is worth it to avoid getting infected.

As background, I am a healthy 62-year-old. For me it started with a dry cough for a couple of days, then the headaches, followed by chills and body aches. My temperature started to go up 100, 101, 102. at this point my wife and I agreed she should leave the house and move in with her parents as we feared it was COVID. I called the Florida COVID Hotline - at the time they did not have a testing process in place unless I drove more than 50 miles to Orlando (I had a challenge getting to the kitchen! ) - I explained my symptoms to a virtual Dr who told me to isolate, rest, take Tylenol and drink plenty of fluids - not come into emergency unless my temperature exceeded 105 and/or I had significant breathing issues- Well it got to 104! spent time alone having cold showers to try and bring down the temperature, ended up getting hallucinations and severe bought of diarrhoea for 2 days (slept on the bathroom floor for 24 hours).

This was the scariest time, being on your own, knowing you have the virus and not having a clue what to do other than keep taking the Tylenol, drink Gatorade and trying to sip on a bowl of soup. For me, it was the worst flu I can ever recall x 10. After a few days (can't recall how many) the temp started to come down, and by the 5th day the fever broke and dropped below a 100 and my cough subsided. After 8 days or so I was well on the way to recovery and after two-plus weeks I am back to 90% (silver lining dropped 14 Ibs but not a diet I would recommend!).

My wife has moved back in and we are self-isolating and keeping our distance from everyone. All to say, please, please take the lockdown very seriously, I was lucky in as much I had no underlying issues - but even so, this was not a pleasant experience.

I am scheduled to give blood early next week so they can test for antibodies and donate plasma if needed.

They say 80% of those that contract the virus can stay at home and come through this without too many problems. But as my story relays you really don’t want to be one of that 80 %. I still count myself so lucky I didn't become one of the 20% that had to be hospitalized and the 4% that just don't make it.

As I said please reinforce the message to follow all the guidance. We are now wearing face masks whenever we have to leave the house (which is rare) and that seems to be gaining momentum.

Stay safe, healthy and please isolate!

Thanks for taking your time to tell your story. I wish you and your wife all the best.

So your wife who was possiby a carrier, moved in with her elderly parents?

They must have been delighted to welcome her!

I see nowhere in your post that you were diagnosed with Covid, unless i'm missing something.

In most places, unless you are hospitalized they are not testing for covid 19. There are still not enough tests and the processing of what they have done is behind. The account is consistent with how the virus attacks the body.

We did have that concern, but fortunately, she was able to isolate in a separate area of their house. Father in law only who was kept safe.

Correct at the time there were so few tests available and unless you were admitted no testing was offered. The only other option was to get down to Orlando to the drive-through testing centre that had just opened - but that was not an option due to being unable to leave to the house. The virtual Dr service was very good , kept in touch and gave instructions. The blood draw next week should reveal/confirm virus-free state and hopefully plasma can be used to help others.Plasma Donations from Recovered COVID-19 Patients

Apparently there is huge range of symptoms and conditions, from a mild cold - to very bad flu (me) all the way to hospitalisation and ventilators. Key apparently is the repository signs that would dictate the degree of concern - mine never progressed beyond the dry cough and associated aches from constant coughing. My lungs were ok and didn't show any signs of deterioration/pneumonia - which was key when reporting condition updates to the Dr. Apprently the fever is a good thing - to an extent - as it stimulates your own immune system to help fight the virus.

do you know where you got it from

I am a fit, healthy woman who keeps very active. ( PB, some tennis, Pilates, yoga, weightlifting, table tennis). I have never had a flu shot, and rarely have any stomach issues. Over the course of my 65+ years never take over-the-counter meds or prescribed meds. Had 2 children totally naturally and one emergency appendectomy, followed by a pseudomonas aeruginosa blood infection, at 63. I have used homeopathic remedies (since early 90’s and had a medical doctor practicing 100% homeopathy )and acupuncture (15–20 years. )

Last Wednesday, as soon as I woke up & sat up, I had vertigo. I staggered from walls to furniture to the kitchen to grab water and Gatorade, and back to bed. I lay flat and did not turn my head. That lasted 1 1/2 hours. Then I had to vomit, only clear mucus, ( apologize for the details, but...) With the vertigo , I was so weak , the hands were like clay. I lay on the floor by the commode, until I could crawl back to bed. No temperature, low, but typical for me 95.6. ( Weigh 120-125 #’s, do not fluctuate much.) I was freezing. ...Covered with a sheet, a cotton and a vellux blanket and a down duvet. About 2:00 I got out of bed . Stomach was fine. Had an appetite. Made hot tea because feet and hands still freezing. Back to bed and lay there ‘til 7:30. I was very weak , but I managed to stand for a little cooking and sat until midnight.
Thursday, I was normal, energetic self . Friday, I had a “head “issue. Could not read, play music or do yoga. Sat outdoors all day. That lasted until late evening. Today I was okay when I got up, but had a brief spell of the “head “issue, after a short walk outdoors. Did yoga, and almost back to normal.

The body parts prone to illness are the throat and lungs, pneumonia in 2nd grade, bronchitis for many years from college( none since using humidifiers in Mid-Atlantic states’ winters, once upon arrival here.), pleurisy ( never smoked, or did drugs).

For the last couple years, I see a functional medicine practitioner. Never had leaky gut, and most of my life have eaten home-cooked meals, eliminated caffeine, rarely drink coffee.

I immediately took a homeopathic flu remedy, (upon awakening with vertigo , and one more 6 hours later) available over-the-counter in any pharmacy anywhere. ( Oscillococcinum).
In preparation for a trip I would have left for last Saturday & returned tomorrow, I was taking a probiotic and a professional colloidal silver. I have continued to take it.

Sorry to be so long winded, but feel it is extremely important to know the details. Each person is unique.

Upon sharing with a friend who is a Vietnamese vet, he said many vets have dealt with the freezing cold, piling mattresses , blankets to 3’, until they “ sweat it out”. I never sweated.

Might there be a correlation here with the success of the anti-malaria drug in treating Covid-19?

Just because you have symptoms does not mean that you have Covid, until tested. The common flu has some of the same symptoms so i'm not buying it until you have confirmed you actually had it. Don't confuse people.

Exactly what day did your symptoms begin? How long were you and your wife separated from each other? How long did the illness last from start to finish? Were you ever seen in person by a physician or PA? How did you determine it was safe to give plasma? I am just asking these questions because it seems to sound like you were self diagnosed. I am very sorry you were so sick, and I have talked to three people who think they may have had it, all with different levels of severity. This is a complex issue.

To the two people who shared their symptoms....did you lose your sense of smell and taste??

I may have shared on this site before (or not) that I have a friend who lives in the midwest who became sick over the holidays. Don't recall if the illness hit in time for Thanksgiving or not. ALL I remember is hearing from her and this thing lasted for weeks. She never gets sick or rarely anyway. We conversed this past week and she says now, that in looking back and reading statistics put out from the U.K. and other places, she thinks she'd had the Covid-19 virus as she checked all the boxes. She'd seen her dr. but his test didn't indicate flu. Thankfully, now she's fine but this virus isn't anything to trifle with. I know early on we'd hear it's "just" the flu....so we all went on about our lives. It's difficult in knowing what we're to do---stay in or go out and about?? My take is...avoid contact with people as much as we can. NOT to be foolish.

Thanks for sharing and I'm so glad your are a survivor!

I wonder if it was Covid-19 described by these folks? I wonder if the person who "never takes prescribed Medicine" had it or something else. I am a born sceptic and also a person who has heard many sincere tales that I doubted. I am after all a card carrying mother. I know that we can't be running around listening to people who are not skilled medical professionals when it comes to staying in or going out. People are dying out there.

I am not trying to be mean or unsympathetic and I don't have any valid medical training. I just wonder if everyone who posts can be trusted as part of our information gathering about Covid-19. Heads of State all over the world couldn't believe this was happening at first. It all happened within the last four months really. The first case talked about in Wuhan was in late November. Even the experts heads are spinning. I think it would be wise to do everything we can to not expose ourselves to this damned little killer and if we have a fever and a dry cough, seek medical advice. Praying wouldn't hurt either. But don't GO to church.

I thank you for your post and it supports my thoughts after exhausting reading about CV.

My conclusion, and I'm not a medical professional, rather married to one, pretty much aligns with this article, written by a Swiss doctor about CV in Italy

click here

The take-away may be, without extreme comorbidity (age, obesity, smoking related illnesses, etc.) then CV is not a killer, rather a really, really, really bad flu.

I read (probably too much) articles from sources with a variety of political persuasions.

The main-stream-media blames the CV epidemic on Trump. The conservative media praises Trump. Both have an element of truth. Neither is 100% correct all the time.

That's human nature.

Seriously? The OP bravely posts the first account (in TV) of what coronavirus is like, his account is totally believable, very accurate as to symptoms, accurate as to the testing situation at that time, and he basically took Tylenol and weathered it out. Totally consistent with what doctors/hospitals are telling patients. Don't come in unless fever over 105 and you have severe respiration problems. Its a very valuable account and I hope we get more like it, but maybe not if they have a low post count and haven't been to one of your dinner parties.

I am not suggesting anyone should "buy it" my only goal in posting my experience was the hope it would reinforce the stay at home isolation directives. It's up to the red cross to determine if I am a candidate to provide plasma .if not that's ok but if yes then great, hopefully it will go toward helping someone who is very sick. At this point given what I have been through I hope it results in helping others. Again stay safe , healthy and isolate.

But you didn’t get tested.

Yeah, he should have driven to Orlando with 104 fever and diarrhea.

This person will know soon enough if in fact Covid-19 is the reason he experienced all those symptoms. If the test for antibodies shows that yes, in fact this person has developed antibodies to CV-19, then the diagnosis can be made.

Haven't been to one of my dinner parties??? What do you mean?

AND...……. Sometimes a "new person is an old one in camoflauge".

Many people are giving "advice" about treatment without a valid source. Many people are touting unproven treatments.

Wow, thanks for sharing your experience as we are all trying to figure out something that is like we have never seen before. So glad you are on the other side of this horrible virus. Stay positive and healthy.

Yep, we've all got to be vigilant about people promoting Tylenol for fever!

My sister's neighbor got confirmation this last Sunday he had covid 19. He was fine by Thursday. 55 year old male.

Thank you so much, OP, for describing your experience! As I was reading your post I felt like I was going through it with you. So glad that you made it through ok and are thoughtful enough to share it with us as a warning.

Why would anyone doubt the veracity of someone’s symptoms. I myself was sick as a dog for three weeks in February with fever, horrible horrible cough to the point where I thought I broke a rib and was hugging a pillow to ease the pain. When I was lying in bed at night, my lungs hurt in the back. All I really wanted to do was sleep. Doctors at that point had nothing. Take Tylenol, drink fluid And rest. When that test for immunity comes out, rest assured that I will be tested. There is no question in my mind that I had the virus.

Thank you for sharing your story.

I am so sorry you had to be subjected to an inquisition, along with the casting of aspersions.

I do not understand why you came under attack, but it is not the first time I have seen that happen around here. No wonder so many are unwilling to post. I appreciate your doing so. I consider what you did as a public service. My thanks.

I wish you and yours the best of health going forward.

Thanks for sharing.

Sounds like Covid-19 to me, although one would not know for sure without a test. But we do know a lot of people are dying from it, and that number is continuing to grow exponentially. Glad you didn't contribute to that statistic.

I don't get the skeptics. Like the ones I've seen on TV that fortunately have changed their tune over the last couple of weeks, or the eight or so governors who continue to drag their feet. Bill Gates explained it best - you have to lock down the ENTIRE country. States should not be given the option. There is definitely a lack of leadership on this.

Good luck to everyone, and I hope as many as possible make it through without losing a friend or family member.

Good read on why Herd Immunity may not come soon ...

What is herd immunity and can it stop the coronavirus? - MIT Technology Review

Best strategy for now is to practice social distancing as much as possible, at least for the next 2 months until the curve is flattened and hospitals can once again deal with the loads.

One test per family rule
 

A couple who are friends of mine in New Jersey both got it. They are fine now. They are about 50 though. She was tested first and was positive. They would not test him! One test per family rule! He had the same thing she had, so... Make your own conclusions.

Hopefully they will come up with a test to figure out who has had it and therefore probably, as of today's information, can't get it again. Then those people can help on the front lines without too much risk. Being retired, if I got through the virus, I would go volunteer at a hospital....
Good luck to all of us! I am self isolating as well. As usual, that's my two cents, it's worth what you paid for it...

Ps. This is the opportune time for the world to unite. It's not what the Chinese / Italians / (other country) did or didn't do, it's what we can all do to stop mother nature from weeding us out!

Glad you made it! Be well!

What you’re missing is there are not enough test kits and he had hallmark symptoms of COVID-19.

Any idea where you were exposed? Has your wife been tested?

My thought too. Yikes.

China needs to be held accountable. They don’t get free pass. Italians are victims like the rest of the world. Yes, the the world needs to come together and ask the question? Is near slave labor worth it for profit? Business IMO need to get out of China if they won’t change the way they pollute rest of the world with majority of viruses either by accident or on purpose.

Thank you for posting your experience. Hope you continue to improve.

Thanks you for sharing you story!

Snopes says this is misinformation: Did Johns Hopkins Publish This 'Excellent Summary' of COVID-19 Advice?

What Boomer said.