So, it all started last Friday, with a headache, then a fever, then the aches...
Friday night was rough, my whole body ached, especially my hips, and my fever was around 101 all night.
Saturday morning I took Tylenol which quelled the aches and fever, but then the respiratory symptoms started. Tight throat, tight chest, dry cough. I called the doctor and got some advice, and pretty much stayed in bed all day. Rest and fluids, rest and fluids.
Saturday night, even after Tylenol, I had crazy night sweats and fever dreams. I was a daze of soaking clothes and coughing fits. By Sunday morning the fever had broken, but the cough was getting much worse. It had changed from just tight to the feeling to the feeling that the inside of my lungs were on fire. It hurt to take a deep breath.
Sunday was S's birthday!!! So of course I needed to make some kind of effort. So I got out of bed, made the kids breakfast, decorated some cupcakes, and tried to participate in S's zoom birthday party. But I should have rested. About half way through the party, something happened.
Suddenly breathing became a real struggle. It was amazing how fast I went from wheezy to in distress. I can't emphasize enough how fast it happened.
I tried not to panic, but went up to my room, put on chest rub and eucalyptus in the diffuser. It seemed to take all of my mental and physical energy just to breathe. I was focused solely on getting enough air. I was scared. My mom had sent me some breathing techniques that a nurses had posted online, so I focused on that, and tried to keep calm. I did have a minute there where I felt like, if this gets any worse, or if this doesn't let up soon, I'll need to call for help.
The breathing techniques (and/or just resting) worked, and I was able to breathe a little easier. I'm not an asthmatic so I've never had an experience like this before.
The fever stayed away, and breathing, while it hurt and was strenuous, wasn't a "struggle". As long as I rested and tried not to talk too much, symptoms stayed manageable.
Monday I spoke with my primary care physician, and I was tested at 10:30 Monday. I continued to feel better. My chest remained tight, and lots of dry coughing, no appetite and low energy, but better every day. Slowly spending less time in bed, slowly the cough had a little more rattle and a little less wheeze. I felt the fever come back here and there, but never got a reading over 100, so when it did come back it seemed to be mild.
Wednesday I got the news that I was negative.
And I am so confused! Sitting here Wednesday night, it is still a struggle to read a bedtime story or hold a real conversation. I get short of breath and cough. Taking a big inhale still hurts. I feel like I had all the classic symptoms, and was sick in a way that I have never been before.
And so I am reading all about false positives. A voicemail from my doctor confirms the false negative appears to be around 30%, and he thinks I should act like I was positive, meaning I should stay quarantined until at least 7 days after onset of symptoms, or 72 hours fever free, or symptoms resolve. I know this cough won't be gone anytime soon.
So what do I do with that? I guess for now, I don't go back to the grocery store until my cough is gone (even if other symptoms are resolved, it sounds like infected people may still shed the virus through coughing long after infection, but there are uncertainties around that). If I were positive, family members would need to quarantine for 14 full days, but since I was negative the doctor feels like this is overkill and they can also return to "normal social distancing" this Friday. But if it was a false negative, this feels like one more way that bad testing and bad data could put others at risk. At 30%, how many other false positives are out there? It doesn't take long to see what a quagmire we are all in.
Stay home, stay safe. All I can say is, I can't wait for that dang antibody test!
And, sidebar: How are we supposed to get our economy back up and running without widespread testing? Furthermore, how do we manage this with a test that is so unreliable that we get a 30% false negative rate?
Friday night was rough, my whole body ached, especially my hips, and my fever was around 101 all night.
Saturday morning I took Tylenol which quelled the aches and fever, but then the respiratory symptoms started. Tight throat, tight chest, dry cough. I called the doctor and got some advice, and pretty much stayed in bed all day. Rest and fluids, rest and fluids.
Saturday night, even after Tylenol, I had crazy night sweats and fever dreams. I was a daze of soaking clothes and coughing fits. By Sunday morning the fever had broken, but the cough was getting much worse. It had changed from just tight to the feeling to the feeling that the inside of my lungs were on fire. It hurt to take a deep breath.
Sunday was S's birthday!!! So of course I needed to make some kind of effort. So I got out of bed, made the kids breakfast, decorated some cupcakes, and tried to participate in S's zoom birthday party. But I should have rested. About half way through the party, something happened.
Suddenly breathing became a real struggle. It was amazing how fast I went from wheezy to in distress. I can't emphasize enough how fast it happened.
I tried not to panic, but went up to my room, put on chest rub and eucalyptus in the diffuser. It seemed to take all of my mental and physical energy just to breathe. I was focused solely on getting enough air. I was scared. My mom had sent me some breathing techniques that a nurses had posted online, so I focused on that, and tried to keep calm. I did have a minute there where I felt like, if this gets any worse, or if this doesn't let up soon, I'll need to call for help.
The breathing techniques (and/or just resting) worked, and I was able to breathe a little easier. I'm not an asthmatic so I've never had an experience like this before.
The fever stayed away, and breathing, while it hurt and was strenuous, wasn't a "struggle". As long as I rested and tried not to talk too much, symptoms stayed manageable.
Monday I spoke with my primary care physician, and I was tested at 10:30 Monday. I continued to feel better. My chest remained tight, and lots of dry coughing, no appetite and low energy, but better every day. Slowly spending less time in bed, slowly the cough had a little more rattle and a little less wheeze. I felt the fever come back here and there, but never got a reading over 100, so when it did come back it seemed to be mild.
Wednesday I got the news that I was negative.
And I am so confused! Sitting here Wednesday night, it is still a struggle to read a bedtime story or hold a real conversation. I get short of breath and cough. Taking a big inhale still hurts. I feel like I had all the classic symptoms, and was sick in a way that I have never been before.
And so I am reading all about false positives. A voicemail from my doctor confirms the false negative appears to be around 30%, and he thinks I should act like I was positive, meaning I should stay quarantined until at least 7 days after onset of symptoms, or 72 hours fever free, or symptoms resolve. I know this cough won't be gone anytime soon.
So what do I do with that? I guess for now, I don't go back to the grocery store until my cough is gone (even if other symptoms are resolved, it sounds like infected people may still shed the virus through coughing long after infection, but there are uncertainties around that). If I were positive, family members would need to quarantine for 14 full days, but since I was negative the doctor feels like this is overkill and they can also return to "normal social distancing" this Friday. But if it was a false negative, this feels like one more way that bad testing and bad data could put others at risk. At 30%, how many other false positives are out there? It doesn't take long to see what a quagmire we are all in.
Stay home, stay safe. All I can say is, I can't wait for that dang antibody test!
And, sidebar: How are we supposed to get our economy back up and running without widespread testing? Furthermore, how do we manage this with a test that is so unreliable that we get a 30% false negative rate?
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