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Meowmee

(5,605 posts)
Fri Apr 10, 2020, 04:44 PM Apr 2020

I prolly have covid

I went to a field hospital yesterday and was tested. Chest x ray showed covid like light pneumonia. I am at home in quarantine from my family. They said go back to er if I get worse, I am stable now with a low fever on and off. I had back pain the first 3 days and thought it was a spasm and from my bronchitis.

My doc told me to go to the field hospital yesterday and said it is better to find out early and they are putting people on hydroxy chloroquine. But the doc at hospital said they will only put ypu on that if you are admitted. Then in a video visit today she said they only put you on it early on which I am not now apparently. I have been sick for 3 weeks now but the back pain for 3-4 days. And before that had a sinus infection that wouldn’t go away. So it doesn't make sense. I started z pack at home since I always have that at home. I am taking tylenol and lost of fluids etc. and rest and doing breathing exercises from a doc’s video in England. My test takes 2 days.

43 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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I prolly have covid (Original Post) Meowmee Apr 2020 OP
Best wishes... keep us updated. InAbLuEsTaTe Apr 2020 #1
I hope you make a full recovery soon. liberalmuse Apr 2020 #2
Thanks, me too🙏🏻 Meowmee Apr 2020 #4
Thanks, I will 😊 just 🙏🏻 I survive this Meowmee Apr 2020 #3
Keep up the breathing exercises...Chris Cuomo thought that helped...take care!❤ Karadeniz Apr 2020 #5
Yes, was gonna mention Chris Cuomo's approach. elleng Apr 2020 #7
Yep I saw him talk about it after I saw the video in an article Meowmee Apr 2020 #9
Good you're doing breathing exercises from a doc's video. elleng Apr 2020 #6
Here it is Meowmee Apr 2020 #11
Best wishes! 💕💕 MLAA Apr 2020 #8
Thanks 😊 Meowmee Apr 2020 #10
Oh God, Moewmee. I am so sorry. Laffy Kat Apr 2020 #12
Thanks😊 yeah a bit confusing, I guess they are not sure about a definite protocol because Meowmee Apr 2020 #15
Get well soon. Also why Z-pac? Loki Liesmith Apr 2020 #13
Thanks😊 I always have z pack at home because that is the one I tolerate best with my gerd etc. Meowmee Apr 2020 #14
So sorry to hear that - Backseat Driver Apr 2020 #16
Thanks😊 Meowmee Apr 2020 #19
Just drop the https://www. part and search for what's left! Backseat Driver Apr 2020 #34
Ok will do😊 Meowmee Apr 2020 #35
Unfortunately I can't take vitamin c pills Meowmee Apr 2020 #37
I don't know what I had because tests were strictly rationed Warpy Apr 2020 #17
Sounds like you had it Meowmee Apr 2020 #18
Yes, I thought it suspicious, even with the wimpy fever Warpy Apr 2020 #20
Warpy, what are the usual symptoms for women? I caught something WEIRD in Florida -- when I Nay Apr 2020 #21
My doc said she is seeing lots of people with low fevers Meowmee Apr 2020 #24
Don't treat a fever that low because it's helping you fight the virus Warpy Apr 2020 #25
Interesting. They gave me 3 tylenol to take at the field hospital. Meowmee Apr 2020 #36
I think you most likely got it for the back pain. Warpy Apr 2020 #38
The nurse said it was for my fever Meowmee Apr 2020 #40
Have you heard of lying face down, to relieve pressure of heart on the lungs? No Vested Interest Apr 2020 #22
I am doing that as part of the breathing exercises Meowmee Apr 2020 #23
Sorry 😐 I will send up a prayer for you. nt live love laugh Apr 2020 #26
Thanks 😊 Meowmee Apr 2020 #30
dont feel alone MFM008 Apr 2020 #27
Oh no, so sorry. 🤗 Are you ok? What are you doing? Meowmee Apr 2020 #31
they tested me today for 3 things MFM008 Apr 2020 #39
Keep moving! MenloParque Apr 2020 #28
I am so glad she survived. 💕 Meowmee Apr 2020 #29
She did have low grade fever and body aches. MenloParque Apr 2020 #32
Thanks❤️ Meowmee Apr 2020 #33
She started Tylenol MenloParque Apr 2020 #41
Thanks Meowmee Apr 2020 #42
Update my test was negative but I am sure I have covid- so upset Meowmee Apr 2020 #43

Meowmee

(5,605 posts)
9. Yep I saw him talk about it after I saw the video in an article
Fri Apr 10, 2020, 04:55 PM
Apr 2020

I think he did not have pneumonia. Mine is light so hopefully it will help me. I do not have a high fever like he did. I do have runs and headache.

Meowmee

(5,605 posts)
11. Here it is
Fri Apr 10, 2020, 04:57 PM
Apr 2020



The part that I find hard is laying on my stomach for ten minutes because my back and neck hurt more. The famous Scottish author, sorry I have forgotten her name, said she did this at home with covid symptoms and it kept her out of the hospital.

Laffy Kat

(16,525 posts)
12. Oh God, Moewmee. I am so sorry.
Fri Apr 10, 2020, 05:00 PM
Apr 2020

It sounds like you are getting contradictory information. Please keep us posted. You will be in my thoughts.

Meowmee

(5,605 posts)
15. Thanks😊 yeah a bit confusing, I guess they are not sure about a definite protocol because
Fri Apr 10, 2020, 05:12 PM
Apr 2020

It is so new and everyone responds differently maybe. And lack of communication maybe. I was thinking about ordering hc myself but looks like it is impossible and it may not be safe if you are on z pack at the same time if you have underlying heart conditions. I don’t but they don’t know how each person will respond. I am not sure why they can’t try anti virals at home though. My doc said it is hard to get them rx out of hospital now maybe.

When I had the flu and went to doc she said it was to late for tamaflu antiviral, but I read later that is not true.

Meowmee

(5,605 posts)
14. Thanks😊 I always have z pack at home because that is the one I tolerate best with my gerd etc.
Fri Apr 10, 2020, 05:08 PM
Apr 2020

Z pack is what they are giving covid patients too. I took augmentin for a cat bite this summer and minocycline for a tick bite. But usually I take z pack. I took that and augmentin earlier for my sinus infection about a month ago too.

Z pack has antinflammatory qualities that can help viruses, I took that for flu once, it helped and a doc later said I did the right thing. Actually all antibiotics do but maybe z pack is better.

Meowmee

(5,605 posts)
19. Thanks😊
Fri Apr 10, 2020, 05:42 PM
Apr 2020

For some reason that link doesn’t work. I have a lot to read but will try that too. Two books I ordered and haven’t read. One a bio of NC Wyeth and the other a story of holocaust survivors by Adam P. Frankel. There is so much to read online that I always get distracted. Plus candy crush etc which calms me.

Backseat Driver

(4,635 posts)
34. Just drop the https://www. part and search for what's left!
Fri Apr 10, 2020, 08:53 PM
Apr 2020

Andrew Saul is the editor and has lots of links to resources you might find interesting. His stuff is currently experiencing censorship!

Meowmee

(5,605 posts)
37. Unfortunately I can't take vitamin c pills
Fri Apr 10, 2020, 10:11 PM
Apr 2020

Because I have terrible gerds and last time they made me vomit. i get some sort of weird reaction and I can only have it in fruit and veggies or other foods. I eat some fresh apple every day but not much due to diabetes. I do drink juice a lot when my bg is low only though because I am type 1 diabetic, but too much can spike me. Maybe I can add some in for now anyway but they told me watch my sugars carefully now especially. Maybe I can have some juice with my largest meal which has a higher bolus, I often do it anyway if I am low. I have a similar reaction to all b vitamins except b12.

Warpy

(113,130 posts)
17. I don't know what I had because tests were strictly rationed
Fri Apr 10, 2020, 05:24 PM
Apr 2020

to people in serious trouble. I'm over 70, so I might have gotten one, but I didn't feel like infecting anyone else in order to go out and get it.

I had a low fever that maxed out at 101, a splitting headache and a dry cough. My lungs sounded diminished in the bases with a lot of upper airway wheezing and rhonchi. The worst was over in a few days but the fever kept going up and down for over a week, chills alternating with sweats. That was the most uncomfortable part, outside of the headache.

One day we'll have antibody tests and I'll be sure It was certainly unlike anything I've had before, but if that's what a mild case is like, I can see why people are trying to power through it to stay employed.

I'm going blind and I can't drive, so I was most likely infected by a cabbie or a clerk, they're the only people I was in close proximity to. I was meticulous about hand hygiene and not touching my face, but when ya gotta breathe, ya gotta breathe. I just hope whoever infected me with whatever it was had an equally mild case. I was home long enough before and after symptoms that any bugs I shed died a lonely and frustrated death.

And no, cloth masks don't work, they're a feel-good measure. Those tiny gaps in the weave that you need to magnify in order to see are open barn doors to a virus and when they get wet, virus particles flow right through them. About all they're good for is stopping droplets when a person is coughing, the advantage over a hankie or tissue being uncontaminated hands. Cough into your elbow, it does a better job.

Meowmee

(5,605 posts)
18. Sounds like you had it
Fri Apr 10, 2020, 05:35 PM
Apr 2020

So glad you recovered 💕 I think I was maybe infected by a student who came to class the last class we had and said he felt sick left and then later told me in a virtual class two of his relatives had it and he was not quarantining. Makes me upset. Another student told me that she and her girlfriend were both sick with high fevers at home, I don’t know if she got tested but I think she skipped a couple of classes before that maybe. I have to check. She and her gf are ok now. I wish I had been wearing a mask, it does help if it has a filter, the doc at the field hospital gave me some surgical masks which is what they were wearing as well as the whole garb, no face shields I think. And told me to hide them in my back pack.

Yes, an antibody test will tell you. My doc said she had one patient test neg for the other test but she is sure he has it and thinks it was false negative.

The test was not that bad. They swabbed both nostrils and my throat. Just a bit uncomfortable for a second.

Warpy

(113,130 posts)
20. Yes, I thought it suspicious, even with the wimpy fever
Fri Apr 10, 2020, 05:52 PM
Apr 2020

Enough people have recovered from it and are posting out there and it certainly fit the profile.

Four out of five cases are described as mild, but that's anything from the whole lot of nothing I had to just barely short of needing supplemental oxygen, too ill to move around much but will recover outside a hospital. Comparing symptoms has been very useful, especially since most of the recovered cases being interviewed in media are men. Women seem to get it slightly differently, but it hits everyone at least one different way and women are getting ill enough to go on ventilators.

One thing everybody seems to agree on is the false recovery, waking up and feeling fine, only to have the temperature spike up again and kick your butt, again and again.



Nay

(12,051 posts)
21. Warpy, what are the usual symptoms for women? I caught something WEIRD in Florida -- when I
Fri Apr 10, 2020, 06:07 PM
Apr 2020

got home Jan. 31st, I felt like I was coming down with something. Over the next three days, I had a bad headache, sore throat, and was very fatigued. Those 3 symptoms only lasted the 3 days and weren't debilitating, but I had the dry cough for about a week. I never checked for a fever.

I would love to know if I had The Shit. It didn't feel like any flu, cold, or pneumonia that I've ever had.

Meowmee

(5,605 posts)
24. My doc said she is seeing lots of people with low fevers
Fri Apr 10, 2020, 06:26 PM
Apr 2020

Last edited Fri Apr 10, 2020, 09:00 PM - Edit history (1)

You can still get very bad with a low fever though she said. That must have been scary, glad you made it through. I wish I had oxygen at home, I was going to get a machine for one of my cats but didn’t.

So far my fever comes and goes, I have a lower normal usually due to hypothyroid. I am taking 1000 mg Tylenol 4 x a day. Highest was 100.1 for a bit last week I think.

I read that ventilators are being overused, they should be using c pap and oxygen more. But ventilators produce less aerosol. I wonder if they know why men are different, I forgot what I read about it now.

Warpy

(113,130 posts)
25. Don't treat a fever that low because it's helping you fight the virus
Fri Apr 10, 2020, 07:18 PM
Apr 2020

In hospitals, fevers under 102 aren't generally treated. Tylenol did nothing for my headache so I didn't bother. Only when fevers in the 102 range come with body aches are the treated.

Meowmee

(5,605 posts)
36. Interesting. They gave me 3 tylenol to take at the field hospital.
Fri Apr 10, 2020, 08:57 PM
Apr 2020

I don’t know what it is now because of tylenol, it was 99.5 with 1000 mg. My normal range is lower due to hashimotos. Yesterday my back pain was bad so I took vicoodin and flet better for the first time in 3-4 days. Doc said it is ok to take tylenol though and vicodin for the pain as needed. I will ask her about so much tylenol if it is helping me fight it.

Meowmee

(5,605 posts)
40. The nurse said it was for my fever
Sat Apr 11, 2020, 01:13 AM
Apr 2020

I had taken vicodin and pain was better then. Today is bad. After my breathing it was better then after shower, super painful again. I did not put on my lidocaine patch and no painkiller yet because I had to make my cat’s cat food. If this keeps up I will ask someone to just shoot me maybe. Tg I have an old bottle of vicodin which is still good. My doc said only covid pneumonia has this bad pain. I hope I don’t have a pe as well. They said no.

No Vested Interest

(5,197 posts)
22. Have you heard of lying face down, to relieve pressure of heart on the lungs?
Fri Apr 10, 2020, 06:10 PM
Apr 2020

I understand that is being done in hospitals to assist with breathing.
Just wondering if that might help relieve some of your back pain.

Meowmee

(5,605 posts)
23. I am doing that as part of the breathing exercises
Fri Apr 10, 2020, 06:15 PM
Apr 2020

But it hurts my neck and back to do it, I can't seem to get comfy. When I sleep it is either with pillows angled and a heating pad on my back or on my left side with leg over a body pillow and little pillow by my arms and same pillows proppimg up due to gerds etc.

MFM008

(20,001 posts)
39. they tested me today for 3 things
Fri Apr 10, 2020, 11:35 PM
Apr 2020

Strep
Flu
Covid.
I know ive been fighting something off for 3 weeks.
I had stayed at my sons house week before St. Pats.
My son and his wife had something but the seemed better.
Well ever since i got home ive battled sore throat
Etc. All covid symptoms.
Well a week ago or so my son tested positive for strep.
They didnt give him a covid test.
His wifes covid test was inconclusive.
I believe at minimum its strep.
But todays friday so no test results till Monday.😥

MenloParque

(534 posts)
28. Keep moving!
Fri Apr 10, 2020, 07:55 PM
Apr 2020

This is what saved my 81 year old mother who survived the virus in late-February. Her Dr. in San Francisco through daily video visits advised her to keep up her daily walks and weekly hikes. IF and only if her breathing becomes difficult, then she will need to be hospitalized. Well, on the 9th day after symptoms started she did have to be hospitalized. Her test came back positive and she started hydroxychloroquine and Z-Pak. She was in ICU for 4 days and now is home recovering nicely. Her doctor told us that once intubation and being on a ventilator is required, she would have a chance but very slim due to her age. He is adamant that keeping active and moving was the key to saving my mother. Keep positive and if you can go for walks daily!

Meowmee

(5,605 posts)
29. I am so glad she survived. 💕
Fri Apr 10, 2020, 08:06 PM
Apr 2020

It is freezing here and I do not feel well enough to go for walks, I have a fever etc. and back pain. I am doing stuff in the house though as much as I can. Did she have a fever? How could she manage long walks outside? I don’t understand why they don’t put me on something else besides z pack at home now. I went for two walks when we first had spring break and that was when I started to get worse before the coughing etc.

MenloParque

(534 posts)
32. She did have low grade fever and body aches.
Fri Apr 10, 2020, 08:32 PM
Apr 2020

She kept up her walks even though her body ached and was dealing with cold sweats in the cold days. I was by her side on her longer walks in the park (30 minutes). Her fever never exceeded 102, but we knew once she had dry coughing fits and wheezing it was time to go to the hospital as directed by her doctor. Keep moving around the house...even doing daily chores helps you stay active. Stay calm and do try to limit the news. Find peace in your surroundings, and talk to loved ones to stay positive.

Meowmee

(5,605 posts)
33. Thanks❤️
Fri Apr 10, 2020, 08:50 PM
Apr 2020

I will do some housework and maybe if it is warmer tomorrow try a walk with a mask on. House work makes my bg crash so it is aerobic too. The only problem is I have to do it when my father etc is not there. I am taking tranquilizers and NO news. I started watching the morning show on apple tv though earlier. Even that felt a bit stressful, lol. I just did the deep breathing, I guess I should do it more than once per day. It did not hurt my back and neck as much this time so I must have got a better position. I am using a vic vaporizer with just water when I sleep.

I don’t know for sure what my fever is today because I am taking 1000 mg tylenol 4 x a day. It was 99.5 last time so prolly a bit higher. Was she taking tylenol and it was that high?

We are talking on the phone etc. And my cats stay with me a lot. I hope it won’t affect the cats too, I am trying not to hug them etc. my siamese wanted to jump on my shoulders and I didn't let him. My ginger cat licks my arms etc.

MenloParque

(534 posts)
41. She started Tylenol
Sat Apr 11, 2020, 01:59 PM
Apr 2020

Once her fever rose to 99 she started Tylenol. Her fever shot to 102 but then tapered back to 98. The funny thing is when her fever went away she started having chest congestion and weezing. Her doctor advised that once her cough was not productive and her oxygen saturation level dropped to bring her in. If you can monitor your temperature and oxygen levels at home please do so. Please remember that most do recover.

Meowmee

(5,605 posts)
42. Thanks
Sat Apr 11, 2020, 04:38 PM
Apr 2020

I am doing that. So far not much coughing, mostly dry but some stuff coming out here and there. The worst part is the back pain, it this really bad, then also tightness in chest, back, headache and runs etc. And fatigue and achy now. my pulse ox is usually 97-99 heart rate 70-95. Bp is usually 120/ 80 but yesterday was 130’s. Just wondering if I should start losartan again maybe. Today po 80 at first so I was scared but it went quickly to 98 so I think I didn't have my finger in right or it was a mistake maybe or the battery. I hope I don’t need a new battery.

What was your mom’s pulse ox when she went to hospital? They told me below 94 for a while come back in.

Yes I know but most don’t get to the pneumonia stage maybe. And I have a lot of other serious conditions. I talked with my family and they thought maybe a short walk is a good idea. My brother said because in the 1918 flu they had people do it and outdoor air has anti infection qualities which help your lungs.

Meowmee

(5,605 posts)
43. Update my test was negative but I am sure I have covid- so upset
Sun Apr 12, 2020, 01:30 PM
Apr 2020

Ok so someone just called me from the hospital, not my doc, and said my covid test was negative. I am sure I have it though and it must be a false negative. I can’t believe this is happening.

I have never had pneumonia in my life and it can’t be coincidence that I have double pneumonia and all the covid symptoms in the middle of the pandemic. My doc had told me that one of her patients was false neg also she is sure. I have emailed her asking her what to do now. Obviously I need to keep isolating myself from my family etc.

I did go for a walk yesterday and it seemed to help clear my lungs a bit, did my breathing exercises twice yesterday and it seems to help a bit, but I am still having pain and feeling of a tight band around chest. I don’t know what is going to happen if I get worse and need to go back. Will I be sent back to the field er and go through all of this again, or if I am so bad that I need to be admitted will I be isolated? I do not feel I am getting the proper treatment either, only zithromax and monitor myself at home. I am worried there could be something else going on as well and I need additional testing. I had dvt number two in October and was put on blood thinners, currently eliquis, for life now. At the time I was evaluated at the er with blood tests, chest and hip xray and chest ct scan with contrast and more. I may need ct scan with contrast again.

My bp was high while at the field hospital as well which they didn’t tell me at the time. And I felt she did not swab my nostrils and throat for long enough when doing the test This is all so messed up. 😿

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