# How Long Did you Hold out against Covid? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [July 23, 2022, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-did-you-hold-out-against-covid/968418 "2022-07-23T09:58:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 14
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2023, 9:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-did-you-hold-out-against-covid/968418/261 "2023-12-17T09:04:10Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > I’m sorry you’re going Round Three. Losing your senses of taste and smell must be awful. It was really depressing when it first happened. It was like a light switch. Breakfast tasted fine. The next thing I ate, nothing. I was breathing in hot sauce just to smell anything. A lot of it came back but not all the way especially smell. It seems to me I don’t hear much about people losing their senses anymore. It was more of an early varient symptom. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2023, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-did-you-hold-out-against-covid/968418/262 "2023-12-17T09:50:34Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > It was really depressing when it first happened. It was like a light switch. Breakfast tasted fine. The next thing I ate, nothing. I was breathing in hot sauce just to smell anything. A lot of it came back but not all the way especially smell. That sounds awful, i hope it continues to recover. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2023, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-did-you-hold-out-against-covid/968418/263 "2023-12-17T16:48:48Z")
My perception of how things are going with Covid appear to be correct. Loss of taste and/or smell are no longer considered common symptoms. > **[Smell and taste loss is no longer a reliable indicator of COVID‐19 infection,...](https://www.vcuhealth.org/news/covid-19/smell-and-taste-loss-is-no-longer-a-reliable-indicator-of-covid-19-infection-new-research-suggests)** > > By Olivia Trani > The risk of losing your sense of smell and taste from the most recent COVID-19 omicron variants is only 6-7% of what it was during the early stages of the pandemic, according to a study led by researchers at Virginia Commonwealth... ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2023, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-did-you-hold-out-against-covid/968418/264 "2023-12-17T19:34:35Z")
I’ve still never had it, that I know of. Any time I got a weird illness, I tested negative. I have a friend who got it two years ago and he’s still suffering with long COVID. I don’t think he’s ever going to be the same again. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2023, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-did-you-hold-out-against-covid/968418/265 "2023-12-17T19:45:46Z")
I held out till December 1st of this year. I thought I had pneumonia. I’m just now getting back in the swing of things. ---
**Author:** ![teelabrown](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teelabrown/32/8412_2.png) [@teelabrown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teelabrown)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2023, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-did-you-hold-out-against-covid/968418/266 "2023-12-18T15:58:45Z")
Mr. brown was feeling unwell yesterday, and was downright sick this morning with a “head cold.” At first he rejected my suggestion that he take a test, but after awhile he caved and took two. The first one had a second line, but it was very faint. He took a second test, with the same result. That’s good enough for us - he’s going to urgent care when they open to see about Paxlovid. They don’t open until 2 today. I also scheduled him a visit at a CVS Minute Clinic - their first appointment was at 2:40 p.m. today, and I put him on a waiting “cancellation list” for that clinic. We can cancel the CVS one if he can get into urgent care first. If he had a doctor, we could just call them and get a scrip, but Mr. brown has avoided doctors for years and he doesn’t currently have a PCP. Since he’s 72 and chubby, I think it’s a good idea that he seek out Paxlovid or other treatment. If he were younger and more fit, we’d just wait it out. Well, off to make a vat of chicken soup. Good thing I bought a big batch of chicken legs yesterday. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2023, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-did-you-hold-out-against-covid/968418/267 "2023-12-18T16:13:20Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > My perception of how things are going with Covid appear to be correct. Loss of taste and/or smell are no longer considered common symptoms. I’m sorry you were one of the unlucky ones. I have a friend who just returned from a trip to Finland and suffered her first bout of COVID. She, too, suffered the loss of her sense of smell – which affected her sense of taste. I saw her yesterday. She said it was the weirdest thing, sticking her nose into a freshly-opened bag of expensive coffee, inhaling and smelling… nothing. I can’t even imagine. * * * My symptoms turned out to be caused by something not COVID. Two tests came up decidedly negative. I no longer have any symptoms of illness, so some odd little cold germ, I guess. So still holding out against COVID. For now. ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2023, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-did-you-hold-out-against-covid/968418/268 "2023-12-18T16:27:03Z")
Until last month. Had one bad week of fever, aches, sore throat, cough. The sore throat was the worst. Had a second week of milder symptoms and a third week to fully recover. Never lost my sense of smell or taste. ---
**Author:** ![ThisOneGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@ThisOneGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisOneGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2023, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-did-you-hold-out-against-covid/968418/269 "2023-12-18T16:51:24Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > Still haven’t had it. But since a large percentage of cases have been asymptomatic from the beginning, probably lots of us who are “not yet” have had it but didn’t notice. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2023, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-did-you-hold-out-against-covid/968418/270 "2023-12-18T16:52:26Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > It seems to me I don’t hear much about people losing their senses anymore My sister and her husband were the first people I knew who get COVID. My sister totally lost her sense of taste/smell. Her son diced up a Spanish onion and an apple. He videoed her eating a bit of each and she couldn’t tell the difference. Her sense of taste/smell came back very gradually. She claims everything is 100% normal now. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2023, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-did-you-hold-out-against-covid/968418/271 "2023-12-18T17:01:52Z")
That’s possible, though I don’t recall even getting sniffles. I was tested twice, both negative, one early on and once later. I don’t get sick much, rately having colds, sore throats, or regular flu, or even headaches. Count me lucky. I also have no allergies I know of, whether of foods, medicines, or other substances. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2023, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-did-you-hold-out-against-covid/968418/272 "2023-12-18T17:04:18Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > So I thought that I could get a Covid booster and a Flu shot and the first Shingles shot at the same time. So of course my body reacted to vaccines for the first time ever. I had a fever that was well above 101, almost 102, for the better part of the day. Probably the shingles one. I’ve heard that one can have pretty bad side effects. > [@Loach](#): > > The first time. Never came back fully. Getting it again means getting it back. It’s logic. And maybe you’ll get hit on the head and recover some lost memories! ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2023, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-did-you-hold-out-against-covid/968418/273 "2023-12-18T19:46:24Z")
> [@ThisOneGuy](#): > > But since a large percentage of cases have been asymptomatic from the beginning, probably lots of us who are “not yet” have had it but didn’t notice. Well, I will say I’ve been feeling run down for a long time. But I’ve also had a number of viral illnesses since I have a young child in school. By a “number of” I mean something new pretty much every week, every ten days or so. From about October to March, I spend more time being sick than not being sick. Last year, I had untreated asthma making everything so much worse. This year, I’m breathing easier, but I’m still getting sick. So that’s going to make you feel run down, right? Small wonder I feel constantly exhausted. It doesn’t necessarily have to be long COVID. But you never know. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2023, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-did-you-hold-out-against-covid/968418/274 "2023-12-18T20:06:51Z")
Still holding out. But more people are getting sick around me and I’ve started masking again in risky situations. I live isolated, am outdoors a lot, am healthy (for my age) and do not spend much time in buildings with a lot of people. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2023, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-did-you-hold-out-against-covid/968418/275 "2023-12-19T04:53:34Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > > [@Ludovic](#): > > > > So I thought that I could get a Covid booster and a Flu shot and the first Shingles shot at the same time. So of course my body reacted to vaccines for the first time ever. I had a fever that was well above 101, almost 102, for the better part of the day. > > Probably the shingles one. I’ve heard that one can have pretty bad side effects. > > > [@Loach](#): > > > > The first time. Never came back fully. Getting it again means getting it back. It’s logic. > > And maybe you’ll get hit on the head and recover some lost memories! Exactly! This guy gets it. Funny that the shingles vaccine was mentioned. In November I got my flu shot and the first shingles shot. I didn’t want to overtax my body so I put off getting the Covid booster. I’ve never had Chickenpox in my life so I thought it was important to get the shingles vaccine ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2023, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-did-you-hold-out-against-covid/968418/276 "2023-12-19T04:58:06Z")
I am feeling much better today. I tried to do a bit too much around the house so that wiped me out. My wife so far hasn’t caught it. She has had it a couple of times too but for some reason we have not caught it off of each other any time. ---
**Author:** ![teelabrown](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teelabrown/32/8412_2.png) [@teelabrown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teelabrown)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2023, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-did-you-hold-out-against-covid/968418/277 "2023-12-20T14:43:34Z")
I just tested emphatically positive. My husband got sick first, but has had no fever nor did he test positive on a fresh test kit. I started coming down with it yesterday morning, and today I’m running a fever of 102. I had chills and body aches all night long. I have an email in with my doctor’s office to see if he’ll prescribe Paxlovid. That was how his office handled it a couple of years ago, according to his assistant. We’ll see if that’s how they do it now or if they have a different way of doing things. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2023, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-did-you-hold-out-against-covid/968418/278 "2023-12-20T14:50:40Z")
As I understand it, they’re pretty free with the paxlovid. You can even get it prescribed by the pharmacist at your drugstore, though you need to bring in your medical history for that. I ended up not bothering, because by day 2, when I had a chance to look into it, my symptoms were already almost gone (which I credit to the vaccine working). ---
**Author:** ![teelabrown](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teelabrown/32/8412_2.png) [@teelabrown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teelabrown)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2023, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-did-you-hold-out-against-covid/968418/279 "2023-12-20T19:24:28Z")
My doc called in a scrip for Paxlovid, but I see online that there’s a delay. They want to talk to the doctor more about it. A recording tells me it’ll be ready this Friday. So much for taking it ASAP! ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2023, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-did-you-hold-out-against-covid/968418/280 "2023-12-21T06:10:07Z")
The last time I had it I was put on molnupiravir. Paxlovid is not recommended if you take a statin. This time it was impossible to pinpoint when the previous illness ended and the Covid began. Since I was likely out of the recommended window I wasn’t given anything. I’m no longer testing positive and just have a bit of a residual cough. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-did-you-hold-out-against-covid/968418.md?page=13) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-did-you-hold-out-against-covid/968418.md?page=15)