KP is Kaiser Permanente I’m guessing. KP won’t prescribe you any meds if you test positive?
Luck is holding I’ve never had it. Was at a wedding two weeks ago and people we’re close with both ended up sick with it a week after the wedding.
3 yrs, 6 mos, 7 days. No longer positive but still feel run down.
It got me last year just after my 40th… Figured it was my price for partying!
As I’m vaxxed it was very mild, honestly no worse than the vaccine side effects were.
Just tested positive for the first time. Symptoms started yesterday, but I didn’t get a chance to test until today. So, I held out until yesterday.
Got the new monovalent vaccine a few weeks ago. Sigh.
My luck finally ran out. My dad got it (probably from my step-mother, who is in rehab for a broken hip–we know that there are cases in the rehab facility, and she had a little something last week) and then I presumably got it from him. Friday was my 1st day of major symptoms; I took a test yesterday, which came out positive. Other than being extra tired, it presents almost exactly like a cold, which is what I thought I had at first. But yesterday morning, I had a very brief and mild bit of nausea, which was my first real clue (I do sometimes get quite tired when I have a cold).
I went to an urgent care place yesterday afternoon, and got Paxlovid. Between going to bed earlier than usual last night, and the time change, I got about 2 extra hours of rest, which has helped tremendously. I don’t have a whole lot of energy yet, but I’m not nearly as tired as I was.
So far, so good. Our four closest friends (two married couples) are also among the uninfected. We’re in our 70’s, Couple #1 in their late 60’s, couple #2 in their 20’s.
The people we know who have been infected, some more than once, had all been careless or intentionally lackadaisical about masking, large groups, vaccinations. Or in one case, married to such a person.
First time, early October 2022. Six days after my fourth vaccination which apparently was too short to develop a good response; I infected my wife and probably 3 other people. Thankfully none with serious consequences. Myself I was unable to work (from home) for 10 days. Very low energy for a week.
Second time, early November 2023, one month after my fifth shot. Light sniffles; did not even infect my wife. Only needed a doctor’s note for four working days.
I hope this does not become a fixture each autumn.
On the flip side, I know people who don’t know where or when they were exposed.
In my case, I’m fairly certain in hindsight that my step-mother had it–but her symptoms were SO mild that at the time we all thought that it was just a little cold.
Three years, six months, and twelve days.
Apparently, until yesterday. Well, probably Friday, since I wasn’t out of the house on Saturday, and I think my symptoms started Sunday morning (though of course, at first, they weren’t enough to worry about).
I’m feeling generally a little congested, I have a slight headache, and I have a fever, but other than that, I feel fine.
Of course, it’s always possible that I’ve had it before, but if so, I was asymptomatic.
Managed to get COVID a second time, but honestly, I barely noticed.
Background: I had the 'rona (Omicron, I think) in August 2022, which landed hard in my throat. Lost my voice, painful sore throat, generally winded and wiped out for a week or so, and a lot of different foods tasted really bland for about a month afterwards. I figure I got off lucky. I also jumped at every chance to get vaccinated, and have had two shots and four boosters so far since the first jabs were available.
I also home-test fairly regularly; here in Toronto you can still get free 5-packs of home tests at pharmacies, though they’re geting tougher to find. Once every ten days or so, and if I’m feeling particularly sniffly I’ll do a swab. Last Wednesday morning before work, I’d been fairly congested all night and I thought, “Well, I’ve been to a Leafs game lately, so…” Dripped the solution into the tester, had breakfast, did the dishes and when the timer went off, I was genuinely surprised to see two solid stripes on the thing.
Took a few days off of work as is company policy, and isolated in my apartment, but aside from general fatigue (I’m insomniac so who can tell if it’s related) and muscle aches (two torn rotator cuffs and two bulging discs, so, ditto) I felt pretty normal. Never had a fever; I think I run a bit cool normally anyway (my mom casually mentioned that she’s typically below 98.6 herself, and I don’t remember having a fever of any kind since I was a kid). Did more tests throughout the week, partly to confirm on Wednesday, then the next two mornings as well. Tested negative, not even a faint second line, on Saturday afternoon. I figure I must have had it asymtomatically for a while and was in the home stretch if I was testing negative so soon after my first positive one. Did another test Monday morning before going back to work, and we’re back to your regularly scheduled programming.
Super glad that I’ve had so many shots; I’m totally willing to ascribe the lack of round two discomfort to all the vaccine stuff in my bloodsteam. Though I’m bummed now because I was due for my next jab in January, but I’ve been advised to wait at least three months after an infection before getting another shot. A doctor friend advised me to see if I can get the Novovax shot, as she says it’s showing protection against a wider variety of variants than the mRNA ones provide. But the drugstores only seem to be stocking Pfizer these days, and to get Novovax they’re advising me to check with Ontario Health, which has been no help (“Try the provincial clinics.” The ones that are virtually all closed now?). So I may wind up getting my fifth Pfizer booster in March.
Still haven’t had it.
Still covid-free: haven’t had a cold or flu-like disease since Covid started, and the couple of times I’ve tested myself have always come up negative.
But my temperature did rise well above 100 for the first time since the plague began this week, when I got my Covid booster. I’ve had dozens of vaccinations previously and never had any symptoms that definitively rose above the psychosomatic. 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. I had the oblique thinking that came with a fever, and of course chills and hotness, but no other symptoms other than the vague “weird” feeling I always get with vaccines that may or may not be psychosomatic. It’s like 1/10 as powerful as a real “malaise” I get before a cold, so I don’t want to call it that, but it’s on the same spectrum in that something feels vaguely wrong medically rather than emotionally.
A delayed report: I caught it from my Dad during the first week of October, right when I was expected to move out of the temporary apartment. I actually provided a little bit of relief for me, since it allowed us to slow things down for a legit reason.
Dad’s had previously talked about being sore and a little more tired after a day of work. And he was having a higher heartrate than usual. This concerned me because it was similar to what happened with his (turns out very mild) heart attack. He vaguely mentioned feeling a bit cold, which got me to check his temperature, and he was running a fever. And, even then, it took me a bit to even consider it could be COVID. We had some expired tests,* and I had him take one, only to see a very strong line. (I later tested myself, and the line was much more dim.)
I got him to go to Urgent Care since it was a Sunday, and because he has asthma and is diabetic, so I thought it would be good to cut it short. He surprisingly got not only an antiviral (the one that isn’t Paxlovid), but several other medicines. I specifically remember he got something that was supposed to numb his throat to prevent the dry cough, and an antibiotic, which the doctor said was because he was concerned about a possible opportunistic infection. (I later read that this not recommended in the general case.)
Since I was asymptomatic, I decided I’d wait and go to my regular doctor. But, when I called the next day, I found out he doesn’t usually give medication for it unless it gets bad. He just recommends some over-the-counter stuff to help you deal with it, and tells you to check in if certain symptoms start to develop.
So dad (age 64) got the medicine, while I didn’t. It seemed to me that he recovered more quickly. He stopped aching after that one day, while I had problems for 2-3 days, with the first day being so intense I could barely stand it. But, unlike him, my throat never significantly hurt. I did have a bit of a tickle that would make me cough, but it was a fairly gentle cough.
Dad had one day where he slept a lot–the same day when he was tested. (It gave him an excuse to go back to bed.) I did so for 2-3 days, though I slept a lot less than he did. He was so sleepy that I had trouble waking him up to set up the appointment at the clinic. But he woke up on his own around 4 and we went as quickly as we could.
Based on how it felt, I don’t think I’d had it before. Though it’s possible that the achiness is more prevalent with this strain, as suggested in some articles I read. The other people dad had been with, who also caught it, also had the same achiness.
For those keeping score at home: I’ve had it December 2020, August 2021 and December 2023.
I’ve had a lingering cold for a couple of weeks. Tested negative a few times. Thought I was really on the mend two days ago then it took a turn for the worst. Went to the doctor today to make sure my lungs are clear and tested positive. I’m guessing that I did have a plain old upper respiratory infection and the Covid hit while I wasn’t at my best and hooked a ride. No flu like symptoms this time. It just feels like a shitty cold. Lungs are clear O2 levels fine.
My first bout was the only time I felt really bad. It was like having the flu for a few days. I stayed in bed mostly.
I wonder if I’ll get my tast and smell back now?
Did you lose them the first time, or just with this bout?
The first time. Never came back fully. Getting it again means getting it back. It’s logic.
I’m sorry you’re going Round Three. Losing your senses of taste and smell must be awful.
I had a weird episode last Wednesday. My nose would not stop running. That lasted all day and then abruptly stopped. Then I got a whisper of lung congestion. Almost non-discernible. No headache, no body aches, no fever, no cough, no loss of senses of taste or smell. Apart from the prodigious runny nose, whatever this is is so mild it is easily ignored. First time I’ve had symptoms of anything since January 2020.
I took my first COVID test this morning. Negative, but I’ll test again tomorrow. If it tests positive, it will be my first bout with COVID.
I just got my 5th vaccination 2 weeks ago. I suffer terribly with the vaccinations, so I’m having a hard time believing this little runny nose doddle is the dread disease itself.