OT: Discussion about COVID 19 if you have had it or think you might have it

[babydinosnoreless]

Got tested for the antibodies today. Crossing fingers that I've already had it.

[babydinosnoreless]

Got tested for the antibodies today. Crossing fingers that I've already had it.

Nope it was negative. Interesting. Something made us all super sick in January.

[zonker]

Got tested for the antibodies today. Crossing fingers that I've already had it.

Nope it was negative. Interesting. Something made us all super sick in January.

yay!

dunno about sick before. i've read and heard reports of folk getting very sick in the jan to feb window. not sure we'll ever really know.

[chunkyfrog]

I have not been sick, but back in March I had inexplicably high blood glucose readings
for about three days. I know it was not my CGM, because I double-checked with finger sticks.

[raisedfist]

I tested negative for COVID-19 infection, and also twice for the anti-bodies...so I guess I never got it, even though I definitely did have flu-like symptoms while testing negative for the flu.

[zonker]

I tested negative for COVID-19 infection, and also twice for the anti-bodies...so I guess I never got it, even though I definitely did have flu-like symptoms while testing negative for the flu.

YAY!

glad to hear it.

[raisedfist]

I tested negative for COVID-19 infection, and also twice for the anti-bodies...so I guess I never got it, even though I definitely did have flu-like symptoms while testing negative for the flu.

YAY!

glad to hear it.

Well I'd rather not have to worry about getting it in the future, but honestly, mentally I don't really stress out about it anymore. I take reasonable precautions, so outside of that, there isn't much else to fuss about until they come out with more advances.

[zonker]

I tested negative for COVID-19 infection, and also twice for the anti-bodies...so I guess I never got it, even though I definitely did have flu-like symptoms while testing negative for the flu.

YAY!

glad to hear it.

Well I'd rather not have to worry about getting it in the future, but honestly, mentally I don't really stress out about it anymore. I take reasonable precautions, so outside of that, there isn't much else to fuss about until they come out with more advances.

i try to take the same attitude myself. i guess i could hunker down HARDER but i think i'm taking reasonable precautions too.

i'm more worried as to what the world is going to become after this pandemic has passed.

[Cariano]

Hi all!
I am newly diagnosed with sleep apnea and have been using an Resmed Airsense 10 Auto APAP with nasal pillows since late August.
I was on a ventilator in March 2020 with respiratory failure, bilateral pneumonia, covid 19, and metabolic encephalopathy (I had full hallucinations and delusions in the hospital before they new it was related to covid to be "out there"). I was in the hospital for 9 days, on the ventilator 4. I should have stayed in the hospital for another week or so. They really didn't know as much as they do now. I did not have the "Miracle Cure" that DJT claims cured him.
I have no idea if I had sleep apnea prior but I don't think so. I also had none of the other risk issues. No cardiac, diabetes, high blood pressure, smoking, etc. I was healthy but I am 63. I was skiing in Switzerland in early March, obviously we would not have done that if we knew it was airborne. There were only 4 cases in Switzerland at the time. Our grown kids live in California and they thought we should still go on our prepaid/no insurance trip as planned.
We returned home early when the borders were shut on March 12th. None of us felt sick when we returned home. The family members who did not get sick quarantined for 2 weeks. I first had symptoms on March 15th and thought I was getting better then crashed on day 12 and barely made it to the hospital via ambulance. Idk if you have others on this forum who have had it, please let me know. My husband got it a week after me and one son tested positive for antibodies months later without ever having symptoms. I still have exercise intolerance and shortness of breath but feel much better in the last month. I have not felt "sick" since April 19th but the recovery was very long.
My husband and I both still have antibodies 7 months later but that sound like it will fade sometime.
I have downloaded OSCAR and that is helpful. At my home sleep study in July I had 35 AHIs, mostly obstructive. I also had desaturation (below 89) for 20 minutes over the course of the night. My cpap machine does not show pO2 so Idk how that is going. My next pulmonary doc appt is not for 2 weeks.
My PFTs showed my DLCO to be 65% of normal for my age so that is my current concern. My post illness stress test, echocardiogram were normal. My chest CT still shows atelectasis.
If I can figure out how to post my OSCAR stuff, I can start a new thread for my questions about central apnea or clear airway apneas. Are they the same thing?
Cariano

[chunkyfrog]

I have to get tested on 10/30, to get a tooth filled.
I hope they use the short swab--I'm not in the mood for a lobotomy.

[kbh209]

Well this past Monday, I started developing a sore throat, and it turned into coughing and a stuffy nose , plus stomach issues. Tomorrow (10/23/20) I go to get tested. Frustrated that I got sick but I do blame myself for going into a place that isn't following the social distancing orders. Just...hoping it's the flu and not COVID-19. Blech.

Edited to add: Today (10/23/20) I got the test. It's my third overall test, and I'm happy to know that medical practitioners learned that lobotomies are not required for COVID-19.

[DDWills95]

On 10/6 I got tested for Covid-19. I was positive. After a week of feeling like I had a horrible sinus infection I went to the dr. I also had no taste or smell. Husband did not get the test. He at first had very little symptoms. After several days his breathing got worse. His oxygen level went down to 83%. No he would not go to the hospital. He was prescribed breathing treatments and an inhaler. We have both taken Zpac and prednisone. He had to get another round of antibiotics and steroids. Covid-19 drains you completely . My 72 year old grandmother had it. My sister and aunt too. We are still reluctant to get near anyone. We do have pre existing conditions.

Scariest thing was to lay in bed next to husband thinking he may stop breathing. I don't know of any other things we could have done to prevent this.

[DreamStalker]

I have to get tested on 10/30, to get a tooth filled.
I hope they use the short swab--I'm not in the mood for a lobotomy.

Not worry. I'm quite certain they'll find little or nothing up there.

I had the COVID and it took me over 2 months to fully recover. But now, like President Trump, I'm even better than before! .... even with scarred lung tissue!

Updated: 10/27
Well. Before the “mob rule cancel culture” cancels me from the forum for not being one of “DEM”, I thought I would detail my COVID experience so that perhaps it might help someone else and/or maybe at least trigger the “mob” into more derangement (it’s so crazy I know ... and devoid of any sense of humor ).

On March 25th, my mother suffered a subarachnoid hemorrhagic stroke. I drove the 200+ miles to go see her at the hospital but by the time I got there, they had updated the hospital policy and were no longer allowing visitation due to COVID. Long story short, she was transferred to 3 different hospitals within a week without my sisters or I being able to see her – and on April 2nd, they released her to us for hospice care because we were told there was nothing they could do for her. A couple of days later the last hospital she was at called to tell us that they had tested my mom for COIVD on the day she was released, and the results had come back positive. They then told us to quarantine for at least 2 weeks.

With my sisters and I keeping my mom as comfortable as we could, she finally passed away on April 9th. Two of my three sisters got a mild fever on April 11th and I developed a moderate fever and some minor chills on the 12th. My youngest sister didn’t developed a fever until around May 24th and it was very mild and she got over it in a couple of days (my sisters obviously got the better genetics). One of my sisters only had her very mild fever for two days and was done with her COVID experience on April 14th. My oldest sister only had her mild fever for about 3 days and then developed a mild cough about a week later which then took her another couple of weeks before she was completely symptom free. My fever gradually got worse along with night chills and I started developing a shortness of breath around the 15th. On April 17th, my youngest sister, who up to then had been asymptomatic, and was looking after me at my mom’s apartment (where I had decided to isolate myself), said I was in a state of delirium with 105 fever, shaking uncontrollably with chills, struggling to breathe, and unresponsive to her attempts to communicate with me – so she called 911 and I was rushed to the ER. I was unable to tell her not to send me to the hospital … but she likely saved my life?

After a couple of hours in the ER, my fever was lowered to 100, I looked up at my oxygen levels on the machine and noticed it was in the mid to upper 80% O2 levels. The doctor came in and told me they had checked me for influenza types A and B and both had come back negative. However, my X-rays showed faint opacities in lower portions of both lungs and so he determined I probably was COVID symptomatic (although my COVID test results would not be available for another couple of days I did test positive). So I was sent home with a 5-day Z-pac of antibiotics and told to take acetaminophen to control fever. Because I didn’t need ventilation, the doctor said it would be more dangerous if I tried to recover in the hospital rather than at home. He didn’t say who it would be more dangerous for though, me or the hospital staff.

Anyway, by the time I finished the antibiotics, the fever and chills were gone and I had started developing an uncontrollable cough. THIS IS WHEN CPAP BECAME IMPOSSIBLE. After being 100% CPAP compliant for nearly 14 years without missing a single night, the pneumonia prevented me from using my CPAP. The CPAP pressure caused me to cough more violently than without CPAP to the point that I could not catch my breath, much less sleep. At least with the fever and chills, I could still sleep with my CPAP. It was another week before the pneumonia subsided enough for me to be able to use my CPAP … at first for just a couple of hours per night and after a few more days all night long. Fortunately, one of my sisters, who lives in Germany, had brought a bunch of Ricola cough drops with her when she flew in to be with my mom. The German/Swiss version of Ricola are so much stronger and effective than the US version – it was like night and day, sleep and no sleep. They come in small boxes instead of a bag with individual wrappers like they do here in the US. Without them, I would have had to go without CPAP for two or more weeks instead of just one week. That one week without CPAP was still very tough and exhausting after having become used breathing for so long (my untreated AHI was 102 when Dx in 2006).

By the time I was able to start using my CPAP again, I finally started to regain back some of my strength. I had lost 19 lbs by then (the COVID19 weight loss program), but I was finally strong enough for the 4-hour drive back to my home on May 1st having been tested twice with negative results. I remember how liberating it was to finally get out of quarantine and drive home and I knew then that the hardest part was over. I checked in with my primary doc after a couple of days at home and she ordered a battery of tests including another COVID test just to make sure I was not contagious before getting any of the other tests done. I got a lung CT scan and was told I had irreversible lung damage in the form of pulmonary fibrosis and hardened clumps of alveoli. My blood work showed D-Dimer was a bit elevated as was my fibrinogin indicating I was likely having blood clotting issues.

One of the weird COVID symptoms is damage to the vascular tissue lining and blood clotting – causing some to develop frostbite-like symptoms on the toes and feet. I did not experience those symptoms but I did experience the formation of very small purplish varicose veins in my feet and lower ankles. They have all healed and gone away now. Other weird symptoms I had included a high variability in my blood pressure, heart rate, and O2 levels that did not go back to normal and steady levels until after a couple of months. When my heart rate went high (120 bpm), my BP (110/65) and O2 (upper 80s) would go low and when heart rate got low (60 bpm), my BP (160/90) and O2 (mid 90s) would go high. This would happen while just sitting at rest over a period of about an hour or so (very weird and doctor had no explanation for it). Also, when my heart rate and BP were near normal, my O2 was always in low 90s.

By mid-June, all of my symptoms including my cough had finally gone away. My O2 was back to normal of 98% and I started sleeping soundly and waking up everyday refreshed and energized. This COVID experience was very scary and weird at times. However, now that it has been about 7 months since it all started, I feel better, stronger, and more alive than I did before I became infected. I don’t know if it is due to the COVID or just a mental thing from the experience itself – but just as President Trump said about his experience, I really feel better and more energized than before COVID … it just took me a little over 2 months instead of 3 days.

Some things I learned along the way:
First of all, Dr. Seheult’s MedCram YouTube channel has the best technical discussions on COVID in relatively easy to understand language.


Vitamin D3 is very important. I was taking about 2000 IU of vitamin D3 daily prior to leaving to help take care of my mom. However, I did not take any of my supplements with me and as I understand it, it only take about 4 days for your body to go into vitamin D3 deficit. I suppose I could have gone out in my sister’s backyard to take in some sun but I had other things on my mind and I simply did not take care of myself. I now take 4000 IU of vitamin D3 daily.

Vitamin C is also important. I had stocked up on liposomal vitamin C in early January when I first started hearing about what was happening in Wuhan. So not taking vitamin C while taking care of my mom was also a mistake. I take about 2000 mg of liposomal vitamin C ... it is important for it to be "liposomal" fat soluble and not powder capsule, or tablet.

Zinc is important but only within the first 24 to 48 hours of being infected and you need an ionopore like hydroxychloroquine to get the zinc to work. The ionopore allows the zinc to enter into the cells where it prevents the COVID RNA from replicating (Dr. Seheult explains this complex biochemistry very well). A good substitute for Rx hydroxychloroquine is an over the counter supplement called Quercetin. This is because quinine is the actual ionopore. Tonic water also has quinine but not in sufficient amounts. Again, I had stocked up on zinc/copper supplements (copper is needed so that the added zinc does not deplete your levels of copper elsewhere in the body) and Quercetin but in my hurry to leave home I forgot to take them with me.

Finally, I had also stocked up on Chaga mushroom extract. Chaga is a mushroom that grows on birch tree bark. It has very powerful anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-viral compounds.

So the moral of the things I learned is to stock up on your supplements in advance and then don’t leave home without them.

The most important is to maintain your vitamin D3 at maximum levels at all times (between 60 ng/ml and 90 ng/ml). Only way to know the numeric levels is to get tested. Vitamin D3 toxicity is very rare and I only get my levels tested when I have 6-month blood test done by my primary care doc. For me 4000 IU daily keeps me in the zone. Of course you can get your D3 by exposing your torso to direct sunlight so long as you don’t get yourself a sun burn. Obviously, the amount depends a lot on the color of your skin … the darker your skin, the more sun (or D3 supplement) that you need and the lighter your skin the less that is needed and the latitude of your location or the seasonal solar angle of incidence.

Other prophylactic approaches to mitigate the severity of COVID include cellular heat shock therapy (saunas and ice baths) and weekly high intensity strength training and/or high intensity interval training. And don’t forget GET PLENTY OF SLEEP!!

Well, hopefully somebody will get to read this before the mob cancels me.