8 ms·

I had something with symptoms similar to corona in March but there was not enough tests to get me prioritised (40 year old healthy male, 22.5 BMI). It wasn't t

by tyfon 6y ago

I had something with symptoms similar to corona in March but there was not enough tests to get me prioritised (40 year old healthy male, 22.5 BMI). It wasn't too bad but it lasted three weeks and I still have periodic shortness of breath and fatigue and my doctor has no clue what to do. I hope it's not permanent. Death is definitely not the only bad outcome.

burtonator 6y ago
This is one of the reasons I've been so careful and paranoid. It's a new disease and yes, some people recover with no issues but we just don't know what's going to happen. I'm 44 now and one thing I've learned the hard way is that injuries DO NOT reverse themselves. You recover 90% but the remaining 10% is just lost forever.
- chasd00 6y ago
  reminds me of the meme human body: i can produce a fully functioning human being in 9 months, complete with a skeleton, brain, digestive track, the whole 9 yards! person: great, when will my ankle start feeling better? human body: a full year and it will never be the same
  - treeman79 6y ago
    We toss out electronics these days because it’s easier to replace than repair. Unfortunately our bodies follow this same principle. From nature stand point. Have kids in late teens, by mid 30s the cycle is already starting again. Repairing body beyond 30s is a luxury. I’ve lived in areas where girls are all on 4th kid by 24. Men’s ages all over the place Moved to “nicer” areas where 35-45 is first kid for woman. The man is at least 10 years older. We have good friends in each side Very different perspectives in each group.
    - cperciva 6y ago
      Moved to “nicer” areas where 35-45 is first kid for woman. The man is at least 10 years older. Men aren't having kids until they're 45-55 then? That seems extreme -- how do they find the energy to deal with young kids at that age?
      - treeman79 6y ago
        The men work non stop. Woman are all stay at home.
  - cperciva 6y ago
    I don't know if I'd say 9 months gets you a fully functioning human being.
    - samatman 6y ago
      They can scream, eat, and poop, what else can you really ask for.
      - cperciva 6y ago
        Biologically speaking, I'd say that an animal is fully functional when it can defend itself from attack, obtain food, and reproduce.
Tasboo 6y ago
Similar situation. I'm in my early 30s. I had symptoms for 3-4 weeks (coughing, mild fever, covid toes) starting in early April, but I didn't qualify for testing because I hadn't had any contact with anyone that was known to be infected. Since then I've had many random bouts of fatigue and I've had random severe digestive issues as well that have yet to be explained. I have had several tests done and have monitored my eating and resting habits, but nothing has been able to explain either of them. I was able to get a nasal swab test done in June when community wide testing finally opened up in my area, but it came out negative. The whole thing has been so frustrating to deal with because I don't know and may not ever know if this was for sure Covid related.
scarface74 6y ago
Not Covid related, but something happened to me around 2012. Pre-2012,I was a part time fitness instructor and runner with slight exercised induced asthma but it was controllable. I went into the hospital for a week for severe asthma, has coughing spells for a year and my lungs haven’t been right since. It’s not as bad and I can do some level of resistance exercise, but I never fully recovered. I’m paranoid about getting Covid. I know how terrifying it is not to be able to breathe and how irritating it is not to be able to do slight strenuous day to day activities without giving out of breathe for a couple of years afterward.
- altgeek 6y ago
  Get an MD with environmental medicine credentials to test you for mold exposure (quick googling comes up with https://selfhack.com/blog/c4a/ https://selfhack.com/blog/c4a/) I was exposed twice to high mold spore environment; it was an enclosed space on a neglected boat. I still feel it two years later.
  - corpMaverick 6y ago
    You made me wonder if Oral antifungal drugs may be effective. Like the ones used for toe nail fungus.
- notabee 6y ago
  I can relate to this story. Went through something similar, though with different symptoms. Just never recovered completely after an illness, even after years. No definite or discernable cause. There seem to be lots of triggers for latent autoimmune issues and other inflammatory problems. I think that there are also lots of things like novel species-hopping viruses that randomly get a few people but never become contagious enough to turn into pandemics. It's not like doctors have or use tests to identify most viruses, unless it's the flu or a pandemic. The one silver lining to Covid is that perhaps more research will go into these "long haul" illnesses that result from viral infections or other traumas.
ahelwer 6y ago
If you're in the USA, Red Cross is giving free coronavirus antibody tests when you go donate blood so they can get more convalescent plasma donors. I was very mildly ill a couple weeks back (wasn't worth getting tested at the time with 6-10 days turnaround) so I've scheduled my appointment to donate blood this Tuesday. Supposedly blood antibody levels drop to undetectable levels a couple of months after infection though (note: we still have T cells for long term immunity) so this might not be useful for you.
- tyfon 6y ago
  I'm in Norway, but I guess I could just get an antibody test. Not sure if it would benefit me though. Could do it just for curiosity perhaps :)
  - ahelwer 6y ago
    At least it'll give you some info about whether you're likely to make it when a really bad pandemic comes along. I thought I was being fairly careful - extremely diligent with masks, surgical-prep-style handwashing, disinfecting my phone, working entirely from home, leaving my apartment about once every two days for groceries or to go to a climbing gym (limited pre-registration required, masks mandatory, socially distanced, hand sanitizer everywhere, obviously this one was still a bit of a risk). So I guess we'll see whether or not my precautions were sufficient.
- tacocataco 6y ago
  Does the person getting the blood have to pay for it?
  - ahelwer 6y ago
    Well, Red Cross sells the blood to hospitals to recoup costs (not for profit) and from there it enters the regular for-profit American healthcare system. So I guess they do, yes.
- Pfhreak 6y ago
  This is the most grim thing I've read in a while. Get your free test, the price is only a pound of blood and an hour of your time. In Seattle, at least, you can just go get a free test in a drive thru with almost 0 hassle and no cost. This is the way it should be -- as accessible as possible and free. Otherwise you'll have infected folks skipping testing.
oxymoran 6y ago
Not saying this is true in your case, but hypochondria is much more prevalent than we give due. Myself included. Anxiety plays tricks on the brain causing people to actually experience all kinds of symptoms that would otherwise not exist. And we are drowning in anxiety these days. Are these long term covid cases showing objective complaints? Are the lungs still damaged when imaged? Or are we relying on subjective complaints? I know there have been a few documented cases of myocarditis which is clearly objective in nature, but that’s all I have seen.
- tyfon 6y ago
  Yeah I'm not ruling out the "placebo" either! But I can feel a distinct difference and the shortness of breath always comes with the fatigue. It's too early to have any proper long term studies, but I think SARS gave lung damage to quite a few of the patients that lasted a long time [1]. [1] https://www.nature.com/articles/s41413-020-0084-5 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41413-020-0084-5
- samatman 6y ago
  It's a valid question, if a bit callous. One of my mutuals on Twitter is a highly active young woman, who does things like spend time in Thailand to train Muay Thai. She's been doing what she can to recover, but it's been slow going. Covid long-haulers are a real thing, that much I'm convinced of. How prevalent it is, is an open question.
sjg007 6y ago
You probably had covid so see if you can get a antibody test but don't rule it out if you test negative. You can weigh the likelihood of this based on prevalence in your local community and if you know anyone who had covid and how your social distancing was in March. Also get a pulse oximeter and ask your doctor for one of those lung function devices aka an incentive spirometer (you breathe into them). Get a normal pulse ox when you feel ok and when you have shortness of breath, take your pulse ox again. There is also evidence of chronic fatigue syndrome caused by covid.
nradov 6y ago
There is some evidence to support respiratory muscle training to improve lung function. https://www.powerbreathe.com/ https://www.powerbreathe.com/

by tyfon 6y ago

burtonator 6y ago

This is one of the reasons I've been so careful and paranoid. It's a new disease and yes, some people recover with no issues but we just don't know what's going to happen. I'm 44 now and one thing I've learned the hard way is that injuries DO NOT reverse themselves. You recover 90% but the remaining 10% is just lost forever.

chasd00 6y ago
reminds me of the meme human body: i can produce a fully functioning human being in 9 months, complete with a skeleton, brain, digestive track, the whole 9 yards! person: great, when will my ankle start feeling better? human body: a full year and it will never be the same
- treeman79 6y ago
  We toss out electronics these days because it’s easier to replace than repair. Unfortunately our bodies follow this same principle. From nature stand point. Have kids in late teens, by mid 30s the cycle is already starting again. Repairing body beyond 30s is a luxury. I’ve lived in areas where girls are all on 4th kid by 24. Men’s ages all over the place Moved to “nicer” areas where 35-45 is first kid for woman. The man is at least 10 years older. We have good friends in each side Very different perspectives in each group.
  - cperciva 6y ago
    Moved to “nicer” areas where 35-45 is first kid for woman. The man is at least 10 years older. Men aren't having kids until they're 45-55 then? That seems extreme -- how do they find the energy to deal with young kids at that age?
    - treeman79 6y ago
      The men work non stop. Woman are all stay at home.
- cperciva 6y ago
  I don't know if I'd say 9 months gets you a fully functioning human being.
  - samatman 6y ago
    They can scream, eat, and poop, what else can you really ask for.
    - cperciva 6y ago
      Biologically speaking, I'd say that an animal is fully functional when it can defend itself from attack, obtain food, and reproduce.

Tasboo 6y ago

Similar situation. I'm in my early 30s. I had symptoms for 3-4 weeks (coughing, mild fever, covid toes) starting in early April, but I didn't qualify for testing because I hadn't had any contact with anyone that was known to be infected. Since then I've had many random bouts of fatigue and I've had random severe digestive issues as well that have yet to be explained. I have had several tests done and have monitored my eating and resting habits, but nothing has been able to explain either of them. I was able to get a nasal swab test done in June when community wide testing finally opened up in my area, but it came out negative. The whole thing has been so frustrating to deal with because I don't know and may not ever know if this was for sure Covid related.

scarface74 6y ago

Not Covid related, but something happened to me around 2012. Pre-2012,I was a part time fitness instructor and runner with slight exercised induced asthma but it was controllable. I went into the hospital for a week for severe asthma, has coughing spells for a year and my lungs haven’t been right since. It’s not as bad and I can do some level of resistance exercise, but I never fully recovered. I’m paranoid about getting Covid. I know how terrifying it is not to be able to breathe and how irritating it is not to be able to do slight strenuous day to day activities without giving out of breathe for a couple of years afterward.

altgeek 6y ago
Get an MD with environmental medicine credentials to test you for mold exposure (quick googling comes up with https://selfhack.com/blog/c4a/ https://selfhack.com/blog/c4a/) I was exposed twice to high mold spore environment; it was an enclosed space on a neglected boat. I still feel it two years later.
- corpMaverick 6y ago
  You made me wonder if Oral antifungal drugs may be effective. Like the ones used for toe nail fungus.
notabee 6y ago
I can relate to this story. Went through something similar, though with different symptoms. Just never recovered completely after an illness, even after years. No definite or discernable cause. There seem to be lots of triggers for latent autoimmune issues and other inflammatory problems. I think that there are also lots of things like novel species-hopping viruses that randomly get a few people but never become contagious enough to turn into pandemics. It's not like doctors have or use tests to identify most viruses, unless it's the flu or a pandemic. The one silver lining to Covid is that perhaps more research will go into these "long haul" illnesses that result from viral infections or other traumas.

ahelwer 6y ago

If you're in the USA, Red Cross is giving free coronavirus antibody tests when you go donate blood so they can get more convalescent plasma donors. I was very mildly ill a couple weeks back (wasn't worth getting tested at the time with 6-10 days turnaround) so I've scheduled my appointment to donate blood this Tuesday. Supposedly blood antibody levels drop to undetectable levels a couple of months after infection though (note: we still have T cells for long term immunity) so this might not be useful for you.

tyfon 6y ago
I'm in Norway, but I guess I could just get an antibody test. Not sure if it would benefit me though. Could do it just for curiosity perhaps :)
- ahelwer 6y ago
  At least it'll give you some info about whether you're likely to make it when a really bad pandemic comes along. I thought I was being fairly careful - extremely diligent with masks, surgical-prep-style handwashing, disinfecting my phone, working entirely from home, leaving my apartment about once every two days for groceries or to go to a climbing gym (limited pre-registration required, masks mandatory, socially distanced, hand sanitizer everywhere, obviously this one was still a bit of a risk). So I guess we'll see whether or not my precautions were sufficient.
tacocataco 6y ago
Does the person getting the blood have to pay for it?
- ahelwer 6y ago
  Well, Red Cross sells the blood to hospitals to recoup costs (not for profit) and from there it enters the regular for-profit American healthcare system. So I guess they do, yes.
Pfhreak 6y ago
This is the most grim thing I've read in a while. Get your free test, the price is only a pound of blood and an hour of your time. In Seattle, at least, you can just go get a free test in a drive thru with almost 0 hassle and no cost. This is the way it should be -- as accessible as possible and free. Otherwise you'll have infected folks skipping testing.

oxymoran 6y ago

Not saying this is true in your case, but hypochondria is much more prevalent than we give due. Myself included. Anxiety plays tricks on the brain causing people to actually experience all kinds of symptoms that would otherwise not exist. And we are drowning in anxiety these days. Are these long term covid cases showing objective complaints? Are the lungs still damaged when imaged? Or are we relying on subjective complaints? I know there have been a few documented cases of myocarditis which is clearly objective in nature, but that’s all I have seen.

tyfon 6y ago
Yeah I'm not ruling out the "placebo" either! But I can feel a distinct difference and the shortness of breath always comes with the fatigue. It's too early to have any proper long term studies, but I think SARS gave lung damage to quite a few of the patients that lasted a long time [1]. [1] https://www.nature.com/articles/s41413-020-0084-5 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41413-020-0084-5
samatman 6y ago
It's a valid question, if a bit callous. One of my mutuals on Twitter is a highly active young woman, who does things like spend time in Thailand to train Muay Thai. She's been doing what she can to recover, but it's been slow going. Covid long-haulers are a real thing, that much I'm convinced of. How prevalent it is, is an open question.

sjg007 6y ago

You probably had covid so see if you can get a antibody test but don't rule it out if you test negative. You can weigh the likelihood of this based on prevalence in your local community and if you know anyone who had covid and how your social distancing was in March. Also get a pulse oximeter and ask your doctor for one of those lung function devices aka an incentive spirometer (you breathe into them). Get a normal pulse ox when you feel ok and when you have shortness of breath, take your pulse ox again. There is also evidence of chronic fatigue syndrome caused by covid.

nradov 6y ago

There is some evidence to support respiratory muscle training to improve lung function. https://www.powerbreathe.com/ https://www.powerbreathe.com/