To think I’ve had COVID 19, and it’s been here a while?

[VivienScott]

After Xmas I came down with what I thought was a terrible cold. Dry persistent cough, terrible fever, worse than I’ve ever had to the point I was delirious, difficulty breathing, though not pneumonia. Saw out of hours and they check oxygen levels, chest etc, said I was ok to be home, but I was not first case they’d seen like this and there was “something really awful going round this year”. Consequently had to see GP who said he’d had to hospitalise a lot more people than normal for breathing difficulties.
It all sounds exactly like coronavirus, it really felt like something dreadful to the extent I deliberately kept myself from others more than I would with a cold. I honestly believe it was, but it’s way before it was supposed to be in Europe let alone here in UK. What do you think, AIBU to think it’s been here longer than we’re aware?

I hope everyone thinks they've had it will be taking antibody tests when they become available, and enlightening us all on here once they actually have evidence.

@Iamthewombat 😂😂😂 That’s so funny. There’s an element of that for me, too! I was SO ill that I truly want to believe it was MORE than “just ordinary “ fly!

Flu... just ordinary flu.

I fell ill right at the end of January, I was bed ridden for several days, my whole body ached including my eyeballs. I then developed a dry cough that persisted for a long while, it hurt to cough and I would cough until I was nearly sick. I took cold and flu tablets but nothing touched the sides. I experienced strange taste and smell sensations, with an odd smell of ammonia when I breathed in. After about 7 days I had a relapse with a sore throat like I have never had before, it took another 7 days to clear and I had to take to my bed again. I experienced fatigue for a further 2 weeks or more, and my brain felt confused and fuzzy for weeks. It was quite frightening as I felt like I would never feel normal again. I went to see a doctor who said it was unlikely to be flu but there were some 'nasty viruses' going around and tested me for symptoms of sepsis (all tests were normal).
I don't know what it was, but I never want to feel that ill again.
I know the timing is off but I would really like to take an antibody test to know whether catching COVID19 is a possibility or not.

The thing is though is you could be asymptomatic and therefore immune to coronavirus. Doesn't mean that whatever someone had at Christmas was corona if their antibody tests are positive

Its possible that there were one or two cases in december/January time. But I think it really unlikely that there were so many cases and no deaths. We didn't have lots of people in hospitals on ventilators and now we do. We did have a lot of people in hospitals in december/Jan time but this happens every year.

You didn't have coronavirus in december. It was just some other virus, probably a flu that progressed to viral pneumonia. I.e presents similarly to coronavirus which gives viral pneumonia

I thought COVID was bad but now I can see it worked across the Alps like Hannibal and mutates like Proteus. Let's hope it doesn't have anything else in it's repertoire. I was picturing it like Terry Thomas, rubbing it's moustache and laughing.

Best laugh I’ve had all day.

I was SO ill that I truly want to believe it was MORE than “just ordinary “ flu!

Think you have nailed it there!

The thing is though is you could be asymptomatic and therefore immune to coronavirus. Doesn't mean that whatever someone had at Christmas was corona if their antibody tests are positive

I don't think this is quite true.

No ha I had the worst chest infection I've ever had. My asthma was awful, does of steroids, then antibiotics. Coughing up blood and had the paramedics out to give me a nebuliser after talking to 111. Chest X-ray came back 'as good as expected' (was all I was told by gp) but I've never felt so bad. Would love to think I've already had it but who knows.

Posted to soon.
Was also lay in bed shaking and sweating. Really struggling to breathe. My son had exactly the same minus the coughing up blood.

My mum is convinced she and her friends had it in December/January, worst fever and cough of her life even the loss of smell. I can't see how she did as I saw her over that time didn't get it but have most likely just had the Covid 19. I suspect there was a similar corona virus around at the end of the year but not the same one.

I had the same at Christmas, was hospitalised for breathing difficulties and tested positive for flu. Flu can be bad, it doesn’t mean it was Covid.

A dr on five live said just now that it’s very possible there were some initial incursions of the virus in Jan/Feb but unlikely to be as widespread as the Oxford report because the number of mortalities would have been much higher if a greater % of the population already had it. He said we won’t know because of the lack of testing now and then. It’s more plausible that both the imperial college modelling AND the oxford modelling are not quite correct isn’t it? Interested to know whether any people with symptoms in Jan/Feb before the current wave have come down with new symptoms though.

@HereDefender

Yes me! I had a really bad fever/dry cough at Christmas time. Was really ill.

Am currently self isolating with what I think is coronavirus. Dry cough, breathlessness, chest pain, dizziness, tiredness etc.

So there are definitely 2 viruses going round.

I have a suspicion that I may have had it in December last year. At the beginning of October I had a stinking cold and cough that took me 3 weeks to shake off. I'd felt better for all of 5 weeks when I suddenly developed a horrible dry cough. It is very unlike me to go down ill twice in such a short space of time. It just started suddenly one morning. No runny nose,or cold like symptoms. When I get a cough it's always chesty and loose,but this was really dry. I developed a fever of 38 degrees,was tired beyond belief and felt awful for a week. Back then I'd not heard of the coronavirus or covid 19. It took me about 3 weeks to feel well again. I really do wonder now if it was actually the coronavirus.

Please don't let President Trump or Premier Xi know COVID originated in the UK in November or Trump will call it the British virus and they'll both want compensation. I expect it's the natural fortitude of the British (like Geordies in a t-shirt or skimpy dress in the middle of winter at the Bigg Market not noticing the cold) that means no one died of British Covid in the Autumn.

@TheOwlandThe that's bad luck to get a nasty virus twice! I agree that there could be two viruses circulating, is it not possible that that is why there are so many people presenting with symptoms apparently of Covid but testing negative? There seems to be a lot of negative tests considering barely anyone seems to be tested unless they are very unwell? I'd really like to know what exactly I did have if it wasn't flu and wasn't Covid either. It was bloody awful.

It’s more plausible that both the imperial college modelling AND the oxford modelling are not quite correct isn’t it?

Not just plausible. Likely

I had the exact symptoms of coronavirus 3 years ago,- coughing non-stop until I was sick, fever, unable to breathe and thought I was going to die. It was absolutely nothing like flu, which I'd had twice before. I had to go to hospital because I couldn't breath. My doctor told me it was flu, caused by stress - which I still think is weird. Could it have been an earlier version of the coronavirus? I guess I will never know.

If there had been ‘an earlier version of Coronavirus’ three years ago, we’d have seen a version of the current pandemic three years ago, wouldn’t we?

So I think you can say with some certainty that you were not ‘Coronavirus patient zéro’ three years ago. Sorry that you’re not special.

coughing non-stop until I was sick, fever, unable to breathe and thought I was going to die. It was absolutely nothing like flu

Actually, that sounds just like flu. Most likely you’d had colds before and decided that they were flu (this drives me insane: why can nobody just have a normal cold without drama queening and calling it ‘flu’?), then when you got flu you decided that it was something else more serious.

I had symptoms over Christmas that would now be assumed to be coronavirus but I think it was something else. I'd like it if it was! I wast desperately unwell but it was different to normal, painful dry cough, hurt when I breathed and was extra tired but the diagnosis was bronchitis which an inhaler helped and it was consistent with that diagnosis too that could be caused by many viruses.

Iamthewombat, what do you think the next step is beyond COVID?(ignoring that many might have mild symptoms).

I'd got a cold but let's call it 'flu.
I've got 'flu but let call it COVID.
I've got COVID but let's call it... Ebola? Marburg?

I had a worksite today cough around Christmas that took weeks to go away. It was a dry cough. I also had headaches but don’t remember what other symptoms. I didn’t have a fever . I know someone who had pneumonia in January . I have also had a very sore throat fairly recently.

Persistent cough that should have read!

Ebola isn’t serious enough. I suggest anthrax, or perhaps a new variant of bubonic plague. Then everyone can tell us that they definitely had it a month ago and all those virologists are just guessing.