Optimism needed. If you think you've had it and have now recovered or know somebody, please come and talk to me

[Roostersmum2]

Hi all. I'm having a bad day

I have some symptoms which could indicate the onset of the virus (diarreah, chills, extreme fatigue, loss of appetite, chest pressure, feeling wiped out from doing as little as picking something up off the floor) and I'm feeling a bit vulnerable. I'm currently being isolated in the bedroom away from my young DC but if I do have it then they've inevitably been exposed and both have a cough.

Chances are it is CV as we live in a hot bed.

I'm mid 20's but my immune system isn't great and I'm frequently poorly with something or other. I had some health problems last year which I recovered from but my immune system is taking a while to catch up.

Regretfully I was a smoker and that became a crux when I was going through some pretty crap stuff. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried about that. Please no doom mongering about smokers, I know it was a terrible habit

I would really appreciate if any of you who believe they've had it would spare a minute to reassure me that they've come through it or know somebody who has.

I think I had it and my Dr had since said that she thinks so too, given symptoms and timing. I’m fine now - it’s not nice at all but it passes. Here is my timeline in case it helps.

Had ongoing headache preceding feeling really ill. Not sure this was related.

Saturday - felt under the weather, attempted normal run, couldn’t do it.
Sunday - started to lose appetite, felt generally unwell
Monday - felt very unwell, no energy, aches, cough, a bit breathless. Felt a bit sick and not much appetite. Temperature - hot and cold.
Tuesday - felt awful - more of the above. Took to my bed.
Wednesday- Friday - kept thinking it would improve and that it was just flu. Had no blocked nose, no sore throat, but literally could not breathe other that noisy shallow breaths. Dry cough. Aches - couldn’t even get to the bathroom without being extremely out of breath and having to rest.

Friday at 5am - woke up, wouldn’t even sit up in bed without being totally out of breath, coughing, fever.
Saturday - saw ooo Dr - given antibiotics. Oxygen saturation low. This was before Feb half term when not many cases out with China - was asked if I’d travelled lately but when I said no, that was it.
Sunday - same
Monday - tiny bit better. Try to start eating a little.
Tuesday - managed to get out of bed
Wednesday - Friday - sofa days - gradually feeling better when sat still. Still can’t breathe that well when moving.
Saturday and Sunday - feel much better but weak as not eating much.
Monday - a lot better

Taking a while to not get breathless when exercising or running upstairs but more or
less ok!

It’s horrible - but the worst part lasts a week max maybe.

I think I had it over a month ago. The worst cold ever. Sinusitis. Wheezing and coughing so much I was sick. Hot and cold. Fatigued to the extreme for over a week. By the time I felt better I’d had varying symptoms for 3 weeks. I still am not 100% re energised but am fine. Hope you feel better soon

Can anyone expand on the “breathless” thing? Is is an actual struggle to breathe at all or just breathless after exertion?

I'd like to know that too, that's the bit that's scaring me the most. As an asthmatic I know what it feels like to not be able to breathe properly. So when people say they struggled to breathe do they mean at all or it was just more difficult/breathless?

I’ve been told I’ve probably had it (Gp/111/paramedic) and believing with to be the case.
Breathlessness for me swung between cotton wadding filtering breathing in between breast bone, and a tightly wound elastic band puling my lungs together.
Speaking/eating and walking from one room to another resulted in feeling like i couldn’t get a proper breath- needed to recover from a massive marathon or something. I could breathe but not satisfactorily.. however day 7 sats showed no lack of oxygen despite the sensation. Really hard to explain.. like bench pressing on every breath is probably the closest I can come to describing...I.e I could breathe but only at the expense of every other normal function?

Regarding the breathlessness. For me, at the worst time, I was out of breath from the exertion of just turning over in bed. That level of breathlessness would pass, if I then stayed still.

When staying still, sat in bed or lying in bed - I was breathless in that I couldn’t take much of a breath in, otherwise I coughed, so this made me breathless. Lots of shallow breathing, and feeling like I couldn’t get a proper breath. It was annoying, stopped me sleeping, but wasn’t frightening.

I hope this helps. The main difference for me was feeling like I had flu but with no blocked nose. Also breathless like a chest infection but no chesty cough, just dry.

It’s unpleasant but don’t scare yourselves at all. It’s like a bad flu, and goes on a while, but you come out the other side.

I'm not sure if I'm getting it. I've got a tight feeling, kind of achey, in my chest, between my boobs, and my back and sides hurt. Sore throat, only mild though. Did feel quite fatigued but after a fairly restgmful day I feel a bit better.
No cough, no temp.. Who knows...

With these symptoms I don't have to self isolate, but need to decide Monday morning, plus if everyone else does too...

Can I just add - I never felt like I couldn’t breathe, it was just a lot harder.

Two weeks before this happened, I ran a half marathon! So I was fit - but it knocked me for six!

What concerns me is in the event of a rapid decline what the hell are we supposed to do if you're on hold to 111 for an hour and ambulances are taking 5 hours to arrive for critical cases such as a child with meningitis (another MN thread)

We don't have a car at the moment and I don't think any bus driver would accept a suffocating covid patient on-board would they?

I live 20 minute walk from the hospital but don't think I could manage that now let alone if I was in respiratory distress

6 days since i was tested and still await results but yes i think i had it and i'm recovering.
03/03 left work early with flu type symptoms and haven't returned to work since.
06/03 saw gp to be told viral flu no chest infection and to rest and take paracetmol
12/03 called 111 difficulty breathing told probably CV19 and inhaler prescription given
14/03 partner called 111 as i continued to struggle to breath sent to out of hours gp and given antibiotics
15/03 partner called 111 and sent again to out of hours gp then on to a and e diagnosed with pneumonia after blood test test and chest x ray.
Suspected cause Cv, test taken and placed in isolation.
Spent night on oxygen with IV antibiotics and drip.
16/03 discharged with 2 types of antibioitcs and told to isolate awaiting results.
Today - last day of antibiotics i feel ok weak but ok. Cough is still there but more annoying than anything else. Breathless ness is subsiding but still breathless with minor activity.

This is really helpful. Thank you.

I'm not suggesting I would attempt to board a bus whilst ill btw, just mentioning that to emphasise my lack of options to get to the hospital

@Iamonlyme that is very reassuring to read that HCP's were prepared to see you despite the potential of covid. From everything else I've seen in the news it looked as though doctors and paramedics absolutely would not come (or see you) unless you're at deaths door in which case 999 (then hours waiting for an ambulance)

When you say oxygen am I right to assume that is the mask you can take on and off? Not complete intubation?

Also, are you in a city? I ask because I'm in London and all I'm hearing here is covid patients being told to go home, no treatment to manage symptoms and no beds.

It is frightening

For me breathlessness was like others said, just getting out of breath with any activity at all, or when trying to talk. If I lay still in bed my breathing was wheezy but ok. As time went on with all the coughing rib muscles were sore and chest felt tight because it was painful just due to too much coughing.

I think they saw me because initially they couldnt make their mind up whether chest infection or cv 19 but i was masked and asked to santise both times before being seen.
The oxygen was in two tubes that went up my nose but i could remove then, sorry i don't know what that is called.
Every HCP i have met has been amazing calm and reassuring despite the panic and unknown especially those in the first isolation unit.
I am just outside London in Hertfordshire (end of met line) and honestly i feel lucky this was last weekend and not this weekend as so much has changed in that time.

Hiya, yes I feel like I may of had it looking back.. I was very poorly about 3 weeks back for about a week. Was in the kitchen one day and suddenly like a flash felt dizzy so had to sit down on the couch, my face started burning up immediately then stopped. Went upstairs to put my baby down for a nap then lay down in bed myself and shivvered like mad then it went. Next day I started coughing but it was really up high in my chest and tickly and dry. Started to feel a bit ugh but not too bad. Next morning I felt like I'd been hit by a truck and my throat was so painful like I was swallowing razor blades everytime I swallowed, and my ear hurt too. 😖 Noticed white on my tonsil the next day so thought it was tonsillitis again as I had similar symptoms when I had it. Cough eventually went but wasn't really that severe to begin with. Sweated more than usual but didn't notice if I had a fever at the time tbh, all I could think of was the muscle aches, they were horrible. 😖😖 So hard feeling like that and trying to look after a 9 month old! Self medicated with lemsip and ibuprofen at the time. (If you think you have the virus stay away from ibuprofen btw!) I'm not sure what it was but looking back I remember at the time feeling quite emotional and just wanting to feel better. Never normally feel like that when I'm ill I just get on with it so I knew I must of been feeling really crap. God knows what it was, maybe that was it, who knows.. Look after yourselves xx

I think I have it, worked in a pub in Southwark until recently with customers on the 7th saying they'd just got back from Italy. I had a fever appear last Friday, been wiped out with exhaustion since, whole body incredibly stiff and achey, no appetite, coughing a fair bit since Sunday, both mucous-y and dry. I had one day of feeling short of breath about three days ago but that has passed now, I've felt better today. I've only had a few paracetamol aa we don't have many and didn't want to run out should it get bad, but as I have managed to get on fairly well I haven't felt the need to call 111. DP and 3yo DD have both also had one day of a high temperature and now coughing, but both feel much better than I did.

The worst of it for me has been the pain in my body, the cough itself has not been as bad as many I've had. DP and I are both smokers, both mid twenties generally fit and healthy.

I am 39, not a smoker, otherwise perfectly healthy. Here are my symptoms:

All started with a tickle in my throat and persisting dry cough. I started getting occasional chills and overnight low grade fever accompanied by sweating. This lasted for at least 7-8 days.

Fatigue and heavy feeling in the chest were also present. No headache, no sore throat, no runny nose, no body aches.

Dry cough turned into chesty cough on day 6. Being able to cough something out feels better than dry cough which provided no relief what so ever.

Day 10, no fever or chills, still sweating a bit more while conducting around the house tasks and still coughing a bit. Chest still does not feel normal, but I am hoping it will soon enough.

Strange and long ordeal, but I am okay. I think I was one of the lucky ones if this indeed was CV.

Good luck to everyone!

Thanks. That doesn’t sound as terrifying as I thought, my imagination was running riot. Unpleasant, but not frighteningly so.

A friend of friend had it, early case co fired with testing. In their 60s . Sent this description round this eve

If of interest, my symptoms were high temperature spiking up and down, fever, sweats especially at night, difficult to sleep etc BUT I am unusual in that I had hardly any cough – except for a minor dry cough at the very beginning which has gone. A side effect for some – which I certainly have – is complete loss of sense of taste and smell. I think that will come back with time, but forget the chateau-bottled claret; I might as well be drinking water!

Have made a full recovery.

How long did it last, Peapod, do you know?

Continued thanks to everybody responding

Is anybody else dealing with this wretched taste in their mouth? 2 full days of this for me now and it's really distracting. No matter what I eat or drink there's a strong metallic taste that completely overpowers anything else. Not even tikka masala could mask it.

I know there have been a few people discussing this symptom including a GP who was formally diagnosed (went on to recover) and was then interviewed about her experience.

It is drinking me bonkers. I did do a pregnancy test just to be sure it wasn't that. Negative

I've never had this horrible thing before and I'm prone to various ailments such as recurring tonsillitis when i was younger and I've had glandular fever.

This is vile

Wheezing today when I take a breath out

I'm getting sore patches (?) In my mouth

My sinuses are blocked and my legs are aching terribly

I’m not actually sure how long it lasted, they didn’t say in their email. Assuming around a week. They did say it gets you in stages so each day brings slightly different symptoms. They are out of quarantine now.

@Roostersmum2 will you let me know how you get on please? I’ve started just now with diarrhoea and nausea and the chills. Really hoping it’s not CV19 and wish I’d not googled diarrhoea and CV19 now because now I’m even more scared. Hope you feel better soon