Antibody testing thread 2

[Egghead68]

Thread for people thinking about, doing, or awaiting results of COVID-19 antibody tests.

Thanks for the update @OhYouBadBadKitten. Lots of us in the same boat!

OK APPROXIMATE totals for people posting on this thread or their friends/colleagues/relatives mentioned here are:

Positive: 15
Mixed: 4
Negative: 46

I sent my about test off in the 26th may 😬

But apparently they are now going to give me my results!!! Woo hoo!!

Although I still don't have them

Flyer from Birmingham about the meaning of positive and negative tests

I’ve had the antibody test through work (NHS) and my results are expected at the end of June. I’ll be very surprised if it is negative. There’s at least twice since February where it’s plausible I’ve had ‘it’.

Scientists have found after studying the plasma of 149 people who had Coronavirus, around 80% of people produced only tiny amounts of antibodies. A third had undetectable levels.

Not sure about the maths again here.... How can 80% have tiny amounts and 33% have undetectable levels? That’s 113% before you get to those with high levels! Timing of the study would be key, as I believe it can take up to a month for antibodies to become generated. The key question is whether the 1/3 who haven’t got antibodies are immune?

I expect that the 33% is a subset of the 80%.

Just jumping on to add that my results got released last week and were negative. Bah.

I didn’t expect it to be positive - was just hoping really.

I got sick with a weird virus early in February (too early to be likely). It was wrongly diagnosed as tonsilitis (which it patently wasn’t) then some kind of viral pharyngitis that I was given antivirals for. I still have awful symptoms most days now! Symptoms were throat pain, headaches, eye pain, fatigue, chest pain, disorientation and - the piece de resistance - chilblains.

Anyway, the latter was weird and then I read all the reports of ‘covid toe’ and I started to really wonder.

But anyway, I was fully locked down in the countryside from 17 March for 9 weeks so it was really unlikely timing-wise anyway.

All very interesting, and sorry OYBBK that you didn't get a more reassuring result. I keep checking in on this thread (and doing the odd google) to see how the understanding of detectable antibodies has increased!

egghead68 your post wit the slides and all the posts are super helpful.

I now an Les I nag towards me having and covid 19 but in the mild range (even though at the time it was awful) and not having created antibodies.

Thank you

Glad they were helpful @Pokemontrainer. I also think I had it but didn’t develop IgG antibodies. So much still to learn about this horrible illness.

Just to add my 10 cents worth - my antibody test was also negative. For context I got a fever on 17th March and was totally wiped out with severe palpitations and after a week developed shortness of breath, which improved but persisted and after 6 weeks a chest x ray showed ongoing infection in my lungs but symptoms did not improve with antibiotics. Had fever for 6 weeks, 2 weeks without then returned for a week. GP suggested likely COVID but not eligible for testing at the time.

Confused but seems I’m not alone.

Hi @Needsomegoodies I replied to you on the longtimers’ thread but you might want to read the b’ham flyer posted here 12:47 yesterday. You are certainly not alone (and in the majority on this thread).

A second negative for me, despite weeks of illness.

Sorry if hundreds have asked, but did @LaurieFairyCake ever get her result back?

I think her result was negative Ernie.

Can I jump on the thread. I had antibody test through work (NHS) and tested positive. No symptoms.
My brother, who tested positive for covid in march had an antibody test In April as part of a study and it was negative for antibodies. He had antibody test again last week, as part of study, and tested positive for antibodies. It's all really strange.

A small number of schools in this trial will get antibody testing too. (Please be mine!)

www.gov.uk/government/news/study-launched-to-monitor-prevalence-of-covid-19-in-schools

(I'd settle for either one of my kid's schools too!)

My DH had antibody test, it was positive for antibodies so I'm having one at the weekend. Neither of us have had any symooms.

Symptoms

@HowAboutYes - I wonder if the April test was too early to detect them?

@Ernieshere yes I heard that it could take up to 8 weeks for antibodies to appear. He is being repeated in a couple of weeks to see if antibodies are still present. He is part of a trial

Had my antibody test today (NHS), will get results tomorrow or day after, I'll update. I'm one of the first in my team to have it, my colleague who was the first to have it got his results yesterday and his was positive.

I had a slight temperature and felt a bit off for a few days in April but I don't think I had it.

Have been told there are clusters of people in our trust who are testing positive who had no symptoms. I find this really interesting.

It is very interesting. Anecdotally quite a few people with no symptoms testing positive and quite a few with lots of symptoms testing negative. Perhaps the second group develop symptoms because they don’t have a strong immune response?