Anyone else confident they had covid-19 but got a negative antibody test?

[Bubbinsmakesthree]

This has probably been asked somewhere already so sorry for duplicating...

Has anyone else had a negative antibody test despite being sure they had virus?

Based on symptoms/timing I am as confident as I can be that I had covid-19 at start of the outbreak at the end of March.

I had an antibody test in August and the results were negative.

Anyone else in the same boat...I’m curious as to how common this is?

I was ill in March. Feeling of "coming down with something" all week in the evenings until the end of the week where it hit me like a train at about 10am in the office. Sore throat, breathlessness to the point I couldn't lie down flat to sleep, hacking cough that lasted for months, knackered, freezing at night even though I'm normally far too hot. DH just had a negative antibody test back and he was ill at the same time.

@andadietcoke

There is a new antibody test which is much more sensitive, even in mild disease cohorts and detecting antibodies from cases much earlier in the pandemic.

As we learn more about the virus the assays will evolve and improve in terms of sensitivity and specificity. As these new tests become more widely available you might be able to retest and confirm your suspicions.

That's interesting, I really hope that does become more widely available.

@WhiteChocTwix it sounds to me like you were in need of personal attention from the Chief Medical Officer

Switch the word Covid for Glandular fever / epstein barr / mono And this is an identical conversation.

Doesn't seem so bad when you do that !

Can't pick it up on a blood test - notoriously hard to prove.

I had exact Covid symptoms in mid Dec. I had never felt so ill even with swine flu. Temp of 40 for 10'days. Cough so bad I couldn't breathe.

In March, my ex P lost all sense of taste and smell. My Dd and myself had fatigue and didn't move out of bed for 10 days. DS had pink eye one day on R and the next on L. Zero any other symptoms.

I'd love to think I had it on Dec. I'd love to think I had a mild version in late March.

My antibody test was negative in August.

Yes, I had a fever, continuous cough and difficulty breathing and was really unwell for 10 days back in March. Shortly after I recovered my husband felt under the weather and lost his sense of taste and smell for a number of weeks. I had the antibody test a few months later and it was negative. The one I took only has an accuracy rate of about 64% though so could easily have been a false negative. Guess I'll never know!

@Inkpaperstars certainly was!

They are saying they can only pick up antibodies from the last month or so. So if you had it back in March you're test would be negative

Me too. 6 weeks of Covid and my doctor sure too.

I was very unwell in February/March, two episodes of shingles like rashes, a dropped face and facial pain which was put down to hemiplegic migraine after an MRI scan and a check up at the stroke clinic. I was going into care homes up until March, I was extremely unwell and it is unlikely I had shingles as I had already had it twice. These are all symptoms which have been seen and added to the list since, but were not recognised as possible symptoms at the time. I felt absolutely exhausted and had facial pain and headaches for several weeks.

I had a negative antibody test in July, but was told by my BIL a retired GP that he wouldn’t rely on that.

@andadietcoke what is the name of that test, please? Can you say?

Yes, complete loss of smell and taste and sore throat/mild cough in March. London. Negative antibodies in June.

@chuffedasbuttons
not wanting to start another 'was covid here in December ' convo as MN is awash with them but I feel exactly the same , Covid symptoms in mid December, started off with the worst flu like symptoms I've ever had , followed by cough and breathlessness , never ending temperature and fatigue so severe I didn't recover till February . Then in April I had a milder version of the same illness, in bed for a week or so , but this time with covid toe .
Antibody negative in June .
I feel comforted by this thread too actually , stops me feeling like I've been going barmy !

DHs consultant told him the antibody tests were shit and not to bother.

[quote Mumisnotmyonlyname]@andadietcoke what is the name of that test, please? Can you say?[/quote]
Sorry, I've only just seen this! It's the ELISA test.

Forgot to add the producer sorry - it's an ELISA test produced by The Binding Site.

Anybody know if it is possible to get a false positive with an antibody test? I'm sure there is always some room for error with any test but is a positive fairly indicative that you had it?

I havent bothered testing for this reason.
I think i had it in apr
Sore throat
Chills
No runnt nose
Dry cough
Insomnia (still)
Fast heart rate
SOB
Sturnum and rib pain
Constipation
Muscle twitches
Pins and needles in hands
Fatigue
Pain in upper back especially if i try to talk forcefully

So basically completely unlike my normal illnesses
I normally get
Sore throat
Runny nose
Cough
Maybe a bit wheezy.

And my oxygen is now 98-99 rather than 100