A positive test- my journey so far

[CovidClara]

I have really struggled to find a description of someone with CV19. So here is my story (so far). I received a positive test back this afternoon.

Friday. I went out to the pub with 3 family members from 2 households. This is significant as my adult DD who lives with me also has CV19 and this is the only time that she has left the house for 2 weeks and so it looks like that may be the transmission point. We are in a tier 1 area.

Tuesday. I wake up with a splitting headache. I am prone to sinus problems and I thought it was that. Take ibuprofen during the day which numbs but doesn't remove it. Have a really sore throat start during the day. My DD wakes up with what she describes as a cold.

Wednesday. Slight cough, mostly dry but some mucousy. Headache continues and throat is really sore. DD still has a 'cold' and a very very slight cough. I decide to order a test online- for home testing. We dont really feel ill- this is like a very mild cold.

Thursday. Feel a lot better. Throat hurts, headache continues and light coughing. Sneezing (so it must be a cold) . Regret ordering a test as we are fine. I dont think I have had a fever, had a few moment of feeling hot maybe. DD says she feels a bit hot. We dont have a thermometer to check.

Friday. I wake up with almost no smell. Still got a headache. Throat hurts (but really very mild sore throat). The post comes and no test arrives and so I book drive through test for me and DD. We have to do it ourselves in the car- I am very skeptical that I have managed to swab correctly.

Turns out the home tests had been delivered by amazon and left behind the bin!

Friday evening I feel really cold in bed (but I live in a cold house so not unusual). Still no smell back. Headache has gone

Saturday. Feel a bit tired in the morning. Sore throat has gone. Have a slight cough. Woke up with a bad headache that took hours to go. Saturday pm- feel fine- spend 3 house gardening.

Saturday evening. I receive a text/email with a positive result. 4 hours later my DD gets a positive test result.

Turns out another person who was in the pub with us also developed a 'cold' on Tuesday and is now booked for a test tomorrow. So all 3 people got symptoms on the same day. The 4th person says they may have had a cold last week ??? but they are fine now.

DD symptoms now are: slight irregular cough. Sore throat gone. Can still smell but a bit reduced. Sneezing from time to time. Odd taste in mouth.

My symptoms are now. Low level headache, slight cough, slightly tickly throat. Sneezing from time to time. No smell, reduced taste.

At this point this is like the very mildest of colds. Lets see what happens now.

From our experience, my husband is on day 6 from cold symptoms and 4 after the cough. He is no worse, slightly tight chest sometimes but he’s been cutting our lawn and playing with our kids. Our friend who worked on ICU said if he’s fine at this stage he’s very unlikely to get unwell.

My sister has just asked me why I ordered test on Wednesday when the only symptom on the list was very slight cough. Good question- I am usually very healthy robust- haven't had a day off work for 15 years and haven't seen the GP for several years. I also live in a low risk area, I am working from home and had only been out three times in past 2 weeks other than to walk the dog. We haven't had any parties or family gatherings.

I think it was that the other symptoms didn't feel quite right for a cold. Although my throat was sore it wasn't swollen. There were no lumps and bumps and it didn't feel worse when I ate anything. It stayed constant across the day.

My headache felt like sinus but they were not blocked and although it diminished it didn't completely go even after several doses of ibuprofen across the day.

My nose felt blocked but there was no mucus and still isn't. My DD has a tiny bit but we haven't needed tissues etc. It wasn't worse at night.

Thanks for this, hope you feel better soon

My daughter also tested positive.
Her symptoms started as a very runny nose and sneezing, exactly the symptoms that apparently mean it’s not Covid
She had a hoarse, croaky voice and a couple of days later developed an intermittent cough which is when we got her tested.

Hope you and your daughter start feeling better soon. Also thank you so much for the post...it helps the anxious ones like me.

My son (3) tested positive a week ago. During the week prior to the test he had a cold (runny nose, sneezing) which then developed into a cough. He also complained of a sore throat at one point and was ‘hoarse’. He had no temperature or anything else. None of us in the house (2 adults and 2 children) had any symptoms but got tested the day after due to my mum being in our bubble and being high risk for complications. We were all negative. 1 day after our self Isolation period ended the baby has started to cough and sneeze a lot. I got him a test yesterday morning, still waiting for results x

@Bettyboop82

My son (3) tested positive a week ago. During the week prior to the test he had a cold (runny nose, sneezing) which then developed into a cough. He also complained of a sore throat at one point and was ‘hoarse’. He had no temperature or anything else. None of us in the house (2 adults and 2 children) had any symptoms but got tested the day after due to my mum being in our bubble and being high risk for complications. We were all negative. 1 day after our self Isolation period ended the baby has started to cough and sneeze a lot. I got him a test yesterday morning, still waiting for results x

I hope that he is ok. Does the 3 year old go to nursery?

Its been a while since i had to order tests but how did you manage to get both home tests and drive in?

I managed to get 1 home test but then couldn't get another when DC1 developed symptoms a few days after DC2 started?

@bluetongue

Good description OP.

I’m sure I read yesterday somewhere that 14% of tests in the UK are coming back positive. This is likely to mean that many cases are being missed. The tests really need to be available to anyone with possible symptoms like they are here in Australia. It is likely that many people who think they just have colds are probably spreading the virus.

Exactly! The government have to widen the symptom criteria and make more tests readily available!

I read a bbc article a few weeks ago about new quick tests that'll cost under a fiver and produce results in a couple of hours. Then nothing further...

Thank you for your post op.

Thank you for this. Sounds like me. Tuesday had physio, physio had a “bit of a cold he sounded snotty!” but masks worn at all times etc so Thought that was ok

Thursday started coughing not lots just little irritated back of throat by Thursday evening chest felt a bit tight and my nose was running. Damn caught physios cold I thought. Friday I coughed a lot more and had pain across my back when I breathed. Friday night had the worst nights sleep. Saturday Kept coughing and had a raging headache stiff neck and aches...feel like I’ve been run over by a bus absolutely wiped out. We are lucky we have a walk in testing centre 10 mins from home so booked an appointment. Test done..now waiting for the results. Slept most of Saturday Afternoon with the most horrendous headaches and cough. Thankfully also slept well Saturday night. Sunday I’ve woken up still with a mild cough but much less, no sniffling but still headache and general aching. And feel wiped out. Waiting for the results was told would be Monday.

Hello other Clara! Interesting thread. Hope you get better soon...

Thanks for your post OP. There have been so many posts on here with people saying they have a cold and a slight cough - but won’t test because the cough is because of the cold. Unfortunately the issues getting a test when schools went back has meant some people thinking they are “not wasting a test” when they should be testing.

@Crunchymum

Its been a while since i had to order tests but how did you manage to get both home tests and drive in?

I managed to get 1 home test but then couldn't get another when DC1 developed symptoms a few days after DC2 started?

I ordered the test online but it didn't come. I was getting emails saying that I must return it on the 16th.

Turns out that Amazon had left the test in a normal wrapper behind the bins (not rung the door). I didn't know it was coming with Amazon. The email just said they would come on the 16th and so when they didn't come in the royal mail post I assumed they were lost/delayed.

I had woken up with no smell on the morning of the 16th and so a niggle about CV19 had moved to a concern.

I just booked a drive through test within the hour- that hadn't been an option on Wednesday.

I should add that my DH was on the shielding list as extremely clinically vulnerable until August. He has been away for the past 13 days (which was very lucky) and now cant come home. He was due back on Saturday but held off whilst we took the tests.

Thanks for sharing @CovidClara. Your thread is very interesting and informative.

@CovidClara good name by the way, I've been to be tested at a drive through, so we'll see, actually feeling pretty rotten, my ten year old DD refused to come with me.

I'll update when I get my results back, they took 30 hours last week

I'm continuously being told if it's like a cold it isn't Covid so that is interesting.. I had a cold last week and tested negative so who knows . I stayed off work in case but I'm worried if symptoms are similar people won't stay off because they need the money moving forward into winter when the kids are all spreading it around!

[quote MissSmiley]@CovidClara good name by the way, I've been to be tested at a drive through, so we'll see, actually feeling pretty rotten, my ten year old DD refused to come with me.

I'll update when I get my results back, they took 30 hours last week [/quote]
Why not order tests online and they will be ready if yours comes back positive? or is it easy to get a test where you are?

Thanks for this interesting thread op.
I've had what I think is a cold but sounds very similar to your symptoms. My symptoms seem worse at night; is that something you find?

I want to book for a test but will have to stay off work u too I get results and if they are negative then I look like I have wasted works time

Yes and the whole nursery has to close and all children and staff self isolate. Bet they hate me!

Please do take care all, I had covid back in March and started similarly with mild cold, sore throat, sneezing etc. Cough started on day 4 but was largely gone within another few days and thought I was better. Exactly two weeks after I first fell ill and when I thought I was recovered I suddenly had intense rib and chest pain and went rapidly downhill which lasted the next 5 weeks.
After that symptoms came and went for 18 weeks in total. I am young, fit and healthy with no underlying conditions. I have no antibodies.

I’ve had a test today. I woke up with a tight chest and headache, plus a blocked nose. No other symptoms. I phoned occupational health (NHS) and had a test appointment within an hour. Interestingly during my wait to speak to a nurse I tried to book a test online - and I couldn’t because I don’t have one of the main symptoms. The nurse said they’ve had positive tests for people with runny noses so they must be missing loads in the general population

Dd1 has cold symptoms but none of the 3 main ones, I think she’s the source. I haven’t knowingly come into contact with it and we’ve been really careful. I live in a locked down area so we haven’t really been anywhere other than school/work, shopping and outside for walks.

Thank you for posting this It's really helpful. It just shows how easily it can be spread when the symptoms can be considered a mild cold

@CovidClara loads of tests available where I am, I think it said 1,400 available when I booked, times were from 5 minutes onwards, I'm nervous about the sending the other children back into the world if they might be asymptotic at the end of isolation, ie because one of them could have passed it on in the second week if that makes sense. None of them have (other than positive DD and youngest DD have symptoms

@alpinia

Please do take care all, I had covid back in March and started similarly with mild cold, sore throat, sneezing etc. Cough started on day 4 but was largely gone within another few days and thought I was better. Exactly two weeks after I first fell ill and when I thought I was recovered I suddenly had intense rib and chest pain and went rapidly downhill which lasted the next 5 weeks. After that symptoms came and went for 18 weeks in total. I am young, fit and healthy with no underlying conditions. I have no antibodies.

That is really interesting thanks

I will keep posting whatever happens

This sounds like my week i was hoping my results came bk today but still not heard mine started Tuesday night really sorry throat woke wed with cold symptoms snotty nose still sore throat an cough not a bad cough just clearing throat cough day 4 yesterday an started to feel much better nose cleared no more sore throat just slight cough now my 2 dc have started with sore throat n blocked nose yesterday waiting 4 my results b4 getting them tested my ds never gets ill really cant remember last time he had cold so that makes me think more its covid