To ask if you think yourself or your family had covid before it was a thing.

[Starry4120]

I’ve heard so many reports that people were very ill before covid was seen as a major issue here in the U.K.

Obviously there is no way to know. Even with an antibody test you may not have long lasting antibodies and we don’t know how long we are in immune. So it really doesn’t make a difference if we have or not. We still need to act like we haven’t of course.

Back last January, nearly a year ago. Both dc were extremely poorly suddenly. Both had high fevers. As a parent I’ve never seen them as ill, both were very fatigued. It started with Dd, then a few days later DS. They did not have a cough whilst they had a fever but they had a cough shortly after the fever subsided. Dd coughed non stop for a week, she just couldn’t stop and it would make her vomit it was that bad. Doctors had no answer. Even said it could have been scarlet fever with the rash 🤷‍♀️

Many children in DD’s class had similar. Many of the teachers did too. I remember a teacher saying many of them had been off with a bad cough/chest they couldn’t shift fully for weeks.

A child in DS’s class travelled to China for a holiday (if I can remember rightly) not long before Christmas, came back and went off ill herself shortly after. Makes you wonder. Of course it could be a complete coincidence!

The only thing that makes me think they did
Not have covid is that both myself and partner did not get ill despite having a lot of close contact with dc (as all parents do). Saying that I was very poorly Christmas 2019!

It really makes no difference but wondering what others views are on this matter?

I had horrible chest thing in Oct 2019, so too early on to’ve been Covid. But had it happened a few weeks later I’d be convinced that it was. I could do nothing without being completely breathless - to the point of considering calling an ambulance and being scared to be in my own in the house. Never experienced anything as bad before. But couldn’t realistically have been Covid.

At the end of February I was ill but not that bad. I had a low level temp for a day or two and then for about a week (ish) I was really tired, so much so that I cancelled a night out that I was looking forward to. Very unusual for me especially as it was because I was tired and not because I was ill by then.

About a week later, DD2 (3 at the time) got a high temp for a week. This was her only symptom and she was ok in herself. It was around the time when you had to self isolate for a week if you had symptoms which was what we did. Then about 2 weeks after the start of her symptoms, DS2 (7 at the time) had the exact same high temp for the same length of time. Apart from feeling sick the very first half of a day, he was also fine. Ate like normal, played etc. DH, DD1 and DS1 didn't get any symptoms so either didn't get what we did or were asymptomatic.

After boxing day 2019 I had the worst cough I've ever experienced. Couldn't shift it. Stayed on the sofa coughing and feeling v rough for about 10 days. Tried so many different cough mixtures and remember being so surprised that nothing was clearing it. Ill again in March, no cough, just fever, head ache and tight chest. I work in the centre of London and tourist hotspot. Pp who had negative tests early on doesn't surprise me. Tests were v unreliable in the beginning of the pandemic

My son came back from Austria in feb, he'd been sick on the journey home and went straight to bed for a week, then my DH and youngest were sick and had coughs. When it came to my turn all hell broke loose, I had burning lungs, a UTI that wouldn't clear, lost my sense of smell, I lost over 7kg in two weeks and couldn't physically move, in fact it's a blur. I was taken to hospital twice and ended up with a endometriosis flare and bleeding that wouldn't go away so utter agony and had to have surgery in June. I'm slowly recovering and still have bladder issues, breathless feelings and body aches.

It was either an awful flu or Covid? I'll never know as the GPs and hospitals just kept putting antibiotics in me even though they cured nothing, the GP got fed up of my constant ongoing symptoms as I also developed two weeks of heartburn and gastric issues.

I feel exhausted by this year, so hope to god I don't get covid again?

I was very ill last end of last Dec 2019. Very high temperature for 4 days, I coughed so hard I wet knickers and had to resort to Tena lady just in case, breathing was hard and shallow. I used loads of my asthma inhalers. Could not lie down but had to sit up with 5 pillows to sleep sitting up. I lost my voice for almost a month and had to have tube up my nose and dangled down my throat to check vocal cords. All ended with pneumonia at beginning of February. I had to have 2 lots of antibiotics of 2 weeks course each to completely clear it up. I was very tired throughout and slept a lot. After Covid was a thing my GP told me I had probably had it but no way of ever knowing for sure. I did go to France in mid December and started feeling ill about 10 days later. Because of cough I stayed in spare bedroom for almost a month with DH bringing me tea and meals in bed. I slept most of time. I lost a stone in weight without trying.

I was hospitalised with an ‘unknown virus’ in December 2019
Couldn’t taste, couldn’t smell, couldn’t breath, was weak and had a cough and fever
Lasted 2 weeks and then another 2 until I was totally back to normal

DH is convinced he had it this time last year, he was really ill in fact I've never known him be so poorly. Very high fever, lethargy, cough, headache, lack of appetite etc . I ended up taking him to see an on call doctor at the hospital who just said it was a very nasty virus

The only odd thing was that the rest of us didn't get it..

Im pretty sure my husband had it in January, I've never seen him that ill before, took 6 weeks for his cough to go too. Ds and dd had something similar but milder. I was fine throughout, so Ive been hoping I have natural immunity!

Early 2020, possibly February time, I woke with a cough but not a productive one and no sense of smell. Thought it was a cold but didnt have the usual runny nose and congestion that came with it. Later that day sat at my desk the chills and sweats came and then a fever that lasted 1-2 days. So I really don’t know.

I commuted through Leeds train station twice a day so not impossible to think it could of been a mild form.

Yes last December. Felt like I had been run over, breathing was so bad, asthma inhalers didn’t touch it though and the cough was horrendous. Raging temperature too. Sent my dc to stay with my mum as I couldn’t look after them at all- I’ve never done that before, ever. I called 111 and they said they had received several calls with the same weird symptoms and that there must be a really nasty virus about (!).
When we were first hearing about COVID I immediately thought omg that’s what I had.

Won’t ever know for sure though I suppose!

Yep Boxing Day last year, sweating like a pig, horrific cough which made me wet myself regularly! Dragged myself to GP mid Jan as couldn’t shift cough and still felt wiped out. She commented that she’d seen so many cases of “this odd virus”.

I worked in central London, getting trains, buses. Loads of people in my office had similar symptoms.

I think DS could have had COVID-19 in early Feb, he is very fit & slim but said he felt breathless and tired. And generally unwell.

My parents were really ill over New Year last year with a nasty bug - horrendous cough, high temps, no taste or smell, breathlessness, horrific headaches and completely wiped out with fatigue. They were ill for weeks.

My mum has no idea whether she had it then or not, but she took part in the antibody testing study and tested positive for antibodies.

She hadn’t been ill again, so she either had it over the New Year, or she had it at a later date and was asymptomatic

My mom was very poorly with some unidentified virus end of October 2019 for around 6 weeks. She had all typical Covid symptoms and went through 3 different antibiotics as doctors were just scratching their heads. Fast forward to early March when myself and my immediate family caught Covid (still have positive antibody tests) and my mum was helping look after me as I was very poorly - and scared because of the difficulties in breathing - she never caught Covid despite being in a house where 6 people had it. I am convinced it’s because that’s what she had in 2019 or she just has an incredible immune system.

Yes. I am convinced I had it early March.

At the nursery we had a run of children suddenly having temperatures spike at 40C , usually very suddenly. They also has coughs and general cold symptoms but the fever was the noticeable one. They obviously were sent home but it hit a lot of children over the course of a couple weeks. This was in Feb. One of the parents was very poorly about that time too. Going into March several staff went off with ‘flu’.

I suspect it was Covid. My suspicion almost has grounds now as my daughter has had Covid over Xmas and I’ve not caught it (she wasn’t living at home when I think I had it). My younger children haven’t had any signs of catching it from her either except one of them has a temperature and headache on one day but that was all. They were a bit poorly when I was in March, although not as bad as me. We just assumed it was an odd virus back then as it wasn’t like flu or a cold. I had a cough with it too.

Hopefully if it was Covid then and I’ve had a second exposure now I’ll be fairly immune for a little while. At least til vaccines come out for my group.

Yes - me, in mid-late Jan/the whole of Feb.

Symptoms:

• began with sore throat and fever. I’m a recurrent tonsillitis sufferer and I was expecting an explosion of spots and a very high temperature that never came
• instead, it settled down into my chest and I developed the most dreadful cough, it was largely non-productive, but incessant. I literally could not stop round the clock, bent double in the shower coughing for weeks
• airways felt like they were burning, all the way down into my chest, and a couple of evenings where breathing was a huge effort (around days 10-14)
• the most awful headache. Every time I coughed I thought I was going to have an aneurism.
• a constant temperature of around 37.5-38.2 for 3+ weeks (cycling through the day)
• metallic taste (starting at day 5) which eventually turned into a complete loss of smell (notably without snot) for 2-3 weeks (memorable, mum thought I was preggo), and an insane loss of appetite
• extreme fatigue and low mood lasting several weeks. I got the bare minimum done at work and fell asleep in my office a couple of times. It was May before I felt fully well again.

I work at a large university with a considerable international cohort and I think I picked it up on campus shortly after the Christmas break. But I could also have got it from my youngest who was at the university nursery at that time. He was also very ill for a week or two, notable symptom for him was a barking cough that caused him to sob and clutch his chest. He saw a GP several times over that period. We were asked about travel to China, etc.

I love fry’s orange creams. DH bought me a raspberry one to try right at the end of November /December 19. I said it was rubbish and didn’t taste of anything.

A week later I had a mild upset tummy.

The fever and cough arrived a few days later. I had the cough and tight chest/shortness of breath to mid February- I started with a local running group to try and improve it.

I had to leave a work meeting due to my cough in December, they sent a first wider after me as they though it was having an asthma attack - I’m not asthmatic.

A friend had what they thought was pneumonia in January, but had started around the same time and her small DC had bronchiolitis.

Yes, I’m convinced I had it (as is my GP). I woke up the day after Boxing Day 2019 feeling clammy, feverish and totally exhausted. I could barely get out of bed to go to the loo. Couldn’t eat, just sipped water. High temperature.

Felt like that for a couple of days. I thought it was a weird food poisoning as we’d been out in London and Edinburgh at restaurants and so on for the preceding couple of weeks.

Then the fever etc cleared, although I still felt very washed out. A few days after that the cough started, and I realised that I had no sense of smell and couldn’t taste anything. That went on for a few weeks, although my sense of taste came back after about a week.

I felt shit but not absolutely terrible, I remember saying at the time it was like ‘the weirdest and worst cold I’ve ever had’.

I finally shifted the cough in mid February, by which time the stories were circulating about corona and covid. I had a regular check-up with my GP (for another unrelated condition) and he said he’d stake his reputation that is had covid. He said they’d been seeing people at the practice with this ‘strange virus’ since October the previous year (ie 2019).

DH and I are pretty certain we had it in March. We were not tested at the time and he is still ill with what we (and GP) think is long covid.

I think I had it late Feb/early March.
Work in a high school, loads of kids returning after being off with coughs and high temps.
Colleague was off with 'something' for weeks and weeks, her GP was perplexed because whatever it was wasn't responding to antibiotics. GP told her in the summer that looking back he is certain she had covid.
I think I got it from her, I even had the covid toes!
But I don't know of course.

Yep, early March I was very unwell with the worst cough, couldn't move much as it set me off. I work in a school and we had several staff off with similar. My chest hasn't fully recovered now and I now use steroid inhalers daily to help settle it. Can't prove it but I'm 90% certain

Everyone saying about the antibodies, I thought it was possible to have had Covid but not still have antibodies?

If there was evidence found in europe from summer 2019 of covid surely it's likely some of us are right?

I had the terrible December virus. Caught from my colleagues - small school.
Our cleaner had it first and is very religious, helps out at soup kitchens etc.
Around 6 of us (half) had it - me last week of term.

It ticked every Covid box but no one else caught it. Though my DC walked themselves to school and fed themselves whilst I zonked in bed a week and DP slept downstairs. I could not get my fever down. I'm mildly asthmatic so went to Doc straight away and was given strong antibiotics. Despite these I felt I had whooping cough as I could not catch my breath.

I've had flu before and it was different but just as bad.
I get the flu jab every year.

This year in March, DP felt mildly unwell and lost smell and taste.
We all isolated. DD and I caught exhaustion and both stayed in bed for 10 days. No cough. Slept straight out.

I'm fit and run - good lung health.

I had the severe virus circulating in December.

I have no antibodies.

I think we are trying to reassure ourselves that we are safe from Covid this time but the truth is we most likely are not.