Reinfected

[Flippetyflipok]

I've just had a positive test. I was ill last April, and had ongoing long covid. Ironically only chatted to GP this week who said that no one has any idea re recovery.

Has anyone else had it twice? I'm hoping second time not so debilitating - I didn't have to go to hospital or anything but felt like crap for weeks.

I’m neither denying covid nor the possibility of reinfection, just saying other viruses are available and there’s no proof of previous COVID infection. I think I might have had COVID in early 2020 but accept that I might not as I wasn’t tested.

My goddaughter has had it twice, first time she was in hospital only overnight back in April, but she has had quite significant long covid since, hasn't returned to work, extreme fatigue etc. She caught it a second time in early December and has been in hospital 2 weeks now, she's only 30 too :( I have no way at all of knowing if her experience is typical for reinfection, but she had no underlying health conditions before she caught it the first time.

If a gp gives a diagnosis, it is normal to accept that. Of course it could be something else - but when a gp diagnoses scarlet fever, or flu, or chicken pox we don't start casting aspersions.

Covid denial is covid denial.

If a gp gives a diagnosis, it is normal to accept that

Covid is a very new illness with a widely varying range of symptoms, most of which overlap with other viral infections. I wouldn’t put much store on a GPs diagnosis with no test.

I’m not a Covid denier in the slightest, but we can’t be assuming reinfection if there was never confirmation in the first place.

@TheKeatingFive

It’s bit hard to have long Covid wo having Covid in the first place

Post-viral syndromes are common enough.

There could be no diagnosis of long Covid without confirmation of Covid in the first place.

Yes but there are many features in long Covid you don’t have with post viral fatigue and ME (OP has had that for more than 6 months now, so post viral fatigue is not an accurate description anymore).

Plus she has been diagnosed with long Covid.

Are you really saying that you know better from a couple of posts on an Internet forum than the medical professionals who saw her over several months and diagnosed her??

We were ill in March and had little doubt it was covid (a contact was in hospital). Have now been quite sick with it again for a couple of weeks, tested this time. Fells like exactly the same virus - it's pretty distinctive with the slow onset, respiratory symptoms and loss of smell.

I suppose that we'll be seeing a lot of people having it for the second time now, if as they say immunity lasts about 6 months.

I'm not a covid denier, I'm just denying the GP's diagnosis of covid...

OP has had that for more than 6 months now, so post viral fatigue is not an accurate description anymore

Erm, I’ve known people with PVF that lasted for years.

Are you really saying that you know better from a couple of posts on an Internet forum than the medical professionals who saw her over several months and diagnosed her??

I’m not saying I know anything. This is a very new disease, I’d be wary of anyone coming to any conclusions without a positive test to back them up.

Xpost

Basically you are part of that group of people who won’t believe that people are deeply unwell with long Covid because they didn’t get a test that wasn’t available at the time
Thereby also stopping them from getting the specific support put in place for people with long Covid.

Same attitude than people had towards those who were diagnosed with ME not so long ago (incl some GPs)

Yep. Much safer to say it’s GPs who can’t do a diagnosis

@TheKeatingFive

OP has had that for more than 6 months now, so post viral fatigue is not an accurate description anymore

Erm, I’ve known people with PVF that lasted for years.

As far as I know, it’s only PVF for the first 6 months before it’s diagnosed as ME.

People you know might still refer to it like it.

I’d be wary of anyone coming to any conclusions without a positive test to back them up.

This is a common refrain of covid denial, because of course those who contracted covid and were diagnosed by experienced medics in the initial wave often had no test. No tests were available if not hospitalised.

There is always some reason to be 'sceptical' if you want to deny something.

I'm tired of covid denial getting in the way. It is like the climate change arguments all over again. Same tactics, same psychological motivations.

My DS13 tested positive in October and recovered, 51 days later lost sense of smell, tested positive again, no one else in the household got ill again (all 6 did the first time) so we're assuming he still had remnants of the virus from before, so not a reinfection

Ignore the know it all twats OP

I had it at the end of March, also developed long COVID (and hence had antibody test at COVID recovery clinic to prove first infection). My antibodies were gone by September and I caught it again just before Christmas (positive pcr this time).

So the good news is, my infection this time was much milder and my long COVID symptoms have only flared a little. It is possible to have a worse second infection, so if you worsen dont ignore it, but for most people (and yes there are a lot of us now) that doesnt seem to be the case.

Do you get a positive test with a flare up?

@Ladydowntheroad no. I've had 5 tests during flare ups and each one was negative.

And what’s up with people being such dicks? OP has asked a basic question, whether she did or didn’t have it back in April no one knows for sure but it sounds pretty likely. Either way why have a go, just answer the question and chill the fuck out

[quote Porcupineintherough]@Ladydowntheroad no. I've had 5 tests during flare ups and each one was negative.[/quote]
Yeh I thought so... our friend had it back in April and met up with us whilst having a flare up in the summer so I assumed after we were all okay it was all good.
Kinda tough going having flare ups though as you wouldn’t know if it’s something else or reinfection or a flare I imagine

I had flu identical to Covid in early Feb. Loss of smell, fever, breathlessness, took weeks to clear etc. It wasn't even offically here then, so actually it was unlikely to have been Covid. I think there must be very similar flus around.

Wow the amount of people catching it twice or 3 times, i’ve not had it once and i’ve been all over the place, all keeping within the rules at the time.

Several times when having a flare I was sure I'd caught it again. This time, when I had actually caught it, I was convinced I had a head cold and only tested to be on the safe side because we were hoping to see elderly parents at Christmas.

I had COVID last March/April, confirmed by a private, lab based antibody test in May.

Yes, there is now plenty of evidence for reinfection, I think I may have had a very mild form over Christmas as similar symptoms but nothing like as bad (I was very ill the first time round). My reading of research is that generally, if you've had COVID bad enough to have had antibodies, the next time you're ill it will be much milder even if the antibodies have reduced over time.

However, there is not enough research being done so it's not concrete. Also have no idea if the new variant COVID would affect differently. But some hope....

@Baileysforchristmas Ive stuck to the rules to the point of paranoia since having it the first time. Work from home, am far more careful that anyone I know who isnt actually shielding. This time ds1 was the crack in my defenses, he picked it up at school and brought it home to his old mum. It doesnt help that we live in a virus hotspot I suppose.

Yes my husband has now had it twice, track and trace says unfortunately it's becoming a lot more common and some people loose all immunity in three months
They now want his blood and plasma to test for research

Thanks everyone who's answered my actual question about experiences with reinfection. I feel a bit better tonight so really hoping it's mild, although if I learned anything first time round it's that it comes in waves.

Everyone who is desperate to deny reinfection, here's a government scientific advisory group paper www.gov.uk/government/publications/cog-uk-summary-report-of-covid-19-reinfection-3-september-2020 which both documents a case and says "based on knowledge of other Coronaviruses, reinfection is to be expected" and flags the danger of asymptomatic reinfected transmission. You are of course welcome to believe what you like, but people should be aware that having covid once doesn't guarantee immunity forever and they could still both catch and spread it.

Also here's the Siren study page mentioned above, yet to publish results I think: snapsurvey.phe.org.uk/siren/