How do you know when you are too sick

[zaffa]

With covid? I've tested positive and have gone downhill since the test (I tested through the Zoe app as I had had a sore throat and chills for a week) I tested Tuesday and on Thursday was prescribed antibiotics by the on call doctor as she suspected I had developed a touch of pneumonia (I coughed up some very dark brown phlegm). My temp has been up and down since then and my chest is tight.

I'm just scared. I'm obese (BMI 38) and I'm scared I'm going to die and leave my baby without a mother. I don't know when I need to worry about going to hospital- how sick do you get before you ring for an ambulance?

I'm not entirely sure what I'm looking for - maybe to share stories of how other people progressed with covid?

I have no idea Zaffa but I couldn't read and run. Hope you don't get too poorly with it and make a good recovery

Virtual hand hold OP. Try and stay calm.
Remember the vast majority of people recover just fine.

Can you speak in full sentences without getting out of breath?

Do you have an Oximeter?

Keep taking the anti biotics and paracetamol will help too.

If you are worried call 111 they will advise you

A friend had it badly last week. Call 111 if you’re struggling to breathe. She called three times and the third time they called an ambulance for her.

Hospital gave her a few hours of oxygen and sent her home feeling much better.

Even with a high BMI or other vulnerabilities, your chances of dying are exceedingly low. A nasty case of Covid is comparable to a nasty case of flu - in other words, the symptoms you have are totally normal, and really now anything to worry about. Some potential towards pneumonia is also very common, and you have done exactly the right thing in taking the antibiotics your doctor has prescribed.

You need to rest, make sure that you get plenty of fluids, and try to get some food if you can. Small light meals such as some soup, milk, fruit some toast - you need food to maintain your strength.

And all that is perfectly normal for any viral attack.

If you are struggling to breathe - gasping for breath - then that is serious. If you ever feel that you are heading towards that, or you are worried about worsening symptoms, then you can speak to your GP or out of hours service. If you must phone emergency services then do it - but despite how the news makes it feel, very few people need emergency services or hospitalisation.

I had it pretty much for two weeks. There were two waves to it - I felt ill for a few days then it wiped me out for about three or four days, then I felt a bit better for a couple of days, but then I was wiped out for about three more, then about a week of feeling exhausted. By comparison, I have had flu, and it was no worse (but not any better either). I'm a lot older than you and also have a higher BMI.

Try not to worry. You really do have very, very little chance of dying. Just rest.

OP, if you have an oxymeter, what is the reading? It should be in the high 90s. If it is in the low 90s, in my own experience (I was hospitalised for 9 nights and was on CPAP), you will not be considered an emergency. If it drops below 90, and particularly if it drops quickly, it is an emergency. If it’s dropping towards 85, you need to call an ambulance. Read about hypoxia.

Please, everyone, if anyone tries to persuade you that you need to wait until your lips turn blue and you are unable to speak, do not listen to them as you would already be in the process of dying and reducing your chances of a good outcome. A member of the first ambulance crew who came out to me said this and we ignored that advice when I continued to deteriorate and called a second ambulance. At that stage my oxygen levels had fallen to 85 and I was extremely ill - but I could talk and I actually walked myself into the ambulance - with assistance.

However, I agree with Moondust that most people will not need any medical intervention, so try to keep calm 💐

Thank you everyone. I can speak in full sentences but feel a bit breathless climbing the stairs. I do have an oximeter and that prompted my fear as I started getting wildly different readings from 90-99 but I spoke to 111 who gave me some tips to get more accurate readings and it's been better since then (over 95)
My chest is tight when I breathe in deeply too. It's scary because you don't know if you will have a sudden turn for the worse and end up needing to go to hospital - I've had a number of chest infections in my life but never worried about dying from any of them before or getting seriously ill. I would just rest at home for a few days and that would be it with the usual medication.
This is all so unknown, there's no way of knowing if I will be one of the unlucky ones.

When this is over I will make every effort to lose weight. I've been messing around at it for a year when I could be a normal BMI by now and I'm so angry with myself for that. I just want to somehow know I will
Be ok - the idea of going to hospital and leaving my little girl at home is just so sad and scary - she's only one and she needs me 😔

I had a serious illness in February , all symptoms of covid. (Cough, lack of taste, sore throat, viral conjunctivitis, breathlessness, painful chest, upset stomach) I couldn’t breathe properly, was gasping, couldn’t talk without stopping to breathe, extremely painful chest. I was on antibiotics too. I just stayed in bed and sipped liquids. If you have an oximeter, just keep an eye on the numbers. I spent three weeks in bed unable to most things. It took another three weeks to get back to normal.

Thanks. I've mostly stayed in bed and I haven't had any trouble breathing as such but it does hurt if I breathe in deeply - like I'm breathing in cold and icy air or something. And my chest feels a little tight when I do that. But I can hold a conversation without gasping for air and I'm not wheezing although I can hear a tiny little crackle as I breathe in but I can't tell if it's coming from my chest or my throat.

I really appreciate everyone replying to me

Also has anyone had excessive gas? I feel like I'm all swollen up with gas and can't stop burping - is this normal?

When I had it, for weeks I was too sick to pick up a phone or tablet, let alone engage in Internet forums.

I recovered fine.

Etulosba, not everyone is the same. When I was on CPAP I very much did engage in Internet forums - namely this one. Lovely mumsnetters kept me going through the long, dark and terrifying nights. They saved my life just as surely as the medics did - and I am truly grateful to them all.

@LittleSpyintheSky

Etulosba, not everyone is the same. When I was on CPAP I very much did engage in Internet forums - namely this one. Lovely mumsnetters kept me going through the long, dark and terrifying nights. They saved my life just as surely as the medics did - and I am truly grateful to them all.

I remember your thread @LittleSpyintheSky - I read your update and it made me feel better to know you had been to hospital and still recovered even though you were there for nine days.

We are in the south east so I am also scared the hospitals will soon be too full to take me if I deteriorate

Do you have someone at home with you to look after your little one (and you!)?

Really hope you recover quickly, sounds rough for you

Unfortunately, OP, and not wishing to frighten you any further, your concerns about hospital capacity are justified. When I closed my thread and returned to a previous user name, my mental health was not in a good place, partly because I was on here trying to persuade COVID deniers that we were heading for disaster and it was like crying into the wind with some of them.

Even though my mental health continues to be an issue for me, I’ve come back partly because I have seen and read about so many who have died due to not seeking assistance fast enough and if I can help anyone appreciate when they should seek help, that would make me very happy. Also, I need to keep arguing with those who refuse to see what we are up against. And, by the way, I do not mean those who have to work to keep their jobs and to pay their rent/mortgage etc. The rest of us should obey the rules to help keep them safe.

I do, DH is here and doing a stellar job given that he doesn't feel great himself. I don't know what we will do if he too develops symptoms really but hoping that won't happen now. He was also exhausted all last week but no covid symptoms so hoping he's had it mildly and recovered

I saw your frustration @LittleSpyintheSky on other threads and all I can say is that whatever we thought we had learnt about COVID over the year - the new variant threw it out the window. We are super careful because DH works in a primary school and DD is at nursery. DSS is at secondary school (I WFH) and because we have all those people out mingling with others at school and nursery we go no where and stay far back. No restaurants or leisurely shopping trips or days out anywhere. SD and mask wearing and hand washing endlessly and still we got it. Cases are shooting up near me and it's really quite terrifying to see the daily figures going up.

Anyone who thinks this isn't real or a method to control us is mad

DH had covid in October. He is obese, couldn't walk at all, couldn't speak in sentences. He certainly wasn't climbing the stairs. I called an ambulance when he collapsed going to the bathroom, his oxygen was low 90s, they didn't take him to hospital and he did eventually recover. I understand that you feel dreadful and are scared but your condition doesn't sound worryingly dreadful. Fwiw we were told days 5-9 were the worst; you're on day 5, you probably won't get much worse, you just need to rest and ride it out now. Hope you feel better soon.

Thank you @NovemberNameChangeYeahBaby that is reassuring. It helps to know where I 'place' against others with symptoms - I never really know what it means to have mild
Symptoms or if it's normal to have a sore chest when I breathe in deeply or if that's a sign of something terribly wrong.

How is your husband now? That must have been very scary for him and you

If you're only breathless on exertion I wouldn't be too concerned. If you become breathless at rest then it would be worth speaking to 111. Have you tried self proning (lying on your front)? It reduces lung compression and improves gas exchange. I've added an image to show you how to do it. Basically try to avoid being on your back.

Zaffa, having had it over Christmas, with hindsight one of the worst things was the mental stress of "this is it, the killer virus, I've tested positive, healthy people die of this". Waking up in the night thinking about it.

So my advice is to say to yourself, it's ok to be worried, but the huge huge majority of people in your situation will be ok. Statistics are on your side.

Handhold from me, it's nasty, but you will get through it.

DD (just one year) has now also tested positive. I'm so worried - I don't know if she still has bad symptoms to come or if she's just asymptomatic

@zaffa how are you all feeling this evening x

DD remains asymptomatic but very bored. I am up and down - I feel a small bit better but that is partly down to paracetamol controlling my fever it seems. When it wears off it goes back up and I feel cold and shaky again. Breathing is painful still when I try to breathe deeply and I get breathless if I climb the stairs. Food is hit and miss as everything tastes very off and I have the most awful bloat and gas.
Oxygen levels seem good though (for covid) gone up from 94/95 to 95/96 which I thought was encouraging. Still on antibiotics and I did wonder if that would be causing this terribly uncomfortable bloat.

The doctors said to do lots of steaming to break up the gunk in my lungs but it's so sinful when I cough so I haven't done any today but I'm wondering if that's not doing me any favours.

I'm not really sure what day I'm on. I tested positive last Tuesday but I had cold like symptoms and extreme tiredness for about a week by then. But by Thursday last week I had fever, cough, tight chest and very painful breathing if I inhaled deeply and pretty much couldn't get out of bed. So I don't know if I did have covid prior or if it is a co incidence. Doctor suggested counting test day as day one which puts me day seven which I hear is a bit make or break really.

How is everyone else? does anyone have any stories to get me through this bit or should I be getting worried that I'm still quite sick? I can't really stay out of bed for longer than half an hour or so but it is an improvement on last week when I couldn't get out for five mins and actually had to lie down in the bath I was running because I couldn't stand up and wait for it to fill up