I need a hand hold... in shock after positive Covid test

[EdinaMonsoon]

I'm 5 days away from getting the vaccine. I have stayed home an entire year except for walking my dog in the most remote spots I could find & medical appointments. Youngest DS picked it up at school (Y12). I'm terrified. Became symptomatic yesterday. Positive result today. I'm aching and coughing with a bit of a headache. I'm terrified. Please tell me your positive outcome Covid stories or just take my mind off this shit show.

what are your clinical vulnerabilities?
Not that I suppose it matters. Probably most of the very vulnerable & elderly people come thru covid with only mild illness.

I was so worried when my mother 85, in a care home with dementia and heart failure, tested positive 2 days after her vaccine.
Eight weeks on and she’s fine.
Guessing you are under 50 and female so really, unless serious health problems, you have a really low risk of becoming seriously ill.

Are you at high risk of complications?

I am going to assume you aren't CEV? I felt pretty horrible and I was scared as well. Rest, speak to your GP and it was uncomfortable so lots of ibuprofen, fluids and good nutrition. I was better after 10 days.

We all had positive tests in January. It was a couple of days of feeling rough with blocked nose and mild cough, not even a temperature. The loss of taste and smell was the worst bit and only I got that symptom which lasted about a week. I also passed out once but I wasn't eating great with the lack of taste so it might've just been that. All in all no worse than a bad cold.

What are your symptoms? I'm totally paranoid with another head cold now the DC are back in school.
Think positively you'll be okay, have plenty of rest and fluids.
Most people are absolutely fine.

I kept waiting for mine to get worse and I’ll be honest the fear was the worst bit. All I had was about 5 days of feeling knackered and headachey, and a longer period of feeling breathless and finding it hard to concentrate. NO serious illness, NO scary moments.

You will be FINE.

Plenty of fluids and rest.
I've had it too and it lasted all of 5 days.

I just had a cold really, as did my partner. The only difference was it took a little longer to feel 100%. Had a bit of a relapse a week in, feeling very tired. But totally fine after a month or so. My toddler had it worse initially but recovered much quicker.
That waiting is awful though, thinking to yourself "day 3, will I get worse or better?" And wondering if you are going to be one of the unlucky ones. Chances are you will be fine OP.

Chances are you'll be fine

I wish you a speedy recovery

Sorry if stating the obvious but you know you have to delay your vax now.

Thanks for replying everyone.
I'm 50. Not CEV but rather we made the decision as a family to not venture out to pubs/restaurants/cafes or holidays because we thought none of those things were really worth the risk of becoming ill.

I know of 3 people who have died and I have felt so worried whenever the subject comes up on the news that I simply turn it off or stop paying attention.

I'm sure it's slightly irrational but I feel so angry that I got this far only to be hit by it now. And I'm scared that I will be one of those for whom it doesn't end well. I honestly don't mean to be dramatic. I simply am very scared.

oh bless you, I’m sure you logically know that you will almost certainly be fine but of course your mind runs away with itself when it’s you or a lover one who has it

I had it at Christmas. It wasn’t much fun but there was nothing scary and I was higher but not high risk.

If you think it will help order an oximeter from Amazon. Knowing your blood sat level can be helpful when you get worried. Either it’s fine and it calms you down or it can if necessary alert you that you may need additional support.

Take paracetamol regularly. Lemsip was helpful.

Bear in mind millions of people have had it and been ok.

@KurtWilde Your symptoms sound the same as mine & DS. I've felt unwell today but able to potter about in my room and clean & tidy. This was before I got the test result and I thought that if I was going to be stuck in this room for 10 days I had better have it looking good!

@Emeraldshamrock Last night I felt like I was coming down with something - aching and a headache. I started coughing later the same evening and this morning woke up feeling the same but with bit of an ache in my chest. Mostly though I feel like I have a head cold. Somewhat sinus-y and a headache.

Thank you all for sharing your experiences. It really is helping.

All of these immediate replies "are you CEV" "what are your vulnerabilities"

honestly have you zero sympathy?

OP I hope you're okay, not just covid-wise but dealing with this well. I'd feel exactly the same, I'm only slightly vulnerable but have spent the last year doing everything possible to avoid the virus. Please be reassured that only a small number of people are seriously affected by it. Chances are you'll have a rough few days, and make sure that someone outside your household is aware of what's going on with you, so should you fall out of contact they know something is wrong. All the best.

I'm sure it's slightly irrational but I feel so angry that I got this far only to be hit by it now. And I'm scared that I will be one of those for whom it doesn't end well. I honestly don't mean to be dramatic. I simply am very scared.

The first bit is totally understandable.

On the second the odds very much are you’ll be fine. If you do need hospital care then the doctors know so much more now than they did even 6 months ago. I agree with PPs waiting to see if I’d feel worse was the worst bit happily I didn’t and the chances very much are that you won’t too.

Hope you feel better soon. I’d also be gutted if I caught it now too as we have been careful.

My sister caught it (she’s a teacher) and felt rough over Xmas but it’s totally fine now.

I can totally understand you being scared - avoiding it has been dominating the news and our lives this year and you have worked so hard to avoid it. But I think maybe because you’ve work so hard to avoid it, your brain is now assuming much more severe consequences than are likely. In all probability you will feel rubbish for a while, and then get better without getting poorly enough for serious concern (though I see that even the very tiny amount of uncertainty there is not reassuring). Do you have or can you borrow / get hold of a sats monitor to keep your mind at rest? Very best wishes and hope you feel better soon.

@orpah That's exactly how it feels. I know the stats are in my favour really but it's the what ifs and the scary cases we have seen reported and as I say, a close friend lost two family members recently and we lost a family friend last year.

@LittleBearPad DH has ordered an oximeter and it should be here tomorrow. I'm looking pink and good nail/lip colour - no blue tinge etc so I'm fairly certain that my oxygen sats are okay now but I think I am only on Day 2 of being fully symptomatic.

From Friday through to Sunday I felt fine but did notice that had an episode of breathlessness/dizziness on each of those days when I was doing a workout. I put it down to hormones but I now wonder if it was the early signs? DS started coughing on Friday but he was also really bunged up with cold so I tried to be chill and think it was just a seasonal thing - particularly as his lateral flow had been negative 2 days before.

I had a blinding headache, fever, aching, absolute exhaustion, couldn't walk up the stairs at home without feeling breathless, then the coughing started, the worst of it lasted a week, felt pretty bad (flu-like) and very tired for about a fortnight and lost my sense of taste and smell for a few weeks. I was sleeping longer at night for a while after but felt pretty back to normal. I was back jogging after about a month and out for long walks after 2/3 weeks. DH was wiped out for a week then fine, no loss of senses either. DS was hospitalised but only because we couldn't manage his fever with calpol and he was only 16 months, he was ill for about a week but only in hospital over night. This was last year, we're all fine now. DH and I both work in keyworker roles with a demographic who have high rates of Covid and limited adherence to guidance, so the viral load was probably fairly significant. I know a few colleagues who've had it and some only had mild cold symptoms, some were only detected because of work testing and had no symptoms at all.

Do you take vitamin d? If not, start taking a fairly high dose of it and some vitamin c. There’s some info on YouTube about it.
Dr John Campbell talks about the importance of vitamin d and the dose he recommends. Both Vit d and c are essential for good immune system function.
Get an oximeter so you can monitor your oxygen levels as well as heart rate and inform gp of any drastic changes and it’s reassuring when everything is ticking along.
I know lots of people who’ve had it, all with varying symptoms, including me and my family. We’re all fine now.

They could have been. Good news re the oximeter I did find mine a comforting sense check - I got quite attached to it! DH who was less worried than me had to put up with me randomly testing him every so often. 😁

Try not to worry it will be ok, in the meantime try to find a box set, drink lots of fluid and don’t rush round doing too much. Also don’t worry if you feel better and then worse a few times. I felt better a few times then worse which was very frustrating!

@unvillage Thank you. I think I'm in shock really. I couldn't stop shaking when I read the email. I'm finding it hard to comprehend. The hardest thing emotionally is not being able to have a hug or close support from anyone. DH is being brilliant with making sure I have what I need and of course the chances are he already has it too but we don't want to risk it so are remaining in different rooms for now. My poor DS is coping fine - thankfully just feeling like he has a cold - but I want to hug him too. I think he feels guilty even though I have reassured him that he's not to blame.

@CimCardashian Glad to hear your sister is doing well now. It's exactly what I need to hear.

The anticipation of whether this is going to get worse is what fills me with utter dread. With your help now, I'm sat here working on trying to keep myself present & grounded: What are my symptoms right now? How do I feel physically & emotionally? And trying not to think about tomorrow or the days ahead. Thank you.

My father is almost 60 and has been a heavy smoker all his life, he did the best out of all of us with covid.
Painkillers, fluid and rest.
You're going to be fine

I know loads of people who have had the virus. Weirdly the least affected was FIL at 92! The others have felt unwell to varying degrees but none hospitalised. Friend with asthma gets a terrible chest even with a cold and she act got through it within a week or so of feeling rough but not awful.

My poor DF did not survive it but was already terminally sick with cancer and severe dementia so it was a blessing other than not being able to be with him.

Try not to panic, get yourself comfortable with paracetamol, fluids and whatever you fancy to eat. Sleep, watch silly nonsense on TV and get well soon.