Testing negative but DH is positive and I have the same illness

[MySharonavirus]

Namechanged for this as it is a giveaway for those who know me.

DS2 (age 2) had a fever of 39 two weeks ago. We took him for a PCR immediately. Admittedly the swab was not up his nose for long enough as he fought it. Result was negative. DS was really off for the next five days - very tired, very cuddly, very snotty.

About six or seven days after DS had his fever, DH I both came down with what we thought were colds. Runny nose, sore throat. We carried on for a day or two but over the weekend we both went down like stones, ended up taking it in turns to go to bed and sleep. DH does sometimes do this when he is ill but I never do. Both of us felt just terrible.

On Monday I did a LFT and it was negative. Then that evening I developed a cough and DH had a temperature of 38.2. We booked PCRs for the next day. The morning of the PCRs we both realised we had lost our sense of taste - although DH thought this might have started for him the day before.

Results came back Weds. DH positive. I was negative. I took another LFT and this was negative. DH took one too out of interest and his was also negative!

I had a repeat PCR that day which also came back negative. I got a temperature of 37.9 that evening, a temp of 38 on Thursday, and I've just checked now and I'm 38 again. We both still feel terrible and are in and out of bed napping.

I am so frustrated because I feel certain that DH and I have the same thing, and if I have had Covid I want to know!

Wondering if anyone has any similar experiences. Is it worth continuing to take lateral flows or will they not show up this late into the infection? I did one just now and it was negative, but it touched my tongue when I gagged.

Not to drip feed, I also think I've been rather skimpy on the tonsils swabs and done them quite high as I was trying to avoid gagging and ruining the sample with my tongue, so wonder whether my swabbing might not have got a good sample.

So frustrated! I just want to know!

Interestingly, you are not the first I've heard say this. I have a couple of friends where their entire households have come down with the same symptoms yet only one has tested positive for covid. I'm not sure why it happens but it is definitely odd considering everyone has the same symptoms (suggesting it's the same illness plus covid symptoms - cough, temperature).

@stayingaliveisawayoflife yes I'm pretty sure I have sinusitis
Hell

@Horehound get a pcr test just in case. When I phoned my Doctor they said if I hadn't had one I would have to get one before antibiotics which could have delayed treatment. It's been a full week of pain, snot and not being able to smell anything!

I saw a panorama programme about the lab processing so I'm not sure they are very reliable.

Totally sounds like you've got Covid to me. Keep doing a PCR every day or two if you want to. I was also told by T&T when I had it that the isolation period is extended if you still have symptoms at the end other than fatigue.

And in a few weeks you can do the antibody test to find out if you’ve had it….if you have been a user of the Zoe app, you can enrol and you might be offered a test to do at home. I’ve done it recently and I got the message that they send me the kit not even 2 days later…

@Horehound - I've had exactly the same sounding thing as you, there's been Ghostbusters style snot going on. Also had no sense of taste. I have two negative PCRs and a 2 negative LFTs. It's been two weeks now and at the weekend I was convinced it had turned into sinusitis but it's basically going away on its own, nose is much clearer, chesty cough almost gone, sense of taste has come back.

Yep we had the same thing back in Feb. Ds(16) got it first (confirmed with PCR). His only symptom was loss of smell/taste. Then I got it 10 days later. DH got it about a week later and was the most ill out of everyone but every single PCR test came back negative. I even took him to A&E at about day 8 for him as he was so ill and his SATs were 75% and they 3 tests they did there were negative. It couldn’t have been anything other than Covid.

Oh and DS2 (who is 10) never got it at all which is even more random!

Dh got symptoms on the Sunday, got a positive LFT same day and a positive PCR the following day. I got the exact same symptoms on Thursday but was still testing negative on LFT. Friday my symptoms were much worse and that's when my LFT showed positive.
Sounds to me like you have covid and you're not swabbing thoroughly enough.

Same thing happened to me last year. My partner tested positive and I tested negative twice on PCR tests but had all the same symptoms. It still annoys me that I’ll never know for certain.

@stayingaliveisawayoflife yeh I did do a PCR which came back negative, as did the lateral flows. It's so crap, isn't it?!

@Snorkelface yes to the Ghostbusters style snot. It's thick and sticky! I called Dr last Friday and they just said I'm doing the right things (nasal rinses etc). Can't use decongestant as I'm pregnant. I thought over the weekend I'd call back on Monday to ask for antibiotics but when Monday came I thought I was getting better. Now it's Friday again and I'm still doing rinses and still have a hell of a lot of snot. And can't taste or smell stuff but It does feel like it is sloowwlllyyy getting better. I had the vaccine on the Sunday the same time i felt Ill and I think it's not helped the recovery time, my immune system is already lowered and that was an additional thing to add to the mix.
Hopefully I will follow your path then. I'm glad your feeling better.

You shouldn't use LFTs if you have any symptoms!!

Get a PCR instead.

If it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, but a test that’s got a one in three failure rate tells you it’s a wallaby, then I’d say it’s a duck. You’ve got Covid.

Well - there is 4 options here I think:-

1. Your husband had a false positive and you both have the same non Covid illness that happens to have Covid symptoms

1. You two have two different illnesses with the same (Covidy) symptoms

1. You both have a non Covid illness (with Covid symptoms) and your dh also simultaneously has unsymptomatic Covid

1. Your negative was false.

My opinion - well - let’s just say I am not going to stand within 2 metres of you!

I think @Mumoftwoinprimary has summed things up very well there!
OP, if you feel so inclined you could pay for a Covid antibody test once you've recovered. Hope you feel better soon!

@WeRTheOnesWeHaveBeenWaitingFor That's what really got me - I've never lost my taste before either! Seems way too much of a coincidence combined with my husband's positive.

@Choconuttolata I haven't been rotating the swab on my tonsils, no, just brushing it across (while desperately trying not to gag and touch it with my tongue by mistake!) And I was only doing one nostril, not two. I have improved my swabbing technique now with your tips and had a go with an LFT last night - wish I'd done this with the PCRs! Hey ho.

@stayingaliveisawayoflife Agreed, and had my husband not tested positive I would have just thought this was a non-Covid illness with Covid symptoms.

@EllaPaella That's interesting; I had read that about negative results on hospital admissions when I was looking up false negative rates. It's surprised me - I hadn't realised it was so common.

@NichyNoo you must have had it then!

@KurtWilde hopefully if she's already had Covid then this is something else.

@RavenclawsRoar How interesting - it does seem to be fairly common, from the replies I've had on here as well as anecdotes from friends. I think it's a combo of the PCRs not being infallible, and people's swabbing techniques being dodgy.

@Cherin I will look into that, thanks. Although I've already had one vaccine so wouldn't that confuse the antibodies results?

@ihearttc whoa! Hope your DH is okay now?

@AprilAzpilicueta Yes and I also think I may have taken my PCR too late into the infection.

@Horehound hope you feel better soon, that sounds mega grim!

@GolfEchoRomeoTangoIndia That made me laugh!

@Mumoftwoinprimary What a clear way of laying it out, thank you! I'd been thinking through those options in my head but hadn't put them down as clearly. I think 1 is possible but seems a big coincidence with the Covid sympoms. 2 seems really unlikely! 3 is possible, but also seems really random, especially as my DH doesn't come into contact with many people. I also wouldn't come anywhere near me if I were you :D

@LilyPond2 Thank you, I didn't know I could pay for one! Would it show anything clearly given I've already had one vaccine though?

Hope you and your DH are feeling better soon OP

I don’t know exactly- when I filled up the form to enrol the questions included if I had been vaccinated and number of doses, I was expecting therefore to get a test to check for vaccine antibodies. I had instead the kit with the little tube (not the diabetes-style finger prick) which tested for actual virus antibodies (and came back negative). The tests can either look for antibodies caused by vaccine or virus, but not both. Amazing science behind all this, isn’t it?? I’d love to understand it more :-)

Anyway- I hope you’re better! And I would def assume you’ve got covid, but PCR test wasn’t accurate. In the rest of the world a nurse would prod your nose, it’s only in the U.K. that one can do it DIY…I’ve done it in the past looking at myself in the rear mirror of the car, I don’t believe it’s the most comfortable and efficient approach….

@thelastgoldeneagle

You shouldn't use LFTs if you have any symptoms!!

Get a PCR instead.

Did you actually read the OP?

Thanks @KurtWilde

@cherin fascinating! I would also love to understand it more. I've had a little research and you have to wait 1-3 weeks post infection for antibodies to be picked up, so I will see if I can get an antibody test done at the start of August. (Will come back and update the thread!) I'm feeling much better this evening thanks - some energy has returned!

@rainbowunicorn thanks, I was getting a bit tired of repeating myself 😂 But people are meaning well! So I don't mind!