UKC

Anyone else positive at the moment? I'm day 5 of being ill but only tested positive earlier today.....feels like old school COVID, proper rough and no taste or smell! It's being doing the rounds at work again lately....a couple of the wards have been rife with it...at least it's sunny though and I'm sat in the garden rather than being in work!

I just got over it. First time I've (knowingly) had it so can't compare, but it wasn't fun. There I was thinking I was innately immune...

had a cold last week, then developed an odd metallic taste at the weekend after feeling a bit better and tested pos for covid yesterday.  I've dodged it so far.

lucky to not feel too bad just a bit peaky...

Anyone have that really achy cold going round? The type where you can feel your whole nervous system twinging. Tested negative, so must be something new and exotic

Most folk are no longer testing,  is it a condition of your job that you still do?

Maybe it is for the OP I don't know. But perhaps, like me, some people still have a few tests lying around in the cupboard. I do, so whenever I have Covid-like symptoms and I'm due to go anywhere near anyone vulnerable (e.g. aging parents), I'll probably use them. I've knowingly had Covid once and it was ok for me, but it's also killed 4 people I know of and long Covid has struck down a few more, so if I can avoid passing it around with barely any effort on my part, I will.

I test every week. I see my dad most weeks who is 79 and had a heart op in February and due a hip op next month.

My father-in-law was hospitalised for a couple of weeks with covid recently. He is only in his late 60s, but have various complicated underlying medical conditions. So we will be continuing to test if it seems necessary as it is simple to do and keeps people like him safer. 

Another wilth tests in the house. If ill, in the event of testing positive I can avoid my elderly folks. At 5 for a 10er it's hardly a chore now and again

That was how I felt since last Friday....I tested negative on Monday but positive yesterday....may be worth repeating the test.

No not any more. We can test patients at work and staff if there is suspicion but it's been quite prevalent of late and there has been  a high incidence on some wards.

I rarely go on to the wards but had to earlier last week hence the likely transmission...

Shouldn’t that be Peaksy?

I have a pretty rough cold, it will be 2 weeks on Saturday. Tested negative but then I did when I definitely had covid (confirmed with PCR) so I don't trust the tests. 

It's been right good fun, still struggling with long covid and now a 2 week cold and it's far too bloody hot as well. 

I'm still testing before seeing my elderly mum or elderly FIL as neither have had COVID-19. Figured since I've still got the tests I may as well take them before I see them.  

Yeah I had Covid 3-4 weeks ago too, it's been doing the rounds in work. It's also the first time I've knowingly had it. It was like a fairly mild flu, in bed for two days, then rough for a couple more days, then fine. Completely lost my smell and taste once I felt better, and took another week or so for both of those to come back. 

I just seem to have a constant cycle of rubbish colds at the moment. 

Starts off with feeling thick and cloggy at the back of my nose and throat and then gradually spreads down to my chest and lungs.  Lasts about a week, sleep is rubbish as I need to cough to clear my lungs and breath every 15 minutes, feel generally weak and cack, then it clears up.  

Then a month later, the same.  Rinse and repeat.

Hardly life and death, but bored of my lungs feeling shredded from the constant coughing and really missing a night of unbroken sleep

I'm pretty sure I had my second dose of it about a month ago. Four nasal-only LFDs over five days were all negative, but it felt very, very much like the first time I had covid in March 2022. The tests were from the stash I built-up last year and not due to expire until the end of this year. So either they lose sensitivity with age, or they're ineffective at detecting some current strains, or maybe I just had a very bad cold. I've had a frequent cough over the weeks since, and its only in the last few days that it has started to tail-off.

Anecdotally theres a lot of it going around here in Manchester.

Our son and partner have had COVID in the last couple of weeks and today our daughter, who lives with us, tested positive yesterday.

Dave

The statistics of testing are complicated beyond my understanding, but here's an authoritative summary: 

https://www.evidentlycochrane.net/rapid-point-of-care-tests-for-diagnosing-...

For people with Covid symptoms and a positive PCR test, a lateral flow test will give a positive result for about 50 to 80 percent of people.  

For people with Covid symptoms and a negative PCR test, a lateral flow test will give a negative result for about 99% of people.

Actually I find that second finding quite reassuring. If I'm feeling a bit below par, it makes sense to do a test before visiting my aged Mum.

Hope this helps.

I’ve just had it for the third time. This latest bout has absolutely been the worst yet. Was in my bed 24/7 for 4 weeks when it first landed. Finally tested positive with a lateral flow after 2 weeks of negatives. I’ve had all my vaccines.

I’ve now been off work for 11 weeks with post / long covid symptoms and feel absolutely awful even still . Extreme fatigue, brain fog, swollen glands, reflux and a tight chest are the symptoms. The best I’ve had is 2-3 days where i feel decent but then back to a week of misery after any sort of minor exertion. Really starting to effect me mentally as it takes away your life completely. 

Rest, rest, rest. Look up pacing and spoons theory or anything with regards ME. Be kind to yourself, pushing through is not helpful and many blame it on why they went on to develop long covid.

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAgQ3ZKemZXGNRr_ChwsO07fjxZbcoEWq

Really good resource on understanding fatigue, pacing and the importance of convalescence 

If you still have symptoms after 12 weeks get your GP to run tests to exclude other potential causes and diagnose Long Covid (post covid syndrome).

Thanks so much for this - I’ve had a brief look through some of your recommendations and they’re very useful.

Testing wise - they have already done blood tests for a variety of things which were all clear. Is that what you mean? It’s frustrating, you can see the GP is trying to help but they don’t really have much to offer. 

I signed up for a long covid clinic and waited a year to be told what I'd basically worked out myself. Jenny is right. No amount of pushing through will help, probably the reverse. It's just over two years for me and my advice is to find your level and try and stay around it. I'm lucky in that I can walk up a hill on a good day. Last month I climbed three hills over 2,000 feet high during a week in Scotland. I felt OK at the time but it was over a fortnight before I stopped feeling washed out. Hopefully, time will heal us all. When they announce the new treatments I hope to be in the very long queue. Try to not let it get you down. I find I stop and observe the world more rather than hare around.

Yes not much doctors can do and there still isn't a test specifically for LC. Sounds like they are already looking after you by running blood tests regarding other obvious causes like thyroid.

Long covid clinics are very limited help. The advice from Lankyman to find your level and start there pretty much mirrors what the ME clinic has told me. Don't push, just try and find your bodies limit and stick with that, any increase should be tiny (5%) and only after you have stabilised and can consistently operate at that baseline for several weeks.

Also please look after your mental health. Long Covid is 100% physical, but chronic illness takes a huge health on our emotional well-being.

Lots of Facebook support groups (as with anything you need to pick through the bad information) who can offer help and support. Also several books specifically on long covid now available, join your local library and borrow for free.

Edit - today is not a good day. Hubby has gone climbing with friends and despite the weather I've decided even just the short walk to sit at the base of the crag would be too much so have gone back to bed instead. January '21 and I'm finally learning to listen to my body and rest when it needs me to.

I felt like a weird cold the other week, found an old test and was positive . I didn't isolate as I didn't bother 2 years ago either. 

Fingers crossed you haven't passed it on to someone vulnerable then!

Hope you can get over it mate and back to health...!

Best wishes for your recovery...!

Not just vulnerable, plenty of previously fit and healthy people now effectively disabled thanks to long covid - at least three of whom have commented on this thread.

Even though quarantining is no longer a legal requirement, I do feel that it's your moral duty to make a reasonable effort to avoid spreading it if you have (or suspect) a positive covid infection.