UKC

I'm surprised we've not had this thread already tbh... 

Who's had corona virus? How was it? Have you had any further related illness? When did you have it and were you tested?

I don't think I've had it, but I did have a really nasty winter cold which started mid January and lasted 8 weeks. I've spoken to people who had a similar cold that think it was corona, but it was different symptoms and too early I think to have been it. 

A friend thinks he and his family did have had it though as they had all the symptoms and it was during the early peak of infection and since then he's become asthmatic and reliant on inhalers. 

The nearest death from it was the husband of one of my old school teachers who lived 200m from my front door and that definitely made the pandemic feel more real.

So, what's been your experience with 'it'? 

In reply to Baron Weasel:

One of my customers died quite early on, but he was a heavy smoker in his 60s who was wheezing long before CV-19.

Er ... that's it. And my daughter has been working for Test and Trace for 6 weeks, she and the other other 15 people on her team have contacted - not a single person. 

In reply to Baron Weasel:

Our family of 3 all had it it in succession weeks ago in April. Temperature swings, throaty issues, a bit of dry coughing, loss of taste / smell, lowered appetite, loss of energy. And bizarre headaches. Personally I've had all of these in bouts of flu - other years.

But I did take measures to fight it - strict diet control (no sugar/alcohol) and a lot of raw food.

No lab tests but 8 in our village of 250 had it - tested

In reply to LeeWood:

Glad to hear it wasn't too bad for you. Are your family fully recovered with no lingering effects? 

I work in hospitality in pembrokshire and we have had very few cases in the county so far, but I am aware I am going to be more at risk of catching it as we open up this weekend.

In reply to Baron Weasel:

I kind of freaked out when a mates dad died from it and was only the 3rd death in Scotland at the time (March). We are just a village and when it came out the blue like that it really shook me. 

Tragic one was I met one of my old pals ex wife in a shop about a couple of months before lockdown. We havent seen each other in ages and we were all part of a group in our early years. She was telling me how she had met someone and was engaged to be married. Awful thing was he died from it 6 weeks after the wedding and she ended up fighting for her life in hospital. She survived but in a poor state in the head obviously.

In reply to Baron Weasel:

I had an antibody test which was negative. The NHS Trust I work in has tested a lot of staff (about 1200 last count) and its between 4% and 5% for positive antibody tests!

In reply to Baron Weasel:

I know a chap in his late 60’s who had it in March (confirmed case) He said it wasn’t to bad. I know of an 85 year old lady who tested positive Following a hospital release but had no symptoms. I also know a few others in their late 30’s and early. 40’s who have had it in late May/June, again confirmed via test and they were all ok after a day or so of feeling a bit rough. 

In reply to Baron Weasel:

I had an awful flu like thing in January that lasted weeks...but it was snotty so not Covid

At the beginning of march a load of us at work were told to isolate after a few senior managers displayed symptoms including my boss... so I started lockdown early around 7th march iirc.  However I've had no symptoms other than a few moments where in truth i was a bit paranoid about it and probably imagined a bit of a temperature (it was never actually high). However one of my colleagues (mum of my Godson) live in the next village, and first she went down with it, then her husband, and my godson, she was in bed for days as was her husband, Leo was barely ill. Fortunately the up and down nature of it meant that mum and dad were never bedridden on the same days, but over the period of about 2 weeks only one was well enough for parenting duties, and therefore I was on standby to go and help with Leo (and inevitably get "it") Fortunately it didn't come to that, and they are all now recovered. Mum thinks her asthma is worse and is definitely using inhalers more. Dad thinks he's back to normal.

Both parents have had an antibody test in June.... one positive, one negative, but they definitely both had the same thing.

In reply to Baron Weasel:

Convinced I had it in December (photofit symptoms). About 40% of my colleagues have tested positive, but I tested negative for antibodies. Saying that, I know three people who tested positive for CV19 and negative for antibodies 🤷‍♂️

In reply to Baron Weasel:

My brother: 4 months ago, still suffering chronic issues

Colleague 1 + his wife and twin sons, 4 months ago, he's still suffering chronic issues

Colleague 2 + his friend, 4 months ago, as far as I know he is recovered but his friend still suffering I think

Colleague 3 + his partner, 2 months ago, building back up to full fitness but not there yet. His mum and his step dad both died of it. Really sad. He thinks they all caught it as his mum and stepdad relied on daily visits from carers who at the time had a "mixed" attitude to PPE.

So, 11 people, 2 dead, 5 still suffering some effects, 2 of which have been going on for 4 months now.

In reply to Baron Weasel:

Remember that we might all have had it - we just didn't notice as it's usually harmless...

https://news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-up-to-80-of-covid-19-patients-have-n...

In reply to Baron Weasel:

I know 3 people directly who had it, all in their late 50's to early 60's 2 back at work after 2 to 3 weeks (one with lots of underlying health problems) and one who is out of hospital but still nowhere near fit after 2 months. 

The father in law of a guy I was working with yesterday had it and was on a ventilator for 4 weeks, he survived but died a few weeks later of complications from the initial infection. 

I also know quite a few people who claim to have had it buy they are the usual suspects who wanted a week or so off work before the lockdown started. 

We all had something at work over the first 2 weeks in January and some of the people are convinced that we all had it but I doubt it, the symptoms fit but it was no worse than man flu. 

In reply to Baron Weasel:

One of my partners relations had it early on. Just about getting over it.

Two former colleagues, nurses, have had it. One ended up on CPAP in the hospital they work at. The other collapsed at home and was found in the bathroom unresponsive  inthe early hours by their daughter. Both are black. Neither back at work yet.

In reply to Baron Weasel:

My grandparents had it. Both mid 80s, each in multiple high risk categories (weight, cancer, immunosuppressant drugs, diabetes) blue lighted to hospital and put on oxygen (not intubated though). Covid confirmed by test.

Nice nurse facilitated a FaceTime call with my grandfather, which at the time I very much thought was a goodbye, but they both recovered and we’re discharged and are now absolutely fine at home, probably better than they were before.

In reply to Baron Weasel:

Sadly my mates dad died, but don't know anyone who has tested positive.

In reply to Baron Weasel:

We all had it in mid March. No test sadly as they wouldn’t let us have one. Doctors confirmed v likely we had it via phone calls. Symptoms: Short spell of fever, hellish chills, low appetite and complete loss of sense of smell and taste for 10days. That was the weirdest bit for me. I couldn’t even smell dettol or smoke. 
After affects: I’m fine but a few kg lighter, wife has lingering issues. Child was a bit hot one day. 
Heard of very few others who have had it but of those that have, 3 are dead. All white males, ages 30’s, 50’s and 70’s. 

In reply to Baron Weasel:

Mid feb I had something odd. Taste completely went over 12 hrs and had what I thought was a cold. It stopped me cycling for about 5 days then I perked up but was wheezy on the bike for a week maybe. Alot of my colleagues also were rough. Alot of our customers go skiing. I suspect it got to my place of work from one of the customers who come back from skiing.

The loss of taste was strange. At the time I though....great another fng cold. Didn't stay off work. Wasnt pyrexic.

Dont know anyone who's been really I'll with it.

In reply to LeeWood:

How is raw food anything to do with it ? Really?? 
 

Personally, plenty of colleagues have thankfully come through ITU  . Bit scary  

Al

In reply to Baron Weasel:

I had it mid-March. Confirmed on swab and I'm antibody positive 4 months later despite having a very mild illness. Slight dry cough for 5 days, mild congestion/runny nose. No fever and not really feeling unwell at all.  Only odd things were brief odd sense of smell disturbance on day 6 and then the cough coming back on day 8 for a few days.

In reply to Baron Weasel:

My landlord with whom I lived possibly had it. He was ill and feverish back in early may, coughing heavily for weeks, took a long time to get over it. Another housemate also had symptoms including loss of taste. My landlord sadly died of a heart attack last month A long-term complication? It's impossible to know.

In reply to Baron Weasel:

Wife had it, slightly ill in early March, then 2-3 weeks later much worse (which we now think was cytokene storm from immune response). Subsequent antibody test positive. Still not fully recovered, post viral which isn't surprising because her immune system is abnormal ever since she had CFS/ME for 18 years until 2006.

Son has had it but only symptom was covid toes (he came back from northern Italy in early March, we made him isolate in Airbnb before coming home, ironically wife was probably more infectious at the time but her symptoms weren't in the incomplete list at that time so we assumed she'd got something else!) but at the time he (and Dr friend) thought it was some kind of chilblains. About a month later Dr friend found out about covid toes.

I may have had it, I had slight temperature for a few days in mid March but not enough to stop me working from home with paracetamol.

I know directly 4 people who died, one friend who'd years ago had a severe respiratory illness, a cousin of wife's - about 80 but in good health, they were on holiday and came back to UK because of pandemic to ironically then get it and die, 2 others who I knew "to say hello to", one of whom's only symptom was to collapse a couple of times (low blood pressure) - dead 24 hours later.

Several deaths in mum in law's old folks home but also lots of residents and staff getting it and surviving.

Also know of many other deaths in Manchester Jewish community which was badly hit by CV. There was a joyous festival in early March with lots of social contact and it's almost certain that this spread lots of infection before a lot of people realised the seriousness of the situation.

But on a good finishing note, another friend was in ICU for 11 weeks but is now back home slowly recovering. He did loads of volunteering at a local hospital so must have early on gotten a high viral load.

Think that's all, hopefully we can avoid 2nd peak.

In reply to Baron Weasel: I know a variety of people who've had it.. most bought it back early from Skiing holidys in Italy Australia.  One (mle,40's) got a few weeks on a ventilator.

I had a dose of something shortly after but I think it was flu.  

In reply to mountain.martin:

As for poster SFM - I am a few kg lighter - but unsure whether this comes from the virus transit, the lockdown or accelerated ageing

In reply to Allovesclimbin:

Standard procedure to help immune resistance; fasting also

In reply to Trevers:

Next door neighbour was almost certainly an indirect conseqence of CV. He died of a heart attack 2 weeks ago. Had very recently had an angiogram which showed a blockage but (presumably) not considered immediately urgent since was having to isolate for 2 weeks before going in for op.

That's one medical judgement that didn't work out 😞

In reply to Baron Weasel:

For those people who have had Covid and are suffering long term symptoms, it is worth looking up Paul Garner, a Professor of infectious diseases,  who has had Covid. There is also a very useful support group on Facebook called 'Covid UK long haulers'. There are many, many people who are reporting symptoms very much like chronic fatigue and ME. There also appears to be a lot of false negatives in the testing. 

In reply to Baron Weasel:

don't know about COVID but the long illness with some symptoms I'd not had before from a chest infection I had in December through to February has left me with what seem like permanent chest problems and a cough and a loss of strength plus a general feeling of fatigue a lot of the time 

If it was just flu that did this then the age for vaccination should come down

In reply to Baron Weasel:

I know two people who've been tested.. one is an A&E doctor with mild symptoms, the other with no symptoms but had been in proximity to a friend who tested positive.. both came back negative. 

That's it! 

In reply to LeeWood:

Sounds like quackery to me, is there any evidence out there to support this raw vs cooked food??

In reply to wercat:

You can pay to get a flu vaccine at local pharmacies, regardless of age. See, for example: https://www.boots.com/health-pharmacy-advice/vaccinations/flujab?affwin&...

In reply to Baron Weasel:

 I’ve had it (and the rest of the family) as has my girlfriend's family - both households have had at least one positive test. Below is a breakdown of symptoms:

Male (60s) - Cough for three days, no other symptoms.

Female (50s, NHS worker, positive antibody test) - High temperature for 2 weeks, aches, loss of taste and smell, and a bad headache.

Male (late 20s, me) - Headache, aches, tiredness.

Male (late 20s) - Brain fog, tiredness.

Male (early 20s) - Shingle like rash, no other symptoms.

Male (60s) - No symptoms.

Female (60s, NHS worker, positive swab test) - cough, loss of taste and smell, and a high temperature.

Female (late 20s) - Brain fog, tiredness and aches.

Male (early 20s) - Tiredness. No other symptoms.

No one had underlying health conditions. No ones symptoms were especially bad. I wouldn’t have guessed I had it unless my mother hadn’t tested positive and we hadn’t shared some symptoms.

No one has any residual symptoms now. 

In reply to LeeWood:

Errrrr, that'll be the fasting, yes?!?!

In reply to Baron Weasel:

My partner had it around about a week before lockdown. We weren’t sure at first as she never developed a cough or much of a fever, but it had her unable to walk more than the length of our flat for around a month due to breathing difficulties. It appeared to start getting  better after a week or so, but she seemed to get hit by a second wave, and was out of action for most of April.

Since then she’s gradually regained some fitness by doing a lot of cycling, but is still struggling with odd breathing and tiredness. We started walking in the hills again a fortnight ago, which seemed to trigger a new wave of fatigue and breathing issues. I think that’s just due to upping the exertion though - maybe she aimed a bit too high for her first couple of outings rather than building up gradually as we did with the cycling.

We aren’t sure if the damage is permanent, but the problems are far more wide-ranging than the just the initial illness. She’s in her early 30s and previously fit and healthy too, with no previous medical conditions.

I know of a couple of work colleagues who suspect they have had it, but it only seemed to hit them for a week or so, with no lasting effects.

In reply to Baron Weasel:

I've had it, furloughed Wednesday the week before Easter and by Good Friday I was semi-conscious and bed-ridden with a fever and a cough for a couple of days. Recovered slowly over the next fortnight but when I ventured out of the house again I couldn't walk more than about 20 yards without stopping for a breather. Still feeling weak and wheezy even now but I can walk around mile given about an hour or so and nothing to do for a few hours afterwards. Probably going to lose my job as I have to go back to work next week but the buses are not running yet, no way I can do a seven mile round trip on foot with a nine hour shift in between. Lost all family older than me, my dad died just before and covid has claimed all my aunts and uncles, most of them were in care homes or sheltered accommodation. Situation is pretty much a brown alert at the moment.

Anyway now that whinge is off my chest I'm going to make a fresh pot of tea and paint an Norwich City Subbuteo team to take my mind off it all.

In reply to Baron Weasel:

I was convinced I had it back in March. Of course, at the time you had to be in a really bad way to even get considered for testing. I had a strange dry cough, headache, and tiredness for three weeks. My wife had the same plus high fever for a few days. We were just told to stay at home.

I have since had a negative antibody test. I live in a region of Spain that was hit particularly hard early on, and a lot of people are like that. Everyone thinks they have had it but very few actually got positive tests, so not very sure about the antibody testing that is going on.

In reply to Taylor's Landlord:

Not necessarily. A guy from my sports club had PCR confirmed covid. He had high fever for a few days, violent diarrhea for a couple of days, loss of smell and taste for 2 weeks. Even without fasting he lost about 10% of his body weight, even if his body fat levels three months after the infection are the same as before.

CB

In reply to Baron Weasel:

Had it, end of March, tested as work in the NHS. 51, healthy, having it was easy, slight cough, temperatures and loss of taste and smell. I was not prepared for the tiredness afterwards though and has significantly affected my climbing ability. Not sent 7A since and was doing fairly regularly before. Also I could not even look at the wall in my garage during lockdown, just fell asleep instead.

Now back on my wall and back trying if not succeeding on 7as, I feel my energy runs out super quick but getting back there!

In reply to Stichtplate:

One of my wife’s cousins has had two antibody tests. One positive  and one negative.

weve known nobody locally. My wife’s aunt and uncle live close and he works in Boston and his work was hit bad. His boss, 48 year old fit guy almost died, he was on a ventilator and ECMO for weeks.

A local police chief died but he had an allergic reaction to the remdesivir.

snd then a guy I run with a lot his Dad got it but he’s in a home which had an outbreak. He survived miraculously. However one of his work colleagues lost his parents and sister.

In reply to Baron Weasel:

I think I had it March a week or so before the lockdown. Girlfriend had it at same time and was bed bound for a week with very bad leg pains, fever etc. Son had a very high temperature for one night but was fine in the morning. I had mild symptoms:

Rapidly fluctuating temperature (checked with thermometer) it didn't go over 37.6 though. 

Reacted very badly to one beer. Was sweating and feeling terrible all night

Had fatigue and strange low moods in the early evenings for weeks afterwards

I think the stated 5-10% of the population who have had it is not right. I believe it's around 15-25% of the population. It seems you can have it but produce a t cell response and not produce antibodies leading to false negatives; I think the 5-10% is based on antibody tests

If the overall death rate is 0.5% (probably lower) and the number of deaths is around 50,000 (NHS figure is 45,000 excess deaths 65,000) that's around 10 million people about 15% of the population.

I suppose as it has effected care homes and the death rate among those groups could be much higher that could skew the results a bit.

In reply to Baron Weasel:

I had it back in March. Tested positive.

I work on an ITU an I think I caught it from a patient who hadn't been screened.

It wasn't nice but like most people it was just a bit fluey with a bad cough and fever.

Stay safe.

In reply to Roadrunner6:

Was he at Glenfield in Leicester?

We do ECMO on the ITU

In reply to LeeWood:

If you haven't had it confirmed by a test you don't know if you've had it.

In reply to tom r:

I think you’re probably right - more people have had it than we currently think, mostly due to false negatives on antibody tests.

The media has created a myth that catching covid is practically a death sentence or that you’ll suffer horribly afterwards, which leads people to believe they don’t have it if their symptoms are relatively mild.

The fact remains that for the vast majority of people the symptoms are mild, very mild or nonexistent.

In reply to Toerag:

But you can be fairly sure if one in a household has had it confirmed and others in that household have similar symptoms.

In reply to Toerag:

Thats right and ditto for SFM

AND ditto for all those cases registered covid-19 deaths never subject to lab test or post mortem - remember ?! covid-19 deaths deregulated in Coronavirus Act 2020

In reply to lee birtwistle:

We’re in Massachusetts, USA. Typically we don’t use ECMO long term but I think he was young enough to throw the kitchen sink at. Had it been later and the hospitals were crammed Im not sure he’d have made it.

hell make a full recovery but needs lots of rehab to get back to full health.

there must be a genetic component to it because we’re seeing some people hardly affected, even people in their 80s and 90s, and others hit hard.