Was the first case really in the Northwest?

[PearlSUJam]

I've posted this on different threads but never really told the entire story because it's a long one. I'm 45 years old and live in NEPA.

On January 14, while at work, I started with a dry cough and came home and bitched because my co-worker coughed days before and didn't cover his mouth. I thought I was coming down with the cold. Wrong.

I woke up the next day with a fever of 101.7 and felt like garbage but it was manageable with Advil and rest. I still had an appetite and figured it was the flu and I'd get through it like I've done every other time I got hit with it. After all, there's nothing the doctors can do with the flu except prescribe Tamiflu and help you feel better.

Four or five days later with the high fever, which went into the weekend, I started to develop a horrible cough and lost my all taste and smell which made eating pointless. I couldn't sleep because laying down would make the cough worse so I was on 2 days of no sleep. The headache was unbearable. 10x worse than a hangover with those Milwaukee's Best Ice 12 packs we used to get at Pennsylvania Pizza late night.

On January 21st, around 4 am, I was struggling to get my breath and went downstairs to tell my wife who was sleeping on the couch. I passed out before I could get to her but the thud of me hitting the floor woke her up. We argued about calling an ambulance and I went outside and got my breath back.

Later that morning, I went to the ER and they did flu swabs up my nose and a CHEST X RAY. The physician's assistant was very nice and she told me I tested negative for the flu but I had pneumonia and a fever. I was sent home with a strong antibiotic and an inhaler. I was hesitant but I'm not a doc.

I didn't sleep an hour that night, and spent most of that day in the bathroom with diarrhea. Our bathroom is on the second floor and I could hardly breathe by the time I reached the top stair all day. I decided it was time to head back to the ER on January 22nd.

In the ER they started pumping me full of fluids because I still had a fever and was dehydrated. The doc sent me for ANOTHER chest x ray and when I got back to my ER room the physicians assistant for the day earlier came in to check on me. She started grilling me on why I was back because "THIS DOESN'T MAKE SENSE". The nurse that was now taking care of me told her that I tested positive for Influenza A1 after labs. This was after a day earlier they did the tests and sent me home.

After a lot of fluids in the ER, I was admitted into a room and at that point I had a hard time getting off of the stretcher and onto the bed. The nurse tried to coach me how to breathe to keep my oxygen level above 90 after he put it on my face. I later learned I had to be above 90 or I'd have to be in ICU.

Another night of no sleep. The fever was still so intense that I had the nurse bring in ice packs to put on my chest and behind my neck.

For the first 4 days, I feared going to the bathroom 6 feet away from my chair to take a piss because I would get out of breath and stand for 3 minutes trying to catch my breath, on oxygen mind you. To drop a deuce on the mini child toilet still with diarrhea, 5 minutes of trying to catch my breath like drowning.

My doc would come daily and let me know what was going on. He admittedly told me judging by my numbers he thought I wouldn't look good. He was very happy by how I was responding. He sent me for another chest x ray telling THEY USUALLY DON'T DO THIS.

So by day 7 of steroids and antibiotics and mucinex and loss of 20 pounds of they thought it would be a good idea to release me from the hospital. My oxygen was 92 sitting still and I felt ok. On the day I was released, my doc had me walk the hallway and my oxygen dropped to 84.

So at that point it was decided I would be sent home with oxygen. THE NURSE ON MY SHIFT SAID SHE'S NEVER SEEN THIS . She said no one my age gets sent home with oxygen. I was just happy to get into my own bed. My insurance doesn't cover oxygen for a 45 year old that doesn't have COPD so I paid out of pocket. Whatever.

In a follow up with my family doc he went over all of my hospital results and said my lactic acid, calcium and potassium were dangerously low, a sign of going septic.

I went back to work in a limited setting 2 weeks later. A follow up chest x ray came back with "unresolved pneumonia". A second follow up came back with the same. My doctor set me up with a appt with a pulmonologist and he asked if I had traveled, etc. He actually said it's very suspicious. I have a video appt with him in a week. He's hesitant to do more testing to put me at risk at a lab. I asked to be tested for antibodies. He said its not available in PA yet. We need this testing.

I truly believe many more people had it than suspected, and we might be able to relax sooner than later.

 

[rudedude]

I've posted this on different threads but never really told the entire story because it's a long one. I'm 45 years old and live in NEPA.

On January 14, while at work, I started with a dry cough and came home and bitched because my co-worker coughed days before and didn't cover his mouth. I thought I was coming down with the cold. Wrong.

I woke up the next day with a fever of 101.7 and felt like garbage but it was manageable with Advil and rest. I still had an appetite and figured it was the flu and I'd get through it like I've done every other time I got hit with it. After all, there's nothing the doctors can do with the flu except prescribe Tamiflu and help you feel better.

Four or five days later with the high fever, which went into the weekend, I started to develop a horrible cough and lost my all taste and smell which made eating pointless. I couldn't sleep because laying down would make the cough worse so I was on 2 days of no sleep. The headache was unbearable. 10x worse than a hangover with those Milwaukee's Best Ice 12 packs we used to get at Pennsylvania Pizza late night.

On January 21st, around 4 am, I was struggling to get my breath and went downstairs to tell my wife who was sleeping on the couch. I passed out before I could get to her but the thud of me hitting the floor woke her up. We argued about calling an ambulance and I went outside and got my breath back.

Later that morning, I went to the ER and they did flu swabs up my nose and a CHEST X RAY. The physician's assistant was very nice and she told me I tested negative for the flu but I had pneumonia and a fever. I was sent home with a strong antibiotic and an inhaler. I was hesitant but I'm not a doc.

I didn't sleep an hour that night, and spent most of that day in the bathroom with diarrhea. Our bathroom is on the second floor and I could hardly breathe by the time I reached the top stair all day. I decided it was time to head back to the ER on January 22nd.

In the ER they started pumping me full of fluids because I still had a fever and was dehydrated. The doc sent me for ANOTHER chest x ray and when I got back to my ER room the physicians assistant for the day earlier came in to check on me. She started grilling me on why I was back because "THIS DOESN'T MAKE SENSE". The nurse that was now taking care of me told her that I tested positive for Influenza A1 after labs. This was after a day earlier they did the tests and sent me home.

After a lot of fluids in the ER, I was admitted into a room and at that point I had a hard time getting off of the stretcher and onto the bed. The nurse tried to coach me how to breathe to keep my oxygen level above 90 after he put it on my face. I later learned I had to be above 90 or I'd have to be in ICU.

Another night of no sleep. The fever was still so intense that I had the nurse bring in ice packs to put on my chest and behind my neck.

For the first 4 days, I feared going to the bathroom 6 feet away from my chair to take a piss because I would get out of breath and stand for 3 minutes trying to catch my breath, on oxygen mind you. To drop a deuce on the mini child toilet still with diarrhea, 5 minutes of trying to catch my breath like drowning.

My doc would come daily and let me know what was going on. He admittedly told me judging by my numbers he thought I wouldn't look good. He was very happy by how I was responding. He sent me for another chest x ray telling THEY USUALLY DON'T DO THIS.

So by day 7 of steroids and antibiotics and mucinex and loss of 20 pounds of they thought it would be a good idea to release me from the hospital. My oxygen was 92 sitting still and I felt ok. On the day I was released, my doc had me walk the hallway and my oxygen dropped to 84.

So at that point it was decided I would be sent home with oxygen. THE NURSE ON MY SHIFT SAID SHE'S NEVER SEEN THIS . She said no one my age gets sent home with oxygen. I was just happy to get into my own bed. My insurance doesn't cover oxygen for a 45 year old that doesn't have COPD so I paid out of pocket. Whatever.

In a follow up with my family doc he went over all of my hospital results and said my lactic acid, calcium and potassium were dangerously low, a sign of going septic.

I went back to work in a limited setting 2 weeks later. A follow up chest x ray came back with "unresolved pneumonia". A second follow up came back with the same. My doctor set me up with a appt with a pulmonologist and he asked if I had traveled, etc. He actually said it's very suspicious. I have a video appt with him in a week. He's hesitant to do more testing to put me at risk at a lab. I asked to be tested for antibodies. He said its not available in PA yet. We need this testing.

I truly believe many more people had it than suspected, and we might be able to relax sooner than later.

Wow! Glad you made it thru this. This is some serious s**t. Yesterday, I was informed by my coworker in the office next to mine, that her mother had passed in the ICU on Long Island. Her mother was intubated for at least two weeks and had some pre-existing conditions that did not bode well for her. Her father was also hospitalized at one point, but was able to go home. Her younger sister and fiancé visiting her parents, both got sick with symptoms similar to yours. My coworker could not be with her mother when she passed, but at least her father and sisters were. She is going to L. I. Friday to see her family and then will self quarantine at home when she gets back. She has two young children at home too. We are both considered essential employees for NYS & have been at work for most of this lockdown with a few days of work from home per week.
I also know of a friend who has been in ICU for a month fighting for his life. It’s a good thing this kind of info gets out to folks because some keep making comparisons to flu stats. This aint no flu. My wife works as a clinician in a local hospital, so I know the craziness of the day to day of interacting and trying to protect oneself from the virus. I want to see us get back to a normal routine, but like my grieving coworker, along with many other families, I don’t want to be careless to how we get thru the pandemic either because we are also tending to elderly relatives who, thankfully, have been ok so far. I’d rather be safe and logical vs planning funerals. Thanks for posting this. Hope we can meet up sometime soon in the future.

 

[liex26]

Very similar situation here. Fever that lasted 3 days, cough that lasted weeks (almost 6 from start to finish).
After the fever I visited the Urgent Care (Now they won't see people) they ran a flu test and another bacterial test.... both negative. Prescribed prednisone and rest. After two weeks, the fever was long gone but the cough was terrible. The wife was worried and wanted me to go to the ER, but I promised I'd make it through the night and call my personal doctor in the morning. She stayed home to make sure I did.
At this point it's phone checkups only btw.
Told her my situation, and she said they could not test for COVID-19 unless I knew I had come into contact with it.
Prescribed Prednisone again, ZPAP, an inhaler and a strong cough syrup with codeine.
Still the cough took weeks to subside, but the inhaler and the cough syrup helped get me through it.
Could it have been something else? Yeah.
I just don't get why we weren't prepared to test people. Still, even today, in Iowa you won't get tested unless you have known contact, or are medical staff.

BTW, I'm sure you've read this already but it's worth repeating:
If you think you've been exposed but show no symptoms quarantine 14 days.
If you get symptoms of cough and fever, quarantine until you are fever free for at least 72 hours.

No cough at all now BTW, but it was the worst cough I have ever had.

 

[psuro]

Just read an online story that a Bay Area Coroner believes the first death happened in early Feb- Feb 9th

On my phone so don’t know how to link. Perhaps someone else can

Good to know the OP got through this.

 

[chiro31]

I think I had a case in my office right after Thanksgiving. A PA that worked at LHV Pocono... In fact when this started she said to me remember how sick I was in early December, I swear I had it. Same for her tested negative for flu and strep

 

[rudedude]

Just read an online story that a Bay Area Coroner believes the first death happened in early Feb- Feb 9th

On my phone so don’t know how to link. Perhaps someone else can

Good to know the OP got through this.

https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/loc...covid-19-bay-area-deaths-to-february/2277106/

 

[Overthereguy]

I've posted this on different threads but never really told the entire story because it's a long one. I'm 45 years old and live in NEPA.

On January 14, while at work, I started with a dry cough and came home and bitched because my co-worker coughed days before and didn't cover his mouth. I thought I was coming down with the cold. Wrong.

I woke up the next day with a fever of 101.7 and felt like garbage but it was manageable with Advil and rest. I still had an appetite and figured it was the flu and I'd get through it like I've done every other time I got hit with it. After all, there's nothing the doctors can do with the flu except prescribe Tamiflu and help you feel better.

Four or five days later with the high fever, which went into the weekend, I started to develop a horrible cough and lost my all taste and smell which made eating pointless. I couldn't sleep because laying down would make the cough worse so I was on 2 days of no sleep. The headache was unbearable. 10x worse than a hangover with those Milwaukee's Best Ice 12 packs we used to get at Pennsylvania Pizza late night.

On January 21st, around 4 am, I was struggling to get my breath and went downstairs to tell my wife who was sleeping on the couch. I passed out before I could get to her but the thud of me hitting the floor woke her up. We argued about calling an ambulance and I went outside and got my breath back.

Later that morning, I went to the ER and they did flu swabs up my nose and a CHEST X RAY. The physician's assistant was very nice and she told me I tested negative for the flu but I had pneumonia and a fever. I was sent home with a strong antibiotic and an inhaler. I was hesitant but I'm not a doc.

I didn't sleep an hour that night, and spent most of that day in the bathroom with diarrhea. Our bathroom is on the second floor and I could hardly breathe by the time I reached the top stair all day. I decided it was time to head back to the ER on January 22nd.

In the ER they started pumping me full of fluids because I still had a fever and was dehydrated. The doc sent me for ANOTHER chest x ray and when I got back to my ER room the physicians assistant for the day earlier came in to check on me. She started grilling me on why I was back because "THIS DOESN'T MAKE SENSE". The nurse that was now taking care of me told her that I tested positive for Influenza A1 after labs. This was after a day earlier they did the tests and sent me home.

After a lot of fluids in the ER, I was admitted into a room and at that point I had a hard time getting off of the stretcher and onto the bed. The nurse tried to coach me how to breathe to keep my oxygen level above 90 after he put it on my face. I later learned I had to be above 90 or I'd have to be in ICU.

Another night of no sleep. The fever was still so intense that I had the nurse bring in ice packs to put on my chest and behind my neck.

For the first 4 days, I feared going to the bathroom 6 feet away from my chair to take a piss because I would get out of breath and stand for 3 minutes trying to catch my breath, on oxygen mind you. To drop a deuce on the mini child toilet still with diarrhea, 5 minutes of trying to catch my breath like drowning.

My doc would come daily and let me know what was going on. He admittedly told me judging by my numbers he thought I wouldn't look good. He was very happy by how I was responding. He sent me for another chest x ray telling THEY USUALLY DON'T DO THIS.

So by day 7 of steroids and antibiotics and mucinex and loss of 20 pounds of they thought it would be a good idea to release me from the hospital. My oxygen was 92 sitting still and I felt ok. On the day I was released, my doc had me walk the hallway and my oxygen dropped to 84.

So at that point it was decided I would be sent home with oxygen. THE NURSE ON MY SHIFT SAID SHE'S NEVER SEEN THIS . She said no one my age gets sent home with oxygen. I was just happy to get into my own bed. My insurance doesn't cover oxygen for a 45 year old that doesn't have COPD so I paid out of pocket. Whatever.

In a follow up with my family doc he went over all of my hospital results and said my lactic acid, calcium and potassium were dangerously low, a sign of going septic.

I went back to work in a limited setting 2 weeks later. A follow up chest x ray came back with "unresolved pneumonia". A second follow up came back with the same. My doctor set me up with a appt with a pulmonologist and he asked if I had traveled, etc. He actually said it's very suspicious. I have a video appt with him in a week. He's hesitant to do more testing to put me at risk at a lab. I asked to be tested for antibodies. He said its not available in PA yet. We need this testing.

I truly believe many more people had it than suspected, and we might be able to relax sooner than later.

You should report this to the CDC. I'm sure they would get you an antibody test if you possibly had the virus prior to the first known case.

 

[rudedude]

Some interesting but concerning information about different strains of this virus. Good luck with developing a potent vaccine for it as well as a treatment that works. It appears to affect people in many different ways and that may be attributed to genetics, personal conditions, as well as the strain a person is infected with. This crap is like The Thing.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/...-COVID-19-two-continents-studies-suggest.html

 

[chiro31]

Some interesting but concerning information about different strains of this virus. Good luck with developing a potent vaccine for it as well as a treatment that works. It appears to affect people in many different ways and that may be attributed to genetics, personal conditions, as well as the strain a person is infected with. This crap is like The Thing.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/...-COVID-19-two-continents-studies-suggest.html

 

[harjeff]

I just don't get why we weren't prepared to test people. Still, even today, in Iowa you won't get tested unless you have known contact, or are medical staff.

From what I have read the early testing and even some today are very inaccurate due to this being a new virus and no one had seen it before and then to make matters worse China hid a lot of early data from the world and really exacerbated the problem.

Like anything testing and treatment will get better over time as more and more folks get it and docs learn treatment protocols, but this takes time to study and develop.

 

[BBrown]

I've posted this on different threads but never really told the entire story because it's a long one. I'm 45 years old and live in NEPA.

On January 14, while at work, I started with a dry cough and came home and bitched because my co-worker coughed days before and didn't cover his mouth. I thought I was coming down with the cold. Wrong.

I woke up the next day with a fever of 101.7 and felt like garbage but it was manageable with Advil and rest. I still had an appetite and figured it was the flu and I'd get through it like I've done every other time I got hit with it. After all, there's nothing the doctors can do with the flu except prescribe Tamiflu and help you feel better.

Four or five days later with the high fever, which went into the weekend, I started to develop a horrible cough and lost my all taste and smell which made eating pointless. I couldn't sleep because laying down would make the cough worse so I was on 2 days of no sleep. The headache was unbearable. 10x worse than a hangover with those Milwaukee's Best Ice 12 packs we used to get at Pennsylvania Pizza late night.

On January 21st, around 4 am, I was struggling to get my breath and went downstairs to tell my wife who was sleeping on the couch. I passed out before I could get to her but the thud of me hitting the floor woke her up. We argued about calling an ambulance and I went outside and got my breath back.

Later that morning, I went to the ER and they did flu swabs up my nose and a CHEST X RAY. The physician's assistant was very nice and she told me I tested negative for the flu but I had pneumonia and a fever. I was sent home with a strong antibiotic and an inhaler. I was hesitant but I'm not a doc.

I didn't sleep an hour that night, and spent most of that day in the bathroom with diarrhea. Our bathroom is on the second floor and I could hardly breathe by the time I reached the top stair all day. I decided it was time to head back to the ER on January 22nd.

In the ER they started pumping me full of fluids because I still had a fever and was dehydrated. The doc sent me for ANOTHER chest x ray and when I got back to my ER room the physicians assistant for the day earlier came in to check on me. She started grilling me on why I was back because "THIS DOESN'T MAKE SENSE". The nurse that was now taking care of me told her that I tested positive for Influenza A1 after labs. This was after a day earlier they did the tests and sent me home.

After a lot of fluids in the ER, I was admitted into a room and at that point I had a hard time getting off of the stretcher and onto the bed. The nurse tried to coach me how to breathe to keep my oxygen level above 90 after he put it on my face. I later learned I had to be above 90 or I'd have to be in ICU.

Another night of no sleep. The fever was still so intense that I had the nurse bring in ice packs to put on my chest and behind my neck.

For the first 4 days, I feared going to the bathroom 6 feet away from my chair to take a piss because I would get out of breath and stand for 3 minutes trying to catch my breath, on oxygen mind you. To drop a deuce on the mini child toilet still with diarrhea, 5 minutes of trying to catch my breath like drowning.

My doc would come daily and let me know what was going on. He admittedly told me judging by my numbers he thought I wouldn't look good. He was very happy by how I was responding. He sent me for another chest x ray telling THEY USUALLY DON'T DO THIS.

So by day 7 of steroids and antibiotics and mucinex and loss of 20 pounds of they thought it would be a good idea to release me from the hospital. My oxygen was 92 sitting still and I felt ok. On the day I was released, my doc had me walk the hallway and my oxygen dropped to 84.

So at that point it was decided I would be sent home with oxygen. THE NURSE ON MY SHIFT SAID SHE'S NEVER SEEN THIS . She said no one my age gets sent home with oxygen. I was just happy to get into my own bed. My insurance doesn't cover oxygen for a 45 year old that doesn't have COPD so I paid out of pocket. Whatever.

In a follow up with my family doc he went over all of my hospital results and said my lactic acid, calcium and potassium were dangerously low, a sign of going septic.

I went back to work in a limited setting 2 weeks later. A follow up chest x ray came back with "unresolved pneumonia". A second follow up came back with the same. My doctor set me up with a appt with a pulmonologist and he asked if I had traveled, etc. He actually said it's very suspicious. I have a video appt with him in a week. He's hesitant to do more testing to put me at risk at a lab. I asked to be tested for antibodies. He said its not available in PA yet. We need this testing.

I truly believe many more people had it than suspected, and we might be able to relax sooner than later.

WOW! glad you made it out ok but damn that sounds horrible.
I’m with you and others and think this has been here longer than the outbreak in Washington.

 

[jmorovich]

I also believe it has been here LONG before February. My wife works for a funeral home in Philadelphia which services the Polish community. Around Christmas time they had a funeral with a family who had some people coming in from Europe from the funeral. One family member stated that the son, who was in Turks & Caicos wasn't going to be able to make it because he had "a really weird severe upper respiratory infection and the doctors didn't want him traveling" but the rest of the family there would here (who also lived in T&C).

My wife said "don't you think it's odd they don't want the son coming but the rest of the family did". I just chalked it up to a doctor being cautious with a patient.

About 10 days after that funeral it was Christmas Eve and my wife was complaining of all the symptoms you hear of now. We had family over for Christmas Eve and everyone was saying how good the food was and she just kept saying how she couldn't taste anything which was odd because she wasn't congested and that her throat was sore. Then the next day everything kicked in. She couldn't get off the couch on Christmas day, she took 4 different 2 hour naps and her eyes were on fire from a fever. I figured it was just because of how busy she was at work over the past 2-3 weeks. I told her to rest up.

The next 7 days she had the worst cough I had ever heard. At night it got so bad that had to start sleeping with the bed raised up. 3 of the days she got almost no sleep and I was asking her if she needed to go to the ER. I ended up sleeping in the guest bedroom for 3-4 days so she could sleep with the bed completely raised to help with the cough.

She went to her primary and they told her that it looked like she just had an upper respiratory infection and to take mucinex and drink a ton of water and rest.

Looking back on it now, it sure seems like it was COVID-19. Seems even more plausible given the fact someone from a vacation destination (Turks & Caicos) had something that wouldn't allow them to travel but the rest of the family did.

My son and I developed light coughs and sore throats following my wife's bout but nothing severe. I have never really had the flu or any other upper respiratory sickness before so I'm hoping I'm one of the people who just isn't affected by it. I usually spend most of the winter with head colds whereas my wife is the opposite. Hasn't had a head cold in decades but will get the flu and upper respiratory colds. Funny how the body works.

She has been trying to talk with her Primary about getting the antibody test to see if that was COVID-19 she had.

 

[Fayette_LION]

I've posted this on different threads but never really told the entire story because it's a long one. I'm 45 years old and live in NEPA.

On January 14, while at work, I started with a dry cough and came home and bitched because my co-worker coughed days before and didn't cover his mouth. I thought I was coming down with the cold. Wrong.

I woke up the next day with a fever of 101.7 and felt like garbage but it was manageable with Advil and rest. I still had an appetite and figured it was the flu and I'd get through it like I've done every other time I got hit with it. After all, there's nothing the doctors can do with the flu except prescribe Tamiflu and help you feel better.

Four or five days later with the high fever, which went into the weekend, I started to develop a horrible cough and lost my all taste and smell which made eating pointless. I couldn't sleep because laying down would make the cough worse so I was on 2 days of no sleep. The headache was unbearable. 10x worse than a hangover with those Milwaukee's Best Ice 12 packs we used to get at Pennsylvania Pizza late night.

On January 21st, around 4 am, I was struggling to get my breath and went downstairs to tell my wife who was sleeping on the couch. I passed out before I could get to her but the thud of me hitting the floor woke her up. We argued about calling an ambulance and I went outside and got my breath back.

Later that morning, I went to the ER and they did flu swabs up my nose and a CHEST X RAY. The physician's assistant was very nice and she told me I tested negative for the flu but I had pneumonia and a fever. I was sent home with a strong antibiotic and an inhaler. I was hesitant but I'm not a doc.

I didn't sleep an hour that night, and spent most of that day in the bathroom with diarrhea. Our bathroom is on the second floor and I could hardly breathe by the time I reached the top stair all day. I decided it was time to head back to the ER on January 22nd.

In the ER they started pumping me full of fluids because I still had a fever and was dehydrated. The doc sent me for ANOTHER chest x ray and when I got back to my ER room the physicians assistant for the day earlier came in to check on me. She started grilling me on why I was back because "THIS DOESN'T MAKE SENSE". The nurse that was now taking care of me told her that I tested positive for Influenza A1 after labs. This was after a day earlier they did the tests and sent me home.

After a lot of fluids in the ER, I was admitted into a room and at that point I had a hard time getting off of the stretcher and onto the bed. The nurse tried to coach me how to breathe to keep my oxygen level above 90 after he put it on my face. I later learned I had to be above 90 or I'd have to be in ICU.

Another night of no sleep. The fever was still so intense that I had the nurse bring in ice packs to put on my chest and behind my neck.

For the first 4 days, I feared going to the bathroom 6 feet away from my chair to take a piss because I would get out of breath and stand for 3 minutes trying to catch my breath, on oxygen mind you. To drop a deuce on the mini child toilet still with diarrhea, 5 minutes of trying to catch my breath like drowning.

My doc would come daily and let me know what was going on. He admittedly told me judging by my numbers he thought I wouldn't look good. He was very happy by how I was responding. He sent me for another chest x ray telling THEY USUALLY DON'T DO THIS.

So by day 7 of steroids and antibiotics and mucinex and loss of 20 pounds of they thought it would be a good idea to release me from the hospital. My oxygen was 92 sitting still and I felt ok. On the day I was released, my doc had me walk the hallway and my oxygen dropped to 84.

So at that point it was decided I would be sent home with oxygen. THE NURSE ON MY SHIFT SAID SHE'S NEVER SEEN THIS . She said no one my age gets sent home with oxygen. I was just happy to get into my own bed. My insurance doesn't cover oxygen for a 45 year old that doesn't have COPD so I paid out of pocket. Whatever.

In a follow up with my family doc he went over all of my hospital results and said my lactic acid, calcium and potassium were dangerously low, a sign of going septic.

I went back to work in a limited setting 2 weeks later. A follow up chest x ray came back with "unresolved pneumonia". A second follow up came back with the same. My doctor set me up with a appt with a pulmonologist and he asked if I had traveled, etc. He actually said it's very suspicious. I have a video appt with him in a week. He's hesitant to do more testing to put me at risk at a lab. I asked to be tested for antibodies. He said its not available in PA yet. We need this testing.

I truly believe many more people had it than suspected, and we might be able to relax sooner than later.

Similar story here for late December. Son came home and said everyone at work was sick. We both got it. Both he and I went to doctors office and were told it's a virus, go home and get some rest and lots of fluids. Felt really bad and hard to breathe for about 3 weeks and also had chest congestion and a cough. Fought it all Jan - Mar. Still have a slight cough but feel much better now. Did we have the C-19? Don't really know but hope to find out when testing is available.

 

[Fayette_LION]

I've posted this on different threads but never really told the entire story because it's a long one. I'm 45 years old and live in NEPA.

On January 14, while at work, I started with a dry cough and came home and bitched because my co-worker coughed days before and didn't cover his mouth. I thought I was coming down with the cold. Wrong.

I woke up the next day with a fever of 101.7 and felt like garbage but it was manageable with Advil and rest. I still had an appetite and figured it was the flu and I'd get through it like I've done every other time I got hit with it. After all, there's nothing the doctors can do with the flu except prescribe Tamiflu and help you feel better.

Four or five days later with the high fever, which went into the weekend, I started to develop a horrible cough and lost my all taste and smell which made eating pointless. I couldn't sleep because laying down would make the cough worse so I was on 2 days of no sleep. The headache was unbearable. 10x worse than a hangover with those Milwaukee's Best Ice 12 packs we used to get at Pennsylvania Pizza late night.

On January 21st, around 4 am, I was struggling to get my breath and went downstairs to tell my wife who was sleeping on the couch. I passed out before I could get to her but the thud of me hitting the floor woke her up. We argued about calling an ambulance and I went outside and got my breath back.

Later that morning, I went to the ER and they did flu swabs up my nose and a CHEST X RAY. The physician's assistant was very nice and she told me I tested negative for the flu but I had pneumonia and a fever. I was sent home with a strong antibiotic and an inhaler. I was hesitant but I'm not a doc.

I didn't sleep an hour that night, and spent most of that day in the bathroom with diarrhea. Our bathroom is on the second floor and I could hardly breathe by the time I reached the top stair all day. I decided it was time to head back to the ER on January 22nd.

In the ER they started pumping me full of fluids because I still had a fever and was dehydrated. The doc sent me for ANOTHER chest x ray and when I got back to my ER room the physicians assistant for the day earlier came in to check on me. She started grilling me on why I was back because "THIS DOESN'T MAKE SENSE". The nurse that was now taking care of me told her that I tested positive for Influenza A1 after labs. This was after a day earlier they did the tests and sent me home.

After a lot of fluids in the ER, I was admitted into a room and at that point I had a hard time getting off of the stretcher and onto the bed. The nurse tried to coach me how to breathe to keep my oxygen level above 90 after he put it on my face. I later learned I had to be above 90 or I'd have to be in ICU.

Another night of no sleep. The fever was still so intense that I had the nurse bring in ice packs to put on my chest and behind my neck.

For the first 4 days, I feared going to the bathroom 6 feet away from my chair to take a piss because I would get out of breath and stand for 3 minutes trying to catch my breath, on oxygen mind you. To drop a deuce on the mini child toilet still with diarrhea, 5 minutes of trying to catch my breath like drowning.

My doc would come daily and let me know what was going on. He admittedly told me judging by my numbers he thought I wouldn't look good. He was very happy by how I was responding. He sent me for another chest x ray telling THEY USUALLY DON'T DO THIS.

So by day 7 of steroids and antibiotics and mucinex and loss of 20 pounds of they thought it would be a good idea to release me from the hospital. My oxygen was 92 sitting still and I felt ok. On the day I was released, my doc had me walk the hallway and my oxygen dropped to 84.

So at that point it was decided I would be sent home with oxygen. THE NURSE ON MY SHIFT SAID SHE'S NEVER SEEN THIS . She said no one my age gets sent home with oxygen. I was just happy to get into my own bed. My insurance doesn't cover oxygen for a 45 year old that doesn't have COPD so I paid out of pocket. Whatever.

In a follow up with my family doc he went over all of my hospital results and said my lactic acid, calcium and potassium were dangerously low, a sign of going septic.

I went back to work in a limited setting 2 weeks later. A follow up chest x ray came back with "unresolved pneumonia". A second follow up came back with the same. My doctor set me up with a appt with a pulmonologist and he asked if I had traveled, etc. He actually said it's very suspicious. I have a video appt with him in a week. He's hesitant to do more testing to put me at risk at a lab. I asked to be tested for antibodies. He said its not available in PA yet. We need this testing.

I truly believe many more people had it than suspected, and we might be able to relax sooner than later.

UPMC stating to test all patients:
https://triblive.com/local/regional...nts-for-covid-19-even-those-without-symptoms/

 

[rudedude]

Another link to earlier reports of virus

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/22/us/coronavirus-first-united-states-death.html

 

[Sproul]

Every message board has people saying they had it months before the first case. Some scholars in the Cdt comments had it before people in Wuhan. Antibody tests are needed, and were needed 4 months ago.

 

[BudatPSU]

“There is only 15 cases and soon it will be zero and it will be beautiful. We have it completely under control.”

 

[demlion]

I've posted this on different threads but never really told the entire story because it's a long one. I'm 45 years old and live in NEPA.

On January 14, while at work, I started with a dry cough and came home and bitched because my co-worker coughed days before and didn't cover his mouth. I thought I was coming down with the cold. Wrong.

I woke up the next day with a fever of 101.7 and felt like garbage but it was manageable with Advil and rest. I still had an appetite and figured it was the flu and I'd get through it like I've done every other time I got hit with it. After all, there's nothing the doctors can do with the flu except prescribe Tamiflu and help you feel better.

Four or five days later with the high fever, which went into the weekend, I started to develop a horrible cough and lost my all taste and smell which made eating pointless. I couldn't sleep because laying down would make the cough worse so I was on 2 days of no sleep. The headache was unbearable. 10x worse than a hangover with those Milwaukee's Best Ice 12 packs we used to get at Pennsylvania Pizza late night.

On January 21st, around 4 am, I was struggling to get my breath and went downstairs to tell my wife who was sleeping on the couch. I passed out before I could get to her but the thud of me hitting the floor woke her up. We argued about calling an ambulance and I went outside and got my breath back.

Later that morning, I went to the ER and they did flu swabs up my nose and a CHEST X RAY. The physician's assistant was very nice and she told me I tested negative for the flu but I had pneumonia and a fever. I was sent home with a strong antibiotic and an inhaler. I was hesitant but I'm not a doc.

I didn't sleep an hour that night, and spent most of that day in the bathroom with diarrhea. Our bathroom is on the second floor and I could hardly breathe by the time I reached the top stair all day. I decided it was time to head back to the ER on January 22nd.

In the ER they started pumping me full of fluids because I still had a fever and was dehydrated. The doc sent me for ANOTHER chest x ray and when I got back to my ER room the physicians assistant for the day earlier came in to check on me. She started grilling me on why I was back because "THIS DOESN'T MAKE SENSE". The nurse that was now taking care of me told her that I tested positive for Influenza A1 after labs. This was after a day earlier they did the tests and sent me home.

After a lot of fluids in the ER, I was admitted into a room and at that point I had a hard time getting off of the stretcher and onto the bed. The nurse tried to coach me how to breathe to keep my oxygen level above 90 after he put it on my face. I later learned I had to be above 90 or I'd have to be in ICU.

Another night of no sleep. The fever was still so intense that I had the nurse bring in ice packs to put on my chest and behind my neck.

For the first 4 days, I feared going to the bathroom 6 feet away from my chair to take a piss because I would get out of breath and stand for 3 minutes trying to catch my breath, on oxygen mind you. To drop a deuce on the mini child toilet still with diarrhea, 5 minutes of trying to catch my breath like drowning.

My doc would come daily and let me know what was going on. He admittedly told me judging by my numbers he thought I wouldn't look good. He was very happy by how I was responding. He sent me for another chest x ray telling THEY USUALLY DON'T DO THIS.

So by day 7 of steroids and antibiotics and mucinex and loss of 20 pounds of they thought it would be a good idea to release me from the hospital. My oxygen was 92 sitting still and I felt ok. On the day I was released, my doc had me walk the hallway and my oxygen dropped to 84.

So at that point it was decided I would be sent home with oxygen. THE NURSE ON MY SHIFT SAID SHE'S NEVER SEEN THIS . She said no one my age gets sent home with oxygen. I was just happy to get into my own bed. My insurance doesn't cover oxygen for a 45 year old that doesn't have COPD so I paid out of pocket. Whatever.

In a follow up with my family doc he went over all of my hospital results and said my lactic acid, calcium and potassium were dangerously low, a sign of going septic.

I went back to work in a limited setting 2 weeks later. A follow up chest x ray came back with "unresolved pneumonia". A second follow up came back with the same. My doctor set me up with a appt with a pulmonologist and he asked if I had traveled, etc. He actually said it's very suspicious. I have a video appt with him in a week. He's hesitant to do more testing to put me at risk at a lab. I asked to be tested for antibodies. He said its not available in PA yet. We need this testing.

I truly believe many more people had it than suspected, and we might be able to relax sooner than later.

Wow. Whatever the hell that was, it sounds REALLY nasty. I can tell you I have had the flu before, like everyone, but I never had those kinds of symptoms for that long. Easy to see how you were just a little bit away from not being able to get enough oxygen to continue living.

We have a guy in my office we have been calling "Patient Zero" (also "Wuhan Ron") since he got sick (not as bad as you, but dry painful cough and high fever) in mid February. If the day comes when the antibody test is usable and available, it will be interesting to see if the rest of us (nobody else got sick) got it and were asymptomatic.

 

[PearlSUJam]

Wow. Whatever the hell that was, it sounds REALLY nasty. I can tell you I have had the flu before, like everyone, but I never had those kinds of symptoms for that long. Easy to see how you were just a little bit away from not being able to get enough oxygen to continue living.

We have a guy in my office we have been calling "Patient Zero" (also "Wuhan Ron") since he got sick (not as bad as you, but dry painful cough and high fever) in mid February. If the day comes when the antibody test is usable and available, it will be interesting to see if the rest of us (nobody else got sick) got it and were asymptomatic.

Exactly. One of our teen age kids had it at the same time as me but the fever subsided after a week and it only went slightly into her lungs. My wife and other daughter showed no symptoms despite being under the same roof. I would like to get all 4 of us tested.

 

[psu1969a]

I've posted this on different threads but never really told the entire story because it's a long one. I'm 45 years old and live in NEPA.

On January 14, while at work, I started with a dry cough and came home and bitched because my co-worker coughed days before and didn't cover his mouth. I thought I was coming down with the cold. Wrong.

I woke up the next day with a fever of 101.7 and felt like garbage but it was manageable with Advil and rest. I still had an appetite and figured it was the flu and I'd get through it like I've done every other time I got hit with it. After all, there's nothing the doctors can do with the flu except prescribe Tamiflu and help you feel better.

Four or five days later with the high fever, which went into the weekend, I started to develop a horrible cough and lost my all taste and smell which made eating pointless. I couldn't sleep because laying down would make the cough worse so I was on 2 days of no sleep. The headache was unbearable. 10x worse than a hangover with those Milwaukee's Best Ice 12 packs we used to get at Pennsylvania Pizza late night.

On January 21st, around 4 am, I was struggling to get my breath and went downstairs to tell my wife who was sleeping on the couch. I passed out before I could get to her but the thud of me hitting the floor woke her up. We argued about calling an ambulance and I went outside and got my breath back.

Later that morning, I went to the ER and they did flu swabs up my nose and a CHEST X RAY. The physician's assistant was very nice and she told me I tested negative for the flu but I had pneumonia and a fever. I was sent home with a strong antibiotic and an inhaler. I was hesitant but I'm not a doc.

I didn't sleep an hour that night, and spent most of that day in the bathroom with diarrhea. Our bathroom is on the second floor and I could hardly breathe by the time I reached the top stair all day. I decided it was time to head back to the ER on January 22nd.

In the ER they started pumping me full of fluids because I still had a fever and was dehydrated. The doc sent me for ANOTHER chest x ray and when I got back to my ER room the physicians assistant for the day earlier came in to check on me. She started grilling me on why I was back because "THIS DOESN'T MAKE SENSE". The nurse that was now taking care of me told her that I tested positive for Influenza A1 after labs. This was after a day earlier they did the tests and sent me home.

After a lot of fluids in the ER, I was admitted into a room and at that point I had a hard time getting off of the stretcher and onto the bed. The nurse tried to coach me how to breathe to keep my oxygen level above 90 after he put it on my face. I later learned I had to be above 90 or I'd have to be in ICU.

Another night of no sleep. The fever was still so intense that I had the nurse bring in ice packs to put on my chest and behind my neck.

For the first 4 days, I feared going to the bathroom 6 feet away from my chair to take a piss because I would get out of breath and stand for 3 minutes trying to catch my breath, on oxygen mind you. To drop a deuce on the mini child toilet still with diarrhea, 5 minutes of trying to catch my breath like drowning.

My doc would come daily and let me know what was going on. He admittedly told me judging by my numbers he thought I wouldn't look good. He was very happy by how I was responding. He sent me for another chest x ray telling THEY USUALLY DON'T DO THIS.

So by day 7 of steroids and antibiotics and mucinex and loss of 20 pounds of they thought it would be a good idea to release me from the hospital. My oxygen was 92 sitting still and I felt ok. On the day I was released, my doc had me walk the hallway and my oxygen dropped to 84.

So at that point it was decided I would be sent home with oxygen. THE NURSE ON MY SHIFT SAID SHE'S NEVER SEEN THIS . She said no one my age gets sent home with oxygen. I was just happy to get into my own bed. My insurance doesn't cover oxygen for a 45 year old that doesn't have COPD so I paid out of pocket. Whatever.

In a follow up with my family doc he went over all of my hospital results and said my lactic acid, calcium and potassium were dangerously low, a sign of going septic.

I went back to work in a limited setting 2 weeks later. A follow up chest x ray came back with "unresolved pneumonia". A second follow up came back with the same. My doctor set me up with a appt with a pulmonologist and he asked if I had traveled, etc. He actually said it's very suspicious. I have a video appt with him in a week. He's hesitant to do more testing to put me at risk at a lab. I asked to be tested for antibodies. He said its not available in PA yet. We need this testing.

I truly believe many more people had it than suspected, and we might be able to relax sooner than later.

One of your biggest problems is the proliferation of PAs (physician assistants). A little learning is a dangerous thing ... The other is the use of Hospitalist. When hospitalized you don't get to see your admitting physician, you get one of the Hospitalist, an MD who is covering all the patients in a Ward/Floor/Wing depending on size of hospital.

 

[BBrown]

Wow. Whatever the hell that was, it sounds REALLY nasty. I can tell you I have had the flu before, like everyone, but I never had those kinds of symptoms for that long. Easy to see how you were just a little bit away from not being able to get enough oxygen to continue living.

We have a guy in my office we have been calling "Patient Zero" (also "Wuhan Ron") since he got sick (not as bad as you, but dry painful cough and high fever) in mid February. If the day comes when the antibody test is usable and available, it will be interesting to see if the rest of us (nobody else got sick) got it and were asymptomatic.

Ok "Wuhan Ron" made me LOL.

 

[The Spin Meister]

Only makes sense it has been here since December if not Nov. 15,000 travel from China every day. If only 1% were positive for C19, that is 150 people every day.Then they spread it around.

I also think we are approaching herd immunity and that is why case numbers are dropping. Did you see the story that Tom McAndrew posted about every single country, no matter what controls they instituted peaked at eight weeks and then declined.

 

[BBrown]

Only makes sense it has been here since December if not Nov. 15,000 travel from China every day. If only 1% were positive for C19, that is 150 people every day.Then they spread it around.

I also think we are approaching herd immunity and that is why case numbers are dropping. Did you see the story that Tom McAndrew posted about every single country, no matter what controls theh instituted peaked at eight weeks and then declined.

That is really, really interesting.

 

[The Spin Meister]

That is really, really interesting.

Go to page 30 post # 1182 from Israeli Times. Thread on updates on coronivirus treatments.

 

[2PBC22]

One of your biggest problems is the proliferation of PAs (physician assistants). A little learning is a dangerous thing ... The other is the use of Hospitalist. When hospitalized you don't get to see your admitting physician, you get one of the Hospitalist, an MD who is covering all the patients in a Ward/Floor/Wing depending on size of hospital.

I am neither a PA or NP, nor in the medical profession, but why are you calling the PA out? She was working under a doctor who also clearly had no idea what was going on. Do you expect this PA to somehow come up with a COVID diagnosis when it wasn't even a thing yet? Talk about hindsight being 20/20. Furthermore, PearlJam doesn't even know if he had the virus.

 

[Madsol]

I am neither a PA or NP, nor in the medical profession, but why are you calling the PA out? She was working under a doctor who also clearly had no idea what was going on. Do you expect this PA to somehow come up with a COVID diagnosis when it wasn't even a thing yet? Talk about hindsight being 20/20. Furthermore, PearlJam doesn't even know if he had the virus.

I would probably trust a good, experienced PA who deals with patients all day long over an MD whose experience is mostly academic or oversight of the people actually treating the patients.

 

[Sproul]

I am neither a PA or NP, nor in the medical profession, but why are you calling the PA out? She was working under a doctor who also clearly had no idea what was going on. Do you expect this PA to somehow come up with a COVID diagnosis when it wasn't even a thing yet? Talk about hindsight being 20/20. Furthermore, PearlJam doesn't even know if he had the virus.

There were 2 strains of the flu this year. Yet anybody that was sick from October to April will tell you they had the Rona, nobody will say they had the flu. Everyone was just the first person in the country to have the Vid.

 

[Connorpozlee]

The lady I work closely with in the office directly across from mine had a fever for 5 weeks, developing a cough and eventually breathing issues to the point that I saw her have to sit down while clutching her chest. About a week into it I started telling her it sounded like she had coronavirus. She eventually got tested (negative) but I am convinced she had it.

 

[dbsteel]

I think a lot of people have had it the last few months. They just didn't know what it was. It was starting to spike before anyone knew there was a problem.

Now that I think of it, I went to the Med Express right around the new year with this cough I just could not get rid of. And I never go in for that stuff unless its really bugging me. Then my wife was coughing for a good month right before the lockdowns hit.

 

[rudedude]

The lady I work closely with in the office directly across from mine had a fever for 5 weeks, developing a cough and eventually breathing issues to the point that I saw her have to sit down while clutching her chest. About a week into it I started telling her it sounded like she had coronavirus. She eventually got tested (negative) but I am convinced she had it.

Just because you test negative one time may not totally rule it out as you may be tested again and show you have it

 

[jferretti]

You should report this to the CDC. I'm sure they would get you an antibody test if you possibly had the virus prior to the first known case.

I second this thought. It is very important that we develop the data about community spread and when it first appeared in various sections of the country. The modeling being done TODAY is dependent on good data. That is why the information from the autopsies in Santa Clara, CA showing infection in early Feb. is critically important.

Contact the CDC and have your electronic records at the ready to share. Be insistent on testing for antibodies. You can be a data point and a donor of blood plasma going forward.

 

[demlion]

Wow! Glad you made it thru this. This is some serious s**t. Yester
I also know of a friend who has been in ICU for a month fighting for his life. It’s a good thing this kind of info gets out to folks because some keep making comparisons to flu.

This is why it is so important to stay at home and obey the restrictions. You don't know who has it, including you. The risk is not so much to you, but to the most vulnerable people in your circle of friends, and the most vulnerable people in your friends' circle of friends, etc.

 

[katchthis]

I've posted this on different threads but never really told the entire story because it's a long one. I'm 45 years old and live in NEPA.

On January 14, while at work, I started with a dry cough and came home and bitched because my co-worker coughed days before and didn't cover his mouth. I thought I was coming down with the cold. Wrong.

I woke up the next day with a fever of 101.7 and felt like garbage but it was manageable with Advil and rest. I still had an appetite and figured it was the flu and I'd get through it like I've done every other time I got hit with it. After all, there's nothing the doctors can do with the flu except prescribe Tamiflu and help you feel better.

Four or five days later with the high fever, which went into the weekend, I started to develop a horrible cough and lost my all taste and smell which made eating pointless. I couldn't sleep because laying down would make the cough worse so I was on 2 days of no sleep. The headache was unbearable. 10x worse than a hangover with those Milwaukee's Best Ice 12 packs we used to get at Pennsylvania Pizza late night.

On January 21st, around 4 am, I was struggling to get my breath and went downstairs to tell my wife who was sleeping on the couch. I passed out before I could get to her but the thud of me hitting the floor woke her up. We argued about calling an ambulance and I went outside and got my breath back.

Later that morning, I went to the ER and they did flu swabs up my nose and a CHEST X RAY. The physician's assistant was very nice and she told me I tested negative for the flu but I had pneumonia and a fever. I was sent home with a strong antibiotic and an inhaler. I was hesitant but I'm not a doc.

I didn't sleep an hour that night, and spent most of that day in the bathroom with diarrhea. Our bathroom is on the second floor and I could hardly breathe by the time I reached the top stair all day. I decided it was time to head back to the ER on January 22nd.

In the ER they started pumping me full of fluids because I still had a fever and was dehydrated. The doc sent me for ANOTHER chest x ray and when I got back to my ER room the physicians assistant for the day earlier came in to check on me. She started grilling me on why I was back because "THIS DOESN'T MAKE SENSE". The nurse that was now taking care of me told her that I tested positive for Influenza A1 after labs. This was after a day earlier they did the tests and sent me home.

After a lot of fluids in the ER, I was admitted into a room and at that point I had a hard time getting off of the stretcher and onto the bed. The nurse tried to coach me how to breathe to keep my oxygen level above 90 after he put it on my face. I later learned I had to be above 90 or I'd have to be in ICU.

Another night of no sleep. The fever was still so intense that I had the nurse bring in ice packs to put on my chest and behind my neck.

For the first 4 days, I feared going to the bathroom 6 feet away from my chair to take a piss because I would get out of breath and stand for 3 minutes trying to catch my breath, on oxygen mind you. To drop a deuce on the mini child toilet still with diarrhea, 5 minutes of trying to catch my breath like drowning.

My doc would come daily and let me know what was going on. He admittedly told me judging by my numbers he thought I wouldn't look good. He was very happy by how I was responding. He sent me for another chest x ray telling THEY USUALLY DON'T DO THIS.

So by day 7 of steroids and antibiotics and mucinex and loss of 20 pounds of they thought it would be a good idea to release me from the hospital. My oxygen was 92 sitting still and I felt ok. On the day I was released, my doc had me walk the hallway and my oxygen dropped to 84.

So at that point it was decided I would be sent home with oxygen. THE NURSE ON MY SHIFT SAID SHE'S NEVER SEEN THIS . She said no one my age gets sent home with oxygen. I was just happy to get into my own bed. My insurance doesn't cover oxygen for a 45 year old that doesn't have COPD so I paid out of pocket. Whatever.

In a follow up with my family doc he went over all of my hospital results and said my lactic acid, calcium and potassium were dangerously low, a sign of going septic.

I went back to work in a limited setting 2 weeks later. A follow up chest x ray came back with "unresolved pneumonia". A second follow up came back with the same. My doctor set me up with a appt with a pulmonologist and he asked if I had traveled, etc. He actually said it's very suspicious. I have a video appt with him in a week. He's hesitant to do more testing to put me at risk at a lab. I asked to be tested for antibodies. He said its not available in PA yet. We need this testing.

I truly believe many more people had it than suspected, and we might be able to relax sooner than later.

Sorry I haven't read all the posts. In todays WSJ, it appears first cases were in Cali, about a month earlier than Washington.

 

[dwiz]

There were 2 strains of the flu this year. Yet anybody that was sick from October to April will tell you they had the Rona, nobody will say they had the flu. Everyone was just the first person in the country to have the Vid.

Case in point: everyone in this thread has either had it or knows someone who had it before the first person in the US had it

 

[PSUcup1]

Wow! Glad you made it thru this. This is some serious s**t. Yesterday, I was informed by my coworker in the office next to mine, that her mother had passed in the ICU on Long Island. Her mother was intubated for at least two weeks and had some pre-existing conditions that did not bode well for her. Her father was also hospitalized at one point, but was able to go home. Her younger sister and fiancé visiting her parents, both got sick with symptoms similar to yours. My coworker could not be with her mother when she passed, but at least her father and sisters were. She is going to L. I. Friday to see her family and then will self quarantine at home when she gets back. She has two young children at home too. We are both considered essential employees for NYS & have been at work for most of this lockdown with a few days of work from home per week.
I also know of a friend who has been in ICU for a month fighting for his life. It’s a good thing this kind of info gets out to folks because some keep making comparisons to flu stats. This aint no flu. My wife works as a clinician in a local hospital, so I know the craziness of the day to day of interacting and trying to protect oneself from the virus. I want to see us get back to a normal routine, but like my grieving coworker, along with many other families, I don’t want to be careless to how we get thru the pandemic either because we are also tending to elderly relatives who, thankfully, have been ok so far. I’d rather be safe and logical vs planning funerals. Thanks for posting this. Hope we can meet up sometime soon in the future.

glad you are feelin better

I have typed this on here before, but my neighbor who is a nurse at CHOP was sick for about 10 days with symptoms she had never experienced before. Had the flu shot, tested negative for the flu, etc... she is convinced she had. this started around February 6th or so

 

[PSUPride1]

I've posted this on different threads but never really told the entire story because it's a long one. I'm 45 years old and live in NEPA.

On January 14, while at work, I started with a dry cough and came home and bitched because my co-worker coughed days before and didn't cover his mouth. I thought I was coming down with the cold. Wrong.

I woke up the next day with a fever of 101.7 and felt like garbage but it was manageable with Advil and rest. I still had an appetite and figured it was the flu and I'd get through it like I've done every other time I got hit with it. After all, there's nothing the doctors can do with the flu except prescribe Tamiflu and help you feel better.

Four or five days later with the high fever, which went into the weekend, I started to develop a horrible cough and lost my all taste and smell which made eating pointless. I couldn't sleep because laying down would make the cough worse so I was on 2 days of no sleep. The headache was unbearable. 10x worse than a hangover with those Milwaukee's Best Ice 12 packs we used to get at Pennsylvania Pizza late night.

On January 21st, around 4 am, I was struggling to get my breath and went downstairs to tell my wife who was sleeping on the couch. I passed out before I could get to her but the thud of me hitting the floor woke her up. We argued about calling an ambulance and I went outside and got my breath back.

Later that morning, I went to the ER and they did flu swabs up my nose and a CHEST X RAY. The physician's assistant was very nice and she told me I tested negative for the flu but I had pneumonia and a fever. I was sent home with a strong antibiotic and an inhaler. I was hesitant but I'm not a doc.

I didn't sleep an hour that night, and spent most of that day in the bathroom with diarrhea. Our bathroom is on the second floor and I could hardly breathe by the time I reached the top stair all day. I decided it was time to head back to the ER on January 22nd.

In the ER they started pumping me full of fluids because I still had a fever and was dehydrated. The doc sent me for ANOTHER chest x ray and when I got back to my ER room the physicians assistant for the day earlier came in to check on me. She started grilling me on why I was back because "THIS DOESN'T MAKE SENSE". The nurse that was now taking care of me told her that I tested positive for Influenza A1 after labs. This was after a day earlier they did the tests and sent me home.

After a lot of fluids in the ER, I was admitted into a room and at that point I had a hard time getting off of the stretcher and onto the bed. The nurse tried to coach me how to breathe to keep my oxygen level above 90 after he put it on my face. I later learned I had to be above 90 or I'd have to be in ICU.

Another night of no sleep. The fever was still so intense that I had the nurse bring in ice packs to put on my chest and behind my neck.

For the first 4 days, I feared going to the bathroom 6 feet away from my chair to take a piss because I would get out of breath and stand for 3 minutes trying to catch my breath, on oxygen mind you. To drop a deuce on the mini child toilet still with diarrhea, 5 minutes of trying to catch my breath like drowning.

My doc would come daily and let me know what was going on. He admittedly told me judging by my numbers he thought I wouldn't look good. He was very happy by how I was responding. He sent me for another chest x ray telling THEY USUALLY DON'T DO THIS.

So by day 7 of steroids and antibiotics and mucinex and loss of 20 pounds of they thought it would be a good idea to release me from the hospital. My oxygen was 92 sitting still and I felt ok. On the day I was released, my doc had me walk the hallway and my oxygen dropped to 84.

So at that point it was decided I would be sent home with oxygen. THE NURSE ON MY SHIFT SAID SHE'S NEVER SEEN THIS . She said no one my age gets sent home with oxygen. I was just happy to get into my own bed. My insurance doesn't cover oxygen for a 45 year old that doesn't have COPD so I paid out of pocket. Whatever.

In a follow up with my family doc he went over all of my hospital results and said my lactic acid, calcium and potassium were dangerously low, a sign of going septic.

I went back to work in a limited setting 2 weeks later. A follow up chest x ray came back with "unresolved pneumonia". A second follow up came back with the same. My doctor set me up with a appt with a pulmonologist and he asked if I had traveled, etc. He actually said it's very suspicious. I have a video appt with him in a week. He's hesitant to do more testing to put me at risk at a lab. I asked to be tested for antibodies. He said its not available in PA yet. We need this testing.

I truly believe many more people had it than suspected, and we might be able to relax sooner than later.

I've also read the viral load one gets also affects how severe the symptoms are. As you said you had a person coughing with covering up and then was probably touching everything in the area. My point is you may have received a substantial viral load.
Best wishes for a full recovery.

 

[dwiz]

All of this is only anecdotal until it can be verified by sound, widespread testing.

Which happened on March 13 when everyone who wanted a test could have one.

 

[eidolon21]

Once again, California leads the way!

 

[CoastGuard2018]

Just because you test negative one time may not totally rule it out as you may be tested again and show you have it

That’s what happened to my uncle and unfortunately he passed a couple of days ago. Tested negative initially and positive about 10 or so days later.

 

[rudedude]

That’s what happened to my uncle and unfortunately he passed a couple of days ago. Tested negative initially and positive about 10 or so days later.

Sorry for your loss