I tested positive for COVID-19 AMA

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

March 28th: Woke up feeling exhausted. Didn’t sleep well. Went about morning (we had been social distancing for about a week). Started feeling really nauseous and has several bouts of liquid diarrhea. Felt totally drained. Laid on couch and slept for three hours. Woke up and had diarrhea again. Started running low grade fever. Thought I had stomach bug because my son has had similar symptoms a few days earlier.

March 29th:

Slept well. Woke up feeling a little better. Had diarrhea but not as bad. No appetite. Still tired. Took another nap and woke up with high fever (for me) 101.6. Felt like crap for rest of the day. But just GI issues and lethargy.

March 30th: Did not sleep. Had horrible sore throat that felt like nothing over ever felt. It felt like sandpaper. Also had chills. Thought “oh shit”. Also found out my ex was getting tested for COVID and coworker has tested positive.

March 30th: Bizarre day. I was exhausted. Couldn’t nap because DS wouldn’t nap. Don’t know how I made it through morning. Sore throat, stomachache, fever all day. Had a horrible nights sleep. Chills so bad I couldn’t sleep. Woke up feeling like it was a bad flu. Body aches, sore throat, and diarrhea started back up. Tylenol didn’t touch any of it.

April 1: Same as 31st.. Terrible miserable day. Sams symptoms but worse. Was in and out of sleep. DS at this point felt better and was so bored. I was terrified I wasn’t going to be able to care for him. Went to go get tested which was miserable.

April 2nd: slept for about 9 hours and woke up feeling legitimately better. Diarrhea and mild sore throat. Still whiled but much better. Took a nap and woke up super nauseous and weak. I threw up.

April 3rd. High fever, chest tightness. Knew I had it. Ex went to hospital because his oxygen has dropped. Worried mess. Not sure how I’ll care for DS. Stomach feels better, throat just full ache. Chest tightness felt like a mild asthma attack but albuterol didn’t help. Energy was off and on all day as well as fever.

April 4th. Worst day. Chest tightness and shortness of breath that I had never experienced. Can’t lay flat without feeling like I can’t get any oxygen. Frantically tried to call anyone to help me with DS or make sure I don’t die in sleep and leave him alone. Friend offers to bring over meals, check on me but no one willing to watch DS (understandable). Did not die. Can’t fully explain what shortness of breath felt like. Usually lasted 10 minutes tops, it was in waves and so scary. Eventually figured out how to get though it. Anxiety makes it worse. Have friend drop off off oximeter and lowest I got was 92 which isn’t great but considering ex has been around 88 for days and still couldn’t get fully admired meant I stayed home.

April 5th: horrible night. SOB spells and bad diarrhea. My poor son is watching so much tv and I can barely parent. Slept mostly all day. I’ll have the guilt of this forever.

April 6: tightness in chest is worse but less sob. Start having a productive cough and that helps so much. Fever still around 99-101 all day.

April 7th: bad cough, shortness of breath isn’t as bad but still happens, right chest. Fever the same.

April 8th. Feeling better. Cough is super productive and chest hurts but fever is just 99/100 and oxygen is good. Will probably avoid hospital and I’m probably going to be fine.


You don’t want to get the bad pneumonia and you definitely don’t want to get the ARDS. Ex is super sick and we’re worried. His wife is 29 and tested positive but has basically no symptoms but loss of smell and taste (which I never got).

Wow OP. Sounds horrible. Thank you for keeping detailed track of this and for sharing. Interesting that diarrhea, which they tell us isn't a symptom, was so bad for you. Vomited too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did you get swollen glands in your neck? Sorry if this is a repeat....when did you notice a fever?

Great question.

They felt swollen when my throat was really sore. I remember it felt like my throat and neck hurt when I swallowed. Thank god sore throat is gone. I also have had a weird, dry feeling headache. Not a migraine. Feels a bit like a sinus headache but further back? I’m prone to headaches so could just be my body.

Thank you for sharing. Feel better!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh my gosh please don’t feel guilty due to letting your son watch tv! That’s fine. He will be fine.

I don’t feel guilty about the tv. I felt guilty that if something had happened to him I wouldn’t have been able to do anything I don’t think. I could barely speak during the bad waves.

It was scary to know I had no one who could help.

OP I think about people who lived through, or died in, the Plague or the Sweat or what have you. You survived a pandemic. Your son will be telling his grandchildren decades from now what it was like to survive the Covid pandemic of 2020. That his mom had it and was really sick. Just the fact that you somehow kept him fed during such an illness is an incredible accomplishment. You should be proud of yourself! You are one tough momma.

[Anonymous]

OP as a fellow single mom I hope you might consider not only donating blood/plasma but also offering child care for another single parent who ends up so sick. God bless you for surviving.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh my gosh please don’t feel guilty due to letting your son watch tv! That’s fine. He will be fine.

I don’t feel guilty about the tv. I felt guilty that if something had happened to him I wouldn’t have been able to do anything I don’t think. I could barely speak during the bad waves.

It was scary to know I had no one who could help.

OP I think about people who lived through, or died in, the Plague or the Sweat or what have you. You survived a pandemic. Your son will be telling his grandchildren decades from now what it was like to survive the Covid pandemic of 2020. That his mom had it and was really sick. Just the fact that you somehow kept him fed during such an illness is an incredible accomplishment. You should be proud of yourself! You are one tough momma.

+1. So true. God bless you OP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, I hope you're over the hump. Take care of yourself.

Have you seen this video of breathing exercises by a doctor in London? JK Rowling and Chris Cuomo have both mentioned doing these exercises to help get their lungs clear.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwLzAdriec0&feature=emb_title

Yes! These actually helped so much ones they mucus got thinner. Also breathing exercises to get through the shortness of breath which was so scary but heightened by anxiety.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is probably an extremely dumb question, but did you try any home remedies like chicken soup, tea, coffee, green tea, lots of water, etc.?

Yep!

I was told by a friend who was positive to avoid cold liquids and cold foods because it could thicken mucus. Hot teas, hot soups were good. Could only really stomach broth and noodles. Drank lots of tea and room temp water.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

March 28th: Woke up feeling exhausted. Didn’t sleep well. Went about morning (we had been social distancing for about a week). Started feeling really nauseous and has several bouts of liquid diarrhea. Felt totally drained. Laid on couch and slept for three hours. Woke up and had diarrhea again. Started running low grade fever. Thought I had stomach bug because my son has had similar symptoms a few days earlier.

March 29th:

Slept well. Woke up feeling a little better. Had diarrhea but not as bad. No appetite. Still tired. Took another nap and woke up with high fever (for me) 101.6. Felt like crap for rest of the day. But just GI issues and lethargy.

March 30th: Did not sleep. Had horrible sore throat that felt like nothing over ever felt. It felt like sandpaper. Also had chills. Thought “oh shit”. Also found out my ex was getting tested for COVID and coworker has tested positive.

March 30th: Bizarre day. I was exhausted. Couldn’t nap because DS wouldn’t nap. Don’t know how I made it through morning. Sore throat, stomachache, fever all day. Had a horrible nights sleep. Chills so bad I couldn’t sleep. Woke up feeling like it was a bad flu. Body aches, sore throat, and diarrhea started back up. Tylenol didn’t touch any of it.

April 1: Same as 31st.. Terrible miserable day. Sams symptoms but worse. Was in and out of sleep. DS at this point felt better and was so bored. I was terrified I wasn’t going to be able to care for him. Went to go get tested which was miserable.

April 2nd: slept for about 9 hours and woke up feeling legitimately better. Diarrhea and mild sore throat. Still whiled but much better. Took a nap and woke up super nauseous and weak. I threw up.

April 3rd. High fever, chest tightness. Knew I had it. Ex went to hospital because his oxygen has dropped. Worried mess. Not sure how I’ll care for DS. Stomach feels better, throat just full ache. Chest tightness felt like a mild asthma attack but albuterol didn’t help. Energy was off and on all day as well as fever.

April 4th. Worst day. Chest tightness and shortness of breath that I had never experienced. Can’t lay flat without feeling like I can’t get any oxygen. Frantically tried to call anyone to help me with DS or make sure I don’t die in sleep and leave him alone. Friend offers to bring over meals, check on me but no one willing to watch DS (understandable). Did not die. Can’t fully explain what shortness of breath felt like. Usually lasted 10 minutes tops, it was in waves and so scary. Eventually figured out how to get though it. Anxiety makes it worse. Have friend drop off off oximeter and lowest I got was 92 which isn’t great but considering ex has been around 88 for days and still couldn’t get fully admired meant I stayed home.

April 5th: horrible night. SOB spells and bad diarrhea. My poor son is watching so much tv and I can barely parent. Slept mostly all day. I’ll have the guilt of this forever.

April 6: tightness in chest is worse but less sob. Start having a productive cough and that helps so much. Fever still around 99-101 all day.

April 7th: bad cough, shortness of breath isn’t as bad but still happens, right chest. Fever the same.

April 8th. Feeling better. Cough is super productive and chest hurts but fever is just 99/100 and oxygen is good. Will probably avoid hospital and I’m probably going to be fine.


You don’t want to get the bad pneumonia and you definitely don’t want to get the ARDS. Ex is super sick and we’re worried. His wife is 29 and tested positive but has basically no symptoms but loss of smell and taste (which I never got).

Wow OP. Sounds horrible. Thank you for keeping detailed track of this and for sharing. Interesting that diarrhea, which they tell us isn't a symptom, was so bad for you. Vomited too.

I have IBS so diarrhea happens for me more than normal but this definitely felt like it was a symptom of an illness. Possible I had stomach virus and COVID but from what I’ve seen diarrhea is an uncommon but not rare symptom.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.livescience.com/amp/coronavirus-diarrhea-symptoms.html

I vomited once but had nausea that came and went with the fever. The vomiting incident was 100% triggered by my waking up extremely dizzy and disoriented and probably dehydrated. The nausea mostly just caused lack of appetite, never really got bad enough to make me feel like vomiting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP as a fellow single mom I hope you might consider not only donating blood/plasma but also offering child care for another single parent who ends up so sick. God bless you for surviving.

Absolutely! Once I’m symptom free for the appropriate amount of time I will absolutely be donating and helping where I can.

[Anonymous]

Update:

Woke up feeling good. The tricky thing with this for me at least, is that it comes in waves. All of it. Symptoms and all. You’ll feel like you are turning a corner and then *bam* all back and even worse.

However I think I’m actually getting better. The days are better.

Today I woke up with some energy. I feel hopeful. I wonder how much of that is just from knowing that the test was positive and that I’m probably over the worst.

Today’s symptoms are: low grade fever, mild lethargy and bad nasty sounding but pleasantly productive cough.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Update:

Woke up feeling good. The tricky thing with this for me at least, is that it comes in waves. All of it. Symptoms and all. You’ll feel like you are turning a corner and then *bam* all back and even worse.

However I think I’m actually getting better. The days are better.

Today I woke up with some energy. I feel hopeful. I wonder how much of that is just from knowing that the test was positive and that I’m probably over the worst.

Today’s symptoms are: low grade fever, mild lethargy and bad nasty sounding but pleasantly productive cough.

Glad you're feeling better!! I think you are definitely over the worst. Thank you for sharing your journey with us. I hope your ex is also getting better. And, don't worry about your son and watching too much TV. It is what it is and all of us would have done the same thing with our child/ren. You're a great mom and your son is lucky to have you. Take good care.

[Anonymous]

OP thank you for posting. Sounds awful and scary that no one could help you with DS on top of everything else. So glad you are getting better. Stay well !

[Anonymous]

Dear OP! Thanks for sharing and happy to hear that you are getting better!

Your post resonated with me so much because I am also a single parent! (But have 3 kids, all over age 10 and my 14 year old could take over somewhat).

I want to ask if you, or anyone here, thinks I have it too?
Last week Thursday through Saturday had a heavy chest, like someone heavy sitting on me. Could always take deep breaths though.
Have had sinus headaches since Saturday (I am also a migraine sufferer but they normally last 2 days) but none today
I have gotten what feels some hot flashes but that could be perimenopause and I don't have a thermometer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you for sharing this, and glad to hear you are doing better.

Did you take any over-the-counter congestion or cough meds?

Do you think it would have been worse without the nebulizer? Or it made no difference?

I have mild asthma that can turn into bronchitis. I'm worried and trying to be prepared as I can be since I live in high-rise building in NYC. TIA

I took an expectorant when the chest tightness started that tore up my stomach but I think helped keep mucus thinner. Do not take a combo of expectorant and cough suppressant. Was told never to take cough suppressant but please ask your doctor because everyone seems to have a different plan of action depending on symptoms and overall health.

I took Guaifenesin.

I’m not sure if albuterol helped. I have had something that feels like bronchitis now that I’m feeling better and it helps that but didn’t really help the chest tightness or SOB. Breathing exercises and learning how to cough properly helped more than anything. Did not use nebulizer btw because it can make the virus spread worse for some reason. Used inhaler. Maybe it did help. It’s different from asthma for me but again mine is mild. I didn’t have wheezing it was all a feeling in my lungs, deep in my lungs felt “wet” and heavy and (gross) what I’m coughing up is different from normal. Thicker and darker and has a distinct taste. I think mucus thinner helps. I don’t think being asthmatic made it any worse. If I was severely asthmatic I could see it triggering bad attack.

Thank you for this! My Proair is almost empty, but I have several packets for my nebulizer. Good to know not to use it. Also my OTC cold meds have both expectant and suppressant--which I've never understood. Hoping for the best here, and again, thank you for taking the time to respond.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I see a lot of people preparing how not to get sick. What should we do to prepare to be sick?

I am a NP who has been sick this week. I am doing well, but when I was feeling sickest and couldn't get out of bed I realized that although we have lots of food in the house, much of it is stuff my kids don't know how to cook: dried beans, canned goods, lentils, odd vegetables, etc. We are low on the kinds of foods they'd normally fix or themselves, like eggs, cheese, chips, sandwich makings. Fortunately DH is well, but as soon as I felt okay I taught my teen to cook rice. If your kids are littler I'd suggest stocking up on breakfast cereal, granola bars, and snacks with packaging they can open and eat by themselves. Make sure some of that food is somewhere a little kid can reach, just in case your kid is hungry and you can't prepare food or get to the kitchen.

This is a great idea. Reason to have some cans or boxes of soup or some frozen soup, too. I'll take time now to make sure everyone knows how to open cans and heat things up.

Thank you, pp, op, and good luck, everyone!