Have you had the virus?

[kermit]

I am interested to learn about the wide range of different experiences that people have had (or may have had) with this virus. It seems that many, like me, will have had "something", but until mass testing is finally made available, we won't really know what. About 2 weeks into lockdown, I very suddenly (within an hour) developed muscle aches and shivering consistent with a fever. I put myself straight to bed, and within 4-5 hours my temperature rose, up to about 39 degrees, and I was shivering uncontrollably. Then it subsided for a couple of hours, then rose again overnight, with sweats, aches and shivers, before ebbing away again from around 5am onwards. After that, I felt tired and had a bit of a headache, but not much more than after a poor night's sleep. And that was pretty much it! By the next day, I didn't really feel noticeably unwell at all. I had none of the other symptoms that might be expected - at a push, I might have had a bit of a sore throat for a few days about a week before the fever episode, but pretty mild really. I completed the 7 days of self isolation without further incident, other than low level menaces from my partner who had to do the full 14 days (she didn't get sick at all). I don't know of anyone else that I was in contact with, who has had symptoms. But what happened to me was completely unlike anything I have known before....it could be a coincidence, and not Covid, but whatever it was, was marked, brief, and weird. Anyone else got a narrative arc to describe?

 

[ValleyLines142]

Both my nan and my mum are adamant they had it over Christmas. The symptoms they had match incredibly strongly the typical symptoms associated with COVID-19.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Both my nan and my mum are adamant they had it over Christmas. The symptoms they had match incredibly strongly the typical symptoms associated with COVID-19.

I thought I had, but a private antibody blood test (not cheap, but I was intrigued!) suggests otherwise, but mentions that a mild case may well not show up because long-term IgG antibodies may not develop in such a case. So it's possible it was a mild case. It was certainly an unusual set of symptoms.

 

[Doctor Fegg]

Yes, almost certainly a mild case. I had sensitive skin, a short period of weary limbs, and a cough. My wife had significantly stronger symptoms, similar to OP's description but continuing for longer - she estimates she'd have been off work for most of a week, and usually she soldiers on in all conditions. (We're both in our mid-40s.)

In our case it's the line of transmission that gives us some confidence: two days before lockdown started, she'd been in a three-person meeting with someone who we now know to have had the virus. The third person in the meeting also reported the same symptoms.

 

[LAX54]

Talking to various collegues, and family members etc, I think far more may have had this, when it was 'just' a virus / bad bout of flu than we will ever know, I know of more that were off sick wth 'flu' back in December/January than we have had since '19' was declared an issue !

 

[Shimbleshanks]

Had broadly similar symptons to Kermit's in the first post, but spread over a period of about three weeks. Long, slow, gradual recovery thereafter to the point where I can now do pretty much anything I used to be able to do. However, still get rather puffed if I climb steep hills on my pushbike, and I have a sense that my lungs aren't 100% back to normal. And I'm certainly ready for bed by the time 10pm comes around.

 

[Red Onion]

My other half had it with quite nasty wheezing, shortness of breath, tight chest, high temperature and a bit of a cough. Her lungs haven’t recovered and still gets out of breath on our usual walk circuit.

I did get a bit of a tight chest, slight cough and slight shortness of breath for a few days but it passed fairly quick. I suspect I had an exceptionally mild dose of the old covid though I tested negative but if I’m honest, had I not known about covid, I would simply have put it down to a combination of my tickly throat flaring up and being unfit. Which it may well have been but who knows!

 

[northernchris]

My brother had it, his partner is a nurse and contracted it so he was eligible for the test. Within 36 hours of booking the test he had the result confirming he was positive. Both felt tired, lost their sense of taste and smell but managed to avoid the cough and sore throat

 

[Huntergreed]

Not tested but I'm confident I had it, had the cough, fever and lose of smell and taste

 

[LowLevel]

I had a weird condition that completely drained me, had a long running fever of about 39.5, persistent cough etc in November/December or so. It completely pole axed me - I've not been off sick otherwise bar injury for many years. I'm curious as to what the antibody test when it eventually appears comes back with. I do have at least one other condition it turns out that I need an operation to sort but the symptoms can be similar and this was unusually severe.

 

[ATW Alex 101]

I started temporary work (I am self-employed full time, the nature of my business means lockdown has resulted in no work!) at a nursing home, as a precaution, I took a test to ensure that I was safe. I had no symptoms whatsoever, I was thinking soon as I get my negative result I’ll be good to continue.

To my shock horror, the test came back POSITIVE! My family then went to take the test, and they too came back all positive! It seems that we are all asymptomatic. I am on day 7 at the moment, after tomorrow, I could return, but won’t until the rest of my family are free of it.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

Not to my knowledge no.

 

[yorkie]

I am on day 7 at the moment, after tomorrow, I could return, but won’t until the rest of my family are free of it.

I thought it was 14 days?

As for me, I've not had it or, if I have, I've been asymptomatic; I occasionally do pick up viruses but my symptoms are always mild. I am very lucky in that respect!

 

[Qwerty133]

I thought it was 14 days?

As for me, I've not had it or, if I have, I've been asymptomatic; I occasionally do pick up viruses but my symptoms are always mild. I am very lucky in that respect!

I believe it's 7 days for the first person to develop symptoms, 7 days from the start of their own symptoms for household members who later develop symptoms and 14 days for household members who remain asymptomatic. Isolation also has to be extended if you are still symptomatic at the end of the period you are meant to be isolating for.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I believe it's 7 days for the first person to develop symptoms, 7 days from the start of their own symptoms for household members who later develop symptoms and 14 days for household members who remain asymptomatic. Isolation also has to be extended if you are still symptomatic at the end of the period you are meant to be isolating for.

Unless the residual symptom is a cough only, because post-viral coughs can last many months after the infection is gone.

 

[507021]

Yes I have, and it was awful.

 

[Enthusiast]

Looking back now, Mrs E and I think we may have had it. We returned from holiday on 23rd February. A few days or maybe a week or so after that Mrs E went down with what seemed like a mild dose of 'flu. Temperature, aching limbs - to the point where she took to her bed one day which is very unusual - and a real hacking cough. She also lost her sense of taste and smell almost entirely. I was a day or two behind her, not so severe, but I also lost my sense of taste and smell. Thought nothing of it at the time, just believed it was something we had picked up on the 'plane home. Who knows?

 

[Urobach]

I *think* I've had it

Mrs works at a hospital where there were confirmed cases and she definitely came down with bad symptoms, made worse by her asthma. Along with struggling to breathe (needing an ambulance calling out as her inhalers werent working), she also endured a fever and a persistent dry cough. I was bracing for the worst, however the most I had was the most pathetic dry cough ever which cleared up in a few days and feeling breathless after climbing stairs.

This was back in March - neither of us were tested, however the Mrs tells me she's had an antibody test at work since which "confirmed" she was immune, before the reports came out they weren't reliable

 

[Bletchleyite]

This was back in March - neither of us were tested, however the Mrs tells me she's had an antibody test at work since which "confirmed" she was immune, before the reports came out they weren't reliable

It's the test cassettes that aren't reliable (which are needed for large-scale rollout). The lab blood tests pretty much are.

 

[Urobach]

Fair enough, it was the blood test. All good!

 

[Commoner]

I am 99% certain I have had it. I work in a crisis mental health team, hospital based but providing support to people in the community to prevent admission. Part of the role requires attendance at A and E to assess people who are acutely mentally unwell. In the first week of March, I and a number of my colleagues fell ill with a strange flu like illness. For me aches one associates with the flu, temperature, extreme tiredness, headache, but very mild cold like symptoms. A week in I completely lost taste and smell, which has partially returned after 6 weeks and even now is not completely right. Also had a spell of Tinnitus which was very strange, similar to having erratic beeps and high pitched sounds in one ear (now gone). Respiratory effects were quite mild, wheeziness and a tight chest.

At the time there was no testing in place and I stayed off work for 2 weeks as I genuinely felt knocked out physically. Because many of my colleagues didn't have a dry cough or temperature they continued to work! In the absence of any other instruction to isolate other than for the classic symptoms, management were happy for them to do so. If testing had been readily available it would have helped, but this and the decision to lockdown came far too late, and reflects the incompetence of this government which originally was quite happy for the virus to let rip.

My sense is that this virus was circulating rapidly in London at least from February, possibly earlier. It seems to manifest itself very differently from individual to individual, which I think, is probably dependent on their general health and the uniqueness of their individual immunity responses, which is tied up with their DNA.

I fell ill on the last Saturday of regular football and was due to go to a game. I felt so rough I stayed home, but wonder how many people I might have infected had I gone. It only needs a few individuals in the same position to go to see how rapidly the virus can be spread.

 

[LAX54]

Think quite a few had 'it' before it was COVID19 ! also if we put this in perspective, as it is treated as a Worldwide event, there are between 6 Billion and 7 Billion people in the World, of which 4.5 million caught have caught the virus, and 317,000 have died.

 

[Karl]

I thought I had, but a private antibody blood test (not cheap, but I was intrigued!) suggests otherwise, but mentions that a mild case may well not show up because long-term IgG antibodies may not develop in such a case. So it's possible it was a mild case. It was certainly an unusual set of symptoms.

May I be rude and ask how much the test was? Thank you.

 

[Qwerty133]

May I be rude and ask how much the test was? Thank you.

On that note Superdrug have just started offering them for £70 https://onlinedoctor.superdrug.com/coronavirus-antibody-test-kits.html

 

[Bletchleyite]

May I be rude and ask how much the test was? Thank you.

£100 if I recall but they're now a fair bit cheaper. That was my personal threshold.

 

[Karl]

Thanks Neil. Much appreciated. I might look into the Superdrug option.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Thanks Neil. Much appreciated. I might look into the Superdrug option.

Cool. Just bear in mind that a negative result doesn't mean you haven't had it, because it could have been a mild or asymptomatic case which short-term IgM antibodies could have dealt with, and these don't hang around long to test them. I still think this may have happened to me, and the letter I got with my results did explain this in some detail.

 

[Skymonster]

No idea - don't know and don't want to know. Had a fairly short but very severe (in my experience) bout of flu-like symptoms in February but that's all.

 

[Tom B]

Yes. One evening I started coughing and felt a little warm, but I had been rushing around that evening and using a lot of cleaning solvents which can 'get in your throat' so I initially put it down to this. Returning home, I realised that the coughing and temperature were still there. Immediately I booked a test for the next day, informed relevant persons etc and began my 7 days isolation. This was at the zoo car park where the test was self-administered, orchestrated by soldiers. Next couple of days primarily involved lots of sleep, tiredness, spluttering and coughing, before a return to normal (with added tiredness). Still no smell/taste.

 

[kermit]

I thought I had, but a private antibody blood test (not cheap, but I was intrigued!) suggests otherwise, but mentions that a mild case may well not show up because long-term IgG antibodies may not develop in such a case. So it's possible it was a mild case. It was certainly an unusual set of symptoms.

Could I be ruder and ask what broad categories the unusual symptoms were in? (and thanks everybody for the many and interesting replies to my original question...)