What would you have done?

[focusondisney]

I'm not even sure what strain we're on now. Was that as sick as you got or did it get a lot worse?

I have no idea what strain either. We hardly ever hear any news reports anymore.

I’m mid 60s with some chronic health issues, so I called my Dr. after I tested + on Monday. He did not order Paxlovid, but ordered a steroid & antibiotic. I continued with the mild nasal congestion, scratchy throat & intermittent cough until Friday. From Friday night until the following Saturday (8 days) I also had a fever 100.5- 100.8, shaking chills & the worst nausea I’ve ever had in my life. The nausea gradually got better over the following week. I also had exhaustion that took another week - 10 days. So I had about 5 days of feeling like a very minor cold with exhaustion & then about 2 weeks of feeling very sick. Even tho my temp wasn’t really high, I felt horrible & I lost 7 pounds.

My husband had a scratchy throat overnight, had about a 100.5 temp at 9 am & tested +. By 11, his temp was 102.8. He became very weak, had some trouble even walking to bed. He was nauseated for a short time & slept most of the day. By the next morning, his fever was gone for good. He had sinus congestion & an intermittent cough for about 3 weeks. After that 1st 24 hours, he said he felt pretty good. He never got nauseated & he was just a little tired. Not the same exhaustion I had.


I know we were not as sick as people were with the initial disease & can’t even imaging how it was for them. But I felt very sick starting on day 5 for another 2 weeks. I still get tired a little more than normal, but it is getting better. I definitely don’t want this again.

 

[dvcgirl67]

I have no idea what strain either. We hardly ever hear any news reports anymore.

I’m mid 60s with some chronic health issues, so I called my Dr. after I tested + on Monday. He did not order Paxlovid, but ordered a steroid & antibiotic. I continued with the mild nasal congestion, scratchy throat & intermittent cough until Friday. From Friday night until the following Saturday (8 days) I also had a fever 100.5- 100.8, shaking chills & the worst nausea I’ve ever had in my life. The nausea gradually got better over the following week. I also had exhaustion that took another week - 10 days. So I had about 5 days of feeling like a very minor cold with exhaustion & then about 2 weeks of feeling very sick. Even tho my temp wasn’t really high, I felt horrible & I lost 7 pounds.

My husband had a scratchy throat overnight, had about a 100.5 temp at 9 am & tested +. By 11, his temp was 102.8. He became very weak, had some trouble even walking to bed. He was nauseated for a short time & slept most of the day. By the next morning, his fever was gone for good. He had sinus congestion & an intermittent cough for about 3 weeks. After that 1st 24 hours, he said he felt pretty good. He never got nauseated & he was just a little tired. Not the same exhaustion I had.


I know we were not as sick as people were with the initial disease & can’t even imaging how it was for them. But I felt very sick starting on day 5 for another 2 weeks. I still get tired a little more than normal, but it is getting better. I definitely don’t want this again.

Oh that's horrible. I've been hearing about this new strain for the last few weeks and saw a clip from one of the Sunday news shows with Dr. Scott Gottlieb on. He was front and center during the pandemic and it's the first time I've seen him in quite awhile. He said there are indications that this strain may be more transmissible, but not necessarily more deadly or anything like that. Plus, pretty much everyone is either vaccinated, or has had it by now, which he said provides some immunity.

And I think we can all kind of tell that by this point when there's a kind of "wave", because you just hear of a lot more people getting it. I think people are more aware at this time of year because they're getting sicker than usual for a "summer cold"...and so they're testing or going to doctor.

He talked about the new booster that should be out by the end of September. He said if you're really compromised and haven't had a booster in awhile, it might be prudent to get one now, but everyone else should try and hold out for the new booster, as it will work against this new strain. He also said the flu vaccine is a good one this year....a good match for the flu that is circulation in the southern hemisphere.

I was thinking that we'd be in a more seasonal situation with covid by now, but seems we're not quite there yet. As a poster just mentioned, it is still quietly killing people, to the tune of about 500 people per week in the U.S.

 

[focusondisney]

Oh that's horrible. I've been hearing about this new strain for the last few weeks and saw a clip from one of the Sunday news shows with Dr. Scott Gottlieb on. He was front and center during the pandemic and it's the first time I've seen him in quite awhile. He said there are indications that this strain may be more transmissible, but not necessarily more deadly or anything like that. Plus, pretty much everyone is either vaccinated, or has had it by now, which he said provides some immunity.

And I think we can all kind of tell that by this point when there's a kind of "wave", because you just hear of a lot more people getting it. I think people are more aware at this time of year because they're getting sicker than usual for a "summer cold"...and so they're testing or going to doctor.

He talked about the new booster that should be out by the end of September. He said if you're really compromised and haven't had a booster in awhile, it might be prudent to get one now, but everyone else should try and hold out for the new booster, as it will work against this new strain. He also said the flu vaccine is a good one this year....a good match for the flu that is circulation in the southern hemisphere.

I was thinking that we'd be in a more seasonal situation with covid by now, but seems we're not quite there yet. As a poster just mentioned, it is still quietly killing people, to the tune of about 500 people per week in the U.S.

I saw Dr Gottleib too & appreciated he was on, since information is hard to find anymore. We had all the shots & boosters, including the new one last fall. I assumed we’d get boosters every fall, just like the flu shot. My husband had a routine check up this week. He was seen by a PA we hadn’t met yet. The PA told him the office isn’t recommending anymore boosters because they’re starting to see patients with complications from the shots. But unfortunately my husband didn’t question what type of complications or what type of patients are having issues. I also found out a former coworker has long Covid & needed a heart valve replacement because of Covid. We’ve never had any problems for the vaccines, so we’ll have to make a decision when the new one comes out. I absolutely don’t want to be that sick again.

 

[dvcgirl67]

I saw Dr Gottleib too & appreciated he was on, since information is hard to find anymore. We had all the shots & boosters, including the new one last fall. I assumed we’d get boosters every fall, just like the flu shot. My husband had a routine check up this week. He was seen by a PA we hadn’t met yet. The PA told him the office isn’t recommending anymore boosters because they’re starting to see patients with complications from the shots. But unfortunately my husband didn’t question what type of complications or what type of patients are having issues. I also found out a former coworker has long Covid & needed a heart valve replacement because of Covid. We’ve never had any problems for the vaccines, so we’ll have to make a decision when the new one comes out. I absolutely don’t want to be that sick again.

Yes, the booster this fall is the beginning of the yearling "covid shot"....so, on the same schedule as the flu shot. There are unfortunately a lot of people with long covid issues that persist. I had tinnitus for some time, but it's about 90% gone. My GP said I'll likely completely get rid of it since it's mostly gone. It's taken over a year though! When it was at its worst, I thought it might drive me nuts. Hope you continue to feel better!

 

[Travel60]

We had put away our masks except for airports, planes & other crowded areas. But after several stories of covid among acquaintances, we are becoming more diligent again. Supposed to watch grandkids next week after they are on a cruise this week. A little concerned.

 

[BlueStarryHat]

Having had Covid in 2020, I do *not* want to be as sick as I was then. You want me to get a shot? Here's my arm. The new strain dominant in the US is called Eris, and it is very contagious. I've gone back-and forth with myself over whether to mask up before the shot for this new strain is supposed to come out in September. I loathe wearing them. I'm probably being foolish for going out without one.

 

[brockash]

Hi,

Just wanted to get your opinions on what you would have possibly done in this situation. Friday night, I went out some of my co-workers. This morning, one of my co-workers called me and told me she is very sick with the Covid (she tested positive this morning). Today, I was supposed to go to one my close friend’s birthday party. I told my friends in the group what happened and they all still wanted to me to come (so far I feel ok and tested negative with an at home test), but I went with my judgement and decided to stay home. It costed me a little money as I contributed towards the party, but I didn’t want to take any chances. What would you have done?

Thanks as always.

Is someone who was attending the party extremely immune compromised? If not, then it's 2023, vaccines have been out for yrs, and you even let those attending know and they still asked you to come. In my opinion it's way over-kill. Ppl. get sick all the time, it's just part of life. Would you have not gone if your friend had strep or the flu, even though you felt fine and possibly tested negative? Seems REALLY extreme, however it's just a party so if it made you feel better than it probably didn't really matter, but never in a million yrs. would that have been a reason I would've bailed in that scenario.

 

[SirDuff]

No idea what strain I had, but I just had a COVID-19 bout (after traveling internationally). It was super mild and really short in terms of positive testing - from my first positive test (which was faint) to the first day I tested negative was five days. Rules where I am said I could go out as long as I masked (even when positive and with some sytmptoms) but I isolated while testing positive and masked 10 days from first positive test.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

If every time someone was exposed and people stayed home, life as we know it would shut down.

JMHO

 

[barkley]

thank you for being cautious and considerate.

i wish that the person who knowingly exposed my fully vaccinated son and his co-workers last september had possessed a modicum of your compassion and common sense b/c then prior to falling terribly ill my son would'nt have unknowingly exposed myself, my husband and my younger son. we were exposed in september last year and 3 of us have long term covid (not one of us is immunocompromised and we all had been fully vacinated). i've recovered faster from multiple strokes than covid. i envy those who say it was a simple short term inconvenience of an illness, for far too many it's not.

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

I think you did the right thing!

 

[Once.Upon.A.Time]

If every time someone was exposed and people stayed home, life as we know it would shut down.

JMHO

I understand what you mean, but I felt knowing that I was that morning, I would feel really bad if they got sick after. I understand what you mean though. That’s why they told me to come.

 

[Once.Upon.A.Time]

I think you did the right thing!

Thank you.

 

[jalapeno_pretzel]

I think you did the right thing too, as well as your coworker who let you know she had gotten sick. I think a lot of people anymore would just not inform those they may have exposed & maybe wouldn't even test themselves, not really caring whether it's a cold, flu, covid, something else. My one case was from our cruise this past spring, and wow I don't want that again! Luckily we were home before we came down with it.

I haven't really followed much info about current cases or the latest strains, but I have heard there have been increasing case numbers for the past few weeks. Seems like with school getting ready to start back, it might continue to increase for a bit now.

My default even before the pandemic was to be on the cautious side when one of us had been exposed or could be coming down with something (especially when the kids were little and more stomach bugs were going around). In general I would much rather miss an event than spread something that gets others really sick.

 

[Pink Partridge]

If every time someone was exposed and people stayed home, life as we know it would shut down.

JMHO

I have to agree with this. Three weeks ago, I ate lunch with a co-worker who sent a text the next day that they had Covid. I went to a concert last week, and a bunch of people are posting online that they have Covid. My husband has a stuffed nose and scratchy throat , perhaps Covid? I don't know, as he isn't testing. "It's a cold", he says. I had to take a train this weekend. Many people blowing their noses and coughing. Allergies? Covid? A cold? Who knows. And, honestly, it's a stuffed nose and a cough. I can't shut down my life for that.

I would be permanently housebound if I didn't go out after being exposed to whatever is going around. I feel I am exposed daily.

 

[Pink Partridge]

Seems like with school getting ready to start back, it might continue to increase for a bit now.

For sure!

 

[luvnwdwgal]

Thank you for making the right decision. Now if only more people had the common sense to do that.

 

[mom2rtk]

This particular strain seems to be sneaky and very contagious.

In all seriousness, haven't they all been crazy contagious? Like each one hundreds times more contagious than the last?

 

[leebee]

While I know this isn't statistically significant, I have 4 friends who all flew for vacation this summer. All 4 ended up with covid within a few days of flying, either while on vacation or home.
If you come down with covid and are "older" I'd suggest you specifically ask your doctor for the antiviral. Everyone who has taken it has felt that their symptoms were more mild, and of a shorter duration, than for those who didn't have it (such as spouses or kids who got covid from them). I'd honestly be very concerned if I had a PCP who prescribed an antibiotic to treat a virus.

 

[dvcgirl67]

In all seriousness, haven't they all been crazy contagious? Like each one hundreds times more contagious than the last?

I believe that the experts would say that some strains are more contagious than the others. But I think I get what your'e saying....that for there to be a new "wave" caused by a new strain....that strain would have to develop many more mutations in order to "outcompete" the dominant strain at the time. So in that context, I guess that each strain would have to be slightly more contagious than the last.

The good news is that because they all derive in some way from the original strain, we all have some baseline immunity...either from the virus or the vaccine. The boosters add some of the latest mutations to the mix, to literally "boost" our immunity.