Two Weeks of Symptoms

This replaces my previous post of 24 Sept, "One Week," to consolidate an accounting of my entire experience between testing positive and testing negative.

I wanted to document the timeline of my symptoms throughout my COVID infection...

Day 0: had an itchy throat all day that felt like allergies or the beginning of a cold

Day 1: tested positive, had minor cough and congestion I treated with cold medicine; this was the one day I felt slightly drained and mostly spent the day on the couch

Day 2: same symptoms, treated with cold medicine; otherwise had regular energy levels, etc.

Day 3: same symptoms, didn't take any medicine until bedtime; senses of taste and smell felt blunted

Day 4: same symptoms but completely lost sense of smell and taste; took Benadryl in the afternoon for congestion and ended up taking a hard nap for a couple hours

Day 5: less congested feeling and voice felt less hoarse/froggy but still a bit nasal; still had no smell or taste, which was a really upsetting feeling

Day 6: same symptoms, treated with cold medicine; smell and taste slightly improved, able to catch a whiff of heavily scented items; headache started in the evening. This was the first day I could start re-testing for negativity, but my test came up positive and looked the same as my first positive test

Day 7: laid up with a headache most of the day, otherwise same symptoms, treated with cold medicine

Day 8: same symptoms, treated with cold medicine; took another home test that looked just as positive as the first two

For comparison, my husband was 2 days ahead of me, tested strongly positive right away, had more severe symptoms, took an antiviral regimen and was basically back to normal at this point except for an occasional cough. He got a faint positive test on his day 8. On his day 10 he got his first fully clear test.

At this point I felt like I wasn't making any progress. Everyone was asking how I felt, and I basically  felt the same as I'd been the whole time - I had an annoying drip starting from my nose that caused me to cough and clear my throat frequently. I never got a fever. My tests were equally positive looking this whole time. I just tried to be patient, take it easy, and hoped for better results by day 10...

Day 9: felt a little more achy throughout the day, kept myself medicated with Dayquil and NyQuil

Day 10: slept well, woke up feeling good, took an afternoon rest/nap, was happy to be able to smell more things! Finally got a negative home test this evening, along with my husband!

Day 11: felt fine all day except an occasional throat clear; took an afternoon rest/nap

Day 12: felt fine all day except an occasional throat clear or cough; did an afternoon errand, took an afternoon rest/nap; got a second negative home test 48 hours after the first, confirming lack of contagiousness

Day 13: cleared throat throughout the day, went to a morning appointment, took an afternoon rest/nap 

Day 14: cleared throat throughout the day, had a busy day with lots of talking, slightly hoarse by end of day

Now that I have a full 2 weeks down, and 2 negative tests under my belt, I think I'm going to  stop recording my symptoms daily unless something dramatically changes or gets worse. I'm not sure if it was COVID related or a regular migraine that I get frequently, but I feel like the headache I got on Day 7 really set back my progress by a couple days.

I've also heard a theory that people develop "long COVID" when they try to do too much too soon, and that you should really rest and just be a couch potato for 6-8 weeks to help avoid this. I've definitely been doing more this week, but not anything crazy or strenuous. I'm definitely not just intentionally exercising or even going for walks like I usually try to do a few days per week. I've been trying to schedule an afternoon nap instead of an afternoon walk, actually. Some days while working from home I would just take a rest in the afternoons, but I am actually falling asleep and having a little power nap now during this time, so I think my body really needs it.

Fingers crossed that I stay on this trajectory and continue improving 🤞 We can't get the new booster vaccine for 3 months, and many people are getting reinfected with the Omicron variant in a matter of weeks, so our goal is just to stay healthy until we're able to get boosted.

We Got It

Well, we had a good 2.5 year run, but I'll always remember the week of my milestone birthday as the week I first got COVID.

As I'd mentioned, my husband tested positive immediately while my test remained negative, however despite immediately masking and separating at that time, I was sure I'd already been exposed. I was pretty much two days behind him and tested positive over the weekend. Luckily I've had a much lighter case so far. We're also aware of two other people he infected before he was symptomatic.

Pavel Danilyuk for Pexels

It's pointless to get upset or try to figure out exactly who got him sick or what happened, but here's the timeline as best as we can piece together as well as how we've been doing:

• Saturday: We were together all day and celebrated my birthday with many friends outdoors; I'm pretty sure no infections happened here, as we were exposed to the same people (and in fact I was more exposed, as I greeted and hugged many guests).
• Sunday: We were also together all day, and went to a large concert that night. It was semi-outdoors and we were in the front row so we didn't wear masks. However, once the band started, people kind of encroached into our area and honestly I was a little uncomfortable. I think my husband picked something up here - I stayed in my seat and he stood up, so maybe the particles were floating up higher, or there was a guy he was close talking with before the show started and maybe he got it from him.
• Mon-Tues: Nothing happened, neither of us went anywhere or was unmasked around anyone else.
• Wednesday: My husband went to work from his office for a half day, I spent the day with a young person I volunteer with - both of us were masked when indoors with others. My husband spent that evening visiting family outdoors and was a little hoarse when he got home, but thought it was because he'd been outside talking all night.
• Thursday: My husband went to the office again for a full day, was the only person in the room wearing a mask most of the day, though he ate lunch with a couple coworkers. When he got home he still sounded really hoarse, had a fever and chills and just wanted to go to bed. He tested positive for COVID and I tested negative. We immediately masked up and designated certain areas of the house for him to keep separated.
• Friday: My husband called out sick and spent the day in bed with a slight fever. I felt ok but had a tickle in the back of my throat all day; it felt like allergies maybe because we'd had the windows open overnight and achy because I slept on the uncomfortable guest bed.*
• Saturday: I still felt sick and was not surprised to test positive for COVID. My husband started an antiviral treatment following a telehealth appointment with a doctor. I'm still not sure how he got a prescription as he doesn't really have a lot of risk factors and didn't have a super severe case so far. He spent half the day in bed, half on the couch with me. This was probably my worst day, but my symptoms were not that bad, mostly just coughs and sniffles.
• Sunday: Felt a little better because I got to sleep in my own bed again. My husband's first fever-free day, and his energy level was pretty much back to normal. I felt fine but my voice sounded pretty bad - I did a bunch of housework but mostly took it easy. Found out one of the family members he visited on Wednesday also tested positive.
• Monday (today): My husband is pretty much back to normal, I haven't even heard him cough much today. I was still a little congested this morning I think just from overnight, but am also doing pretty well. I don't think either of us have taken any cold medicine today. Found out one of my husband's coworkers he was with last week tested positive. 

I do not recommend anyone get COVID and would still like it to be gone, but I am happy to report that thus far at least, I never even had a fever and the experience has not been any worse for me than a typical cold. My husband definitely had a rougher time, but really turned a corner after just a couple doses of antiviral treatment. Hopefully the worst has already passed for both of us, but I know it's not uncommon for people to be improving and then suddenly take a turn, so I don't feel like we're out of the woods just yet. 

I also find it interesting how every infection was pretty much 2 days after exposure, how being outdoors doesn't mean you're totally safe if you're close (despite masking indoors religiously we'd really been living totally normally outdoors this summer), and how much worse these exposures might have been if not for masks and vaccinations blunting them. I'll definitely be a lot more cautious both indoors and out going forward, but in the short term I'm hoping to enjoy a little immunity boost, before we're eligible to get our new Omicron booster shots...

* Apologies to all our past guests! I will be ordering a new mattress topper and bedding ASAP!

Fall 2022

Oh where to begin? In the five months since I wrote my last post, infection rates remained high over the summer and after those first two tentative forays into restaurant eating, we've gone back to dining outdoors only. I have gone to the office a handful more times. I spent several days at a conference in Washington, DC, where I was again the only person wearing a mask indoors. 

Over the summer, it seemed like everyone who'd remained COVID-free finally got it - plus lots of people who'd had it before got it for the second or third time. It didn't even seem milder - lots of people had really rough recoveries for a week or more, lingering coughs, or persistent positive tests.

Toward the end of summer as things started to get busy, it finally seemed like maybe we could be comfortable doing more. I had a big birthday and my husband threw me a fantastic surprise party with many friends I hadn't seen in a couple years. We went to concerts, family events, ate out, kids are going back to school, we have lots of plans with family and friends, and it seems like I have a different doctor's appointment every week for the next couple months, that had all been scheduled months ago. We're still fully masked indoors and often seem like the only people doing so.

cottonbro for Pexels

Then the other night my husband was a little hoarse. When he didn't sound any better the next day and was just tired and run down feeling, I suggested he take a home COVID test just in case. It immediately turned positive. So I tested myself, and somehow came up negative. So far so good for me, though I feel like I'm a ticking time bomb waiting to get sick myself. So far he has a fever and cough/congestion, and just wants to sleep which is very unlike him. Hopefully his symptoms improve soon because he is a terrible patient! And hopefully our precautions of staying apart and wearing masks in common areas work and I don't get sick myself - though I'm honestly not sure how I'm not also infected because anyplace we've gone in the last week has been together 😕 We'd just been talking about getting the new booster that targets two Omicron variants, too. So right now everything is on hold - getting vaccines, doing activities, going to doctors appointments, etc. - while waiting to see how he recovers and if I get sick too.