rona moved in: ilx0rs with the bug report on their progress

it was my third bout of pneumonia.

doc said covid + sinus infection (which i didnt know i even had except for blocked ears) often results in pneumonia. so thats something to look for, i guess.

took mom to doctor's because she likely has a sinus infection (got worse and worse as the week went on, negative for flu, COVID, on several occasions). we were masked. two Geico cavepeople then walked in the door and the mom immediately starts telling the lady behind the counter that her son is really really sick, has had a 103 fever, been vomiting (basically TEXTBOOK Influenza B symptoms), and neither are masked, and dude comes into the area I'm sitting, so I somewaht dramatically got up and moved.

like....fuck, it was an expectation BEFORE COVID that you were supposed to mask at the doctor if you thought you had the flu. I remember CVS Minute Clinic having signage in the store back in 2014 that you were required to put one on if you had suspected flu symptoms before entering.

literally just avoided an exposure to Influenza A, not looking to get the much worse flu right now (I did get my flu shot). thankfully mom was inside the doctor's office the whole time.

Mom has COVID. And bronchitis and a sinus infection!

Yay.

Weirdly doc didn't give Paxlovid. He thought it might be false positive but it's not. Second test at home confirmed. She has antibiotics for the other stuff

I'm negative but we'll see if it lasts.

I may make mom get the Paxlovid tho

I'll be isolating of course. Just hoping mom feels better. She seems beat but oxygen and blood pressure fine.

mom still not doing well, but only on second full day of antibiotics for bronchitis and sinus infection. she was sick all the way back to last Tuesday with minor symptoms and wasn't testing positive then, so we think possibly she got sinus infection -> bronchitis first, then COVID.

still testing negative here. once last week, three times across two days this week. i've stayed at home and mostly kept my distance and masking in house. they didn't prescribe mom Paxlovid and I asked her if she wanted me to fill out the Walgreens form to get it yesterday and she seemed reluctant, thinking she's too far along in her infection, and also dreading the metallic aftertaste. I think we're still in the window to get it so I may persuade her again.

definitely not a false positive for her, it popped bright red immediately today for her

Good luck, man!

Damn Neando, that's a lot! Sending good vibes and hopes that it's all mild for her.

hoping so too. she had a coughing fit that freaked me out a little in the night, but then I remembered that's what bronchitis essentially does.

if antibiotics don't do anything and it doesn't improve, I might suggest an ER visit just to get looked at.

bummer is dad's birthday is Sunday and we had a dinner planned, mom, my brother, and I, to celebrate his memory - which we'll probably have to postpone now now. but as I pointed out - we can celebrate him on that day no matter where we're at, and do something more formal when we're all healthy.

She's really lucky to have you in her life Neando, that's for sure.

A lot of people underestimate how long it takes lung stuff to heal. Coughs, even regular coughs, can linger for weeks. If antibiotics don't take it out, might be worth checking for pneumonia.

I don't know why, but I've heard lots of stories (or at least, more than one) of doctors not prescribing Paxlovid even when the patient is right in the bullseye: covid, older, more at risk, etc. Granted, the medicine supposedly works best very early on in the diagnosis, and also interferes with a few medications that many older people often take (blood pressure?), but other than that, I'm not sure there are any real downsides. When I had covid in July, my primary doc didn't prescribe it, so I just immediately contacted a Teledoc right after and she prescribed it with no hesitation.

dreading the metallic aftertaste.

This I don't get. Yeah, it wasn't the best taste, but it wasn't terrible, no medicine tastes good, and it's only temporary. I can see dreading a colonoscopy or dreading getting a filling, but medicine that tastes weird for a couple of days? That's not worthy of dread, imo. You can tell your mom I said so.

Here's more fun long covid stuff

https://wapo.st/3UDglOd

Gift link

xpost yeah and it's easy enough to get at Walgreens so I might just tell her 'come on, what's one more pill'

tbf, it's a lot of pills!

oh she has like 12-15 already lol

mom improving. me, still nothing, no symptoms, no positive test.

and now i've been isolating, whereas before we knew we had basically been sharing a lot of the same air.

may get lucky.

isolating from mom that is in my own room. and a KN95

Good thoughts, that's a lot. Hope improvement continues.

the big improvement is in her cough, thankfully. suggests that the bronchitis might indeed be separate bacterial infection and that antibiotics are working.

mom has essentially beaten the bronchitis and sinus infection and just has residual gunk from the bronchitis.

still testing positive, but line has gotten fainter finally.

I continue to test negative and feel absolutely fine, and if mom is negative soon, I might completely luck out again. especially since we're basically in separate rooms and masking when in the same room.

https://scontent-hou1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/435678587_10163219403263709_6542223938633004152_n.jpg?stp=cp6_dst-jpg_p526x296&_nc_cat=105&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=5f2048&_nc_ohc=AuNwQ2OVFZcAb7E-ic6&_nc_ht=scontent-hou1-1.xx&oh=00_AfCocMRCAEi-acf4yXqKjmso_CA7Z6wfkht4QGAokz3Stg&oe=66204022

this lollipop sucks, who comes up with these flavors

Get well! How do you feel?

Not too bad, actually. A little achy, sinuses swole but not runny, feels like I have a slight fever but my thermometer says no. I caught it from my wife, who got it from her cousin last Sunday on an eclipse-watching trip. She had one very uncomfortable day but is on the upswing.

Hello Covid, my old friend
I've come to cough with you again...

A buddy tested positive this morning, so I thought I should take a test as well... Positive!

It's been a couple years since I came down with the 'Rona.. I thought I was having a little case of sniffles mixed with hay fever; nope, it's Covid

Current CDC guidelines say to isolate until you've gone 24 hours with no fever, without using fever-reducing meds (which I haven't been)... currently at 99.6* so not too bad

Sorry to hear Andy!

Last night was pretty rough, but I feel better this morning... I think it was the hot toddy

My wife and I caught it again about a month ago now, it was milder than the first time (1 day down-and-out instead of 3+) but we both have a lingering brain fog. Best wishes to Andy and anyone else suffering now.

okay I tested negative over a week ago (monday may 6th) but I'm still coughing shit up

The mild but persistent cough that I still have started a couple of days after I got rid of the virus.

Felt subpar a couple days but woke yesterday to v sore throat. No fever ever. Thought strep as that’s been around, took a slightly expired home test yesterday afternoon, turned positive as the drop was hitting the strip practically. Feel improved today, but a fresh test also shows clear positive.

What caused me to go from strep assumption to Covid test was that—the hair on my scalp hurt yesterday afternoon. Still does

BF and his son both came down with it yesterday (thats round 2 for the bf as well). Given we suspect they picked it up out at a show on the weekend that means it was brewing in em for 2 full days without symptoms so I'm now worried I'll come down with it as well, and as a result have had to cancel a planned trip interstate to visit my ailing dad (because I cant risk going near an elderly old man with possible cooties). Blasted timing!

I actually ran into the woman last night that gave me covid! She was apologetic but of course she didn't know it when we were chatting in the bar - anyway I told her that getting covid was actually a good booster ahead of my summer travels, so not to worry about it

been 4 days since I was exposed and I have a sore throat/am tired ,but im still testing negative. Annoying though, us all wearing masks indoors all the time is unpleasant (I get hot flashes and sweat a lot)

still shitty but my ilx thraed awarenesses and ppds (posts per day) are posting personal bests all fuckin day woo

well not quality, but quantity baybee

Started getting a sore throat yesterday, took one test the normal way and one test with a throat swab. The second one came back positive so I'm acting on the assumption I have covid, staying home from teaching, making plans to be out for days etc. So far it feels like a cold with an extra symptom of my stomach being a little messed up.

Last time I had covid, though, it was ten days of absolute misery: fever, body aches, tachycardia, trouble breathing, the works, followed by six months of long covid. That was when I'd already been sick for weeks with c.diff, though, so I'm hoping I have a much more functional immune system now. The promising thing is that this is day two and still mild. Last time it was mild for day one and then day two I woke up barely able to move.

RAT test finally showed up as positive this afternoon. I clearly had covid and knew it already (hacking irritating cough and general aches/malaise)

One weird thing this and last time I had it is no fever. But I'm returning to that feeling that - Lily Dale, I recall us talking about this last time round! - like my chest is heavy, even though I can breathe ok.

I am in day 5 from positive, my second bout after 18 mos ago, this sucks, i feel bad but not bedridden, have never had a fever this time. i actually feel slightly worst today than yesterday didn’t expect that. so bo room to complain, but you get ‘em here.

so much guitar practice that’s not the worst yay.

i should practice screen typing

Day 3: So far this sucks but is not nearly as bad as last time. Just feels like an unpleasant cold with fever and headache and lots of coughing. If there's going to be weird spooky shit like last time, it hasn't set in yet.

I've heard here in the Bay Area that there's definitely a 'wave' going on... college classes being cancelled due to high rates of infection. It seems to not be the worst strain but pretty prolific nonetheless

maybe, but worth noting that both nationally, in all four regions, and in California specifically, COVID wastewater levels are at "minimal" levels per the CDC. usually we'd see that jump significantly if there was an actual wave - worth noting as well that norovirus is still raging nationally at high levels, so that could be a culprit as it hasn't really backed off.

maybe sick people are hording their faeces

One more Paxlovid data point for ya…

Got Covid for the second time in December, immediately was very sick, but decided to ride it out.

On morning of day four I was still incredibly sick, getting sicker, and because my first round of Covid resulted in about 4 months of scary long Covid kind stuff I broke down and started taking the pax.

By the evening I felt 80% better and the next morning barely felt sick at all. Tested negative two days after the initial pax, no rebound. I know there have been vastly different paxlovid outcomes for most folks, but it absolutely felt like a miracle drug for me.