Looks Like COVID Will Mess With My Christmas

[Micca]

I'm so sorry covid is wreaking havoc on so many people. Y'all take care and plan another time to celebrate. FWIW: A sore throat is one of the most miserable things that can happen, the "Knives in the throat feeling???"

 

[kyton]

Just returned to Australia from Florida / Louisiana this week - so 2 international flights, 3 internal flights. Started feeling a little off in NOLA last Thursday, started with a ticklish throat and coughing which has always meant pharyngitis for me. Arrived in Australia after two packed flights full of people coughing on Tuesday, doctors on Wednesday. Yep you’ve got pharyngitis but I’ll swab you just in case. Merry Christmas you’ve also got Covid!

Since 2022 I’ve flown to and from the US probably 8-10 times with even more internal flights - my husband & son have done even more than that. I am the only one to have ever caught Covid.

 

[tinkerbellandpeterpan]

It's quite possible that you can have COVID and not display any symptoms, or even feel bad. Did you test when he had it? Or are you just assuming, since you had no obvious symptoms, that you didn't have it?

I tested and didn't just assume anything...

 

[DisneyTeacher]

I’m just coming off my second round of Covid. I felt a little achy for about 6 hours Saturday. I had a slight case of the sniffles Sunday and Monday but wasn’t too worried until I lost taste and smell Monday. I tested positive Monday night. I was over the sniffles by Tuesday and my smell started coming back Wednesday morning and I tested negative at 11 am Wednesday. It’s like super speed Covid. Crazy.

My school district just updated our Covid guidelines and students/staff can return after 24 hours symptom free like any other illness. No length of time involved.

 

[mamamary]

Oh what a bummer but glad to hear that Christmas is going to be better for you! My DD was given Paxlovid but is afraid to take it. Going to check in with her in a bit to see what she decided to do.

Me and dh both took paxlovid last month. We did get better quickly but we’ll never know if it was because of the meds or not. My husband got the nasty taste in his mouth which lasted a good week. Luckily I didn’t get it. We didn’t get any covid rebound either.

 

[ChrisFL]

Sadly not everyone just recovers from COVID. Long COVID is a real thing but hopefully some new treatments will help out. I don't personally know anyone who had a severe case of it, but there is someone I follow on social media/youtube, called "The Physics Girl" and she's been basically completely bed-ridden for several months with almost no ability to move or get around on her own


FWIW I always get the latest vaccine and have only had COVID once in August of 2022 and I was only sick for about 2 days with it. Somehow, despite being overweight and not the healthiest eater, etc. I am very rarely hit by major illnesses. I only had the flu once in 2019 and that was also something I got over in 2 days (and I had never had a flu shot before then). Super lucky somehow.

 

[focusondisney]

COVID made a visit to me as well. First time. Everyone said three days and you’ll feel better. NOPE! Started with the sore throat on Sunday evening. Headache in the middle of the night. Stuffy/runny nose, body aches and eye pain Monday morning. Tested and it was immediately positive. Today is day 4 and while the body aches are mostly gone my throat is on fire and the coughing isn’t helping. This is miserable. I’d hate to know what it would be like it vaccination makes it more mild.

So sorry you got it. We got it after our 4th of July trip. I was miserable too & thought the same thing, I can’t imagine how bad it would have been without he vaccines.

I got Covid on a trip to FL earlier this month. Tested positive right away as I was feeling sick (headache, sore throat, cough, fatigue). Still not over it 100% yet. I’ve got the tinnitus in my left ear (I think you had that, didn’t you, Christine?), am really run down and a bit winded at times. Little doubt I caught it on the plane going down.

My DD’s been sick since an October trip (her master’s graduation). Little doubt she caught it on the plane as well - someone sneezed in front of us the whole way home with no attempts to cover mouth. She tested negative for Covid (multiple times, including a PCR) but she did wind up getting treated for strep. Fast forward to FL (wedding), and my illness, and when we got home she started feeling sick again. Again tested negative for Covid except once when she thought she saw a tiny little “line” in the positive window, which I couldn’t really see, myself. Had the same symptoms as me, with the prouction of that thick “cement-guck” (as I call it). Wound up at Urgent Care earlier this week with a horrendous cough. Diagnosed with post-viral bronchitis and doc thought, for sure, she had had Covid. For several nights she was in bronchospasm and it took all we know (both of us RNs) to get it to calm down in the middle of the night. Now she has an awful sore throat again, with white spots, so we’re thinking the strep is probably back. Ugh.

I’ve only been able to do the bare minimum for Christmas. Just exhausted. Hopefully DD can get tested for strep today and treated if necessary. I hope your DD feels better soon and all of you stay healthy. We are supposed to go to FL again this winter for son’s baseball tournament, and we’re seriously thinking of taking a pass. People aren’t testing anymore and everyone is out and about hacking and sneezing. I can mostly avoid it, except on a plane.

Ugh, I’m so sorry you & your daughter are still sick. When we got it (for the first time) in July, the first week was even less than a mild cold. Unfortunately on day 5-6, I got a fever . It was only about 101° but I felt really sick. I also had the worst nausea I have ever had in my life. A few days I couldn’t even tolerate the vitamins or 2 of my normal prescription meds. I forced myself to take my BP meds but anything other than that wasn’t happening. The nausea, fever & lasted a week & then it took another 2 - 3 weeks to get my strength back & get over that winded feeling. I feel like I lost the whole month of July. I hope you both get better soon.

We went back to WDW this month too. We’ve taken at least 8 trips since Covid started. July was the first time we went without masks. You better believe we were in KN95 masks at the airports, on planes & in crowded lines. Most of the time we were the only people masked. We have plans to go back at the end of February & will mask again. As a retired RN “masks don’t work” nonsense is like nails on a chalkboard to me. I want to shout, they do if you wear them right! and school people on how many years medical professionals used masks safely & effectively. My BPs going up just thinking about it.

Feel better!

 

[Christine]

Hmmm. Paxlovid worked really well for me. I would not hesitate to take it again because I felt much better the very next day. Is she afraid to take Tamiflu? It's the same kind of thing, except for Covid instead of Influenza.

I just checked in with her and she decided not to take it. I pushed her to do so but she's too terrified of side effects. I guess some of her friends took it and several got the rebound. I told her she could take a few doses and could always stop if it were too much but she has decided she doesn't want to do. Not much more I can do.

 

[focusondisney]

Wow. I'm amazed someone got it 4x, you'd think they are over it at some point, & crazy you never got it from him any of those times... you're right you must have some high level of immunity & his level is really low for whatever reason.

I wonder if something like blood type has something to do with it. I always think one day we're going to figure out that blood type is a big deal and makes us all either prone to certain things, like illness & even dieting results.

It would be great if scientists could figure out why some people seem more or less susceptible. My son & 2 sisters haven’t had it, even tho their spouses did. My husband & I avoided it til July. It still annoys him (& me) that we got it. There were some initial theories about people with low Vit D being more susceptible. We took it for over 2 years & avoided Covid, so we‘re back to taking that. I also remember seeing news stories about studies being done with pwolle who have never had it. I’m looking forward to seeing some study reports.

I wanted to recommend Paxlovid for people with Covid. I had Covid in April of this year (after flying home from a cruise) and I took my first dose of Paxlovid hours after I tested positive. I was 95% better and tested negative 4 days later with no Paxlovid bounce back. One thing, Paxlovid Mouth is totally true. My pharmacist recommended cinnamon gum which really helped with the nasty metallic taste.

Unfortunately, not everyone can take Paxlovid. Many high risk patients can’t take it because meds for high blood pressure & high cholesterol interact with it. It’s also not indicated for people with chronic kidney disease. It stinks that people who are at high risk from Covid are excluded from paxlovid. There are a few other treatment options, so it’s still a good idea to contact your health care provider for guidance.

 

[Chili327]

It would be great if scientists could figure out why some people seem more or less susceptible. My son & 2 sisters haven’t had it, even tho their spouses did. My husband & I avoided it til July. It still annoys him (& me) that we got it. There were some initial theories about people with low Vit D being more susceptible. We took it for over 2 years & avoided Covid, so we‘re back to taking that. I also remember seeing news stories about studies being done with pwolle who have never had it. I’m looking forward to seeing some study reports.

Do you happen to know everyone blood type?

 

[focusondisney]

Do you happen to know everyone blood type?

My son has never needed his blood typed. My sisters are A+, same as I am. At least 1 sister started taking the vitamin regime (C, D & zinc) early in the pandemic & is still taking them every day. She never even took a multivitamin before. My other sister doesn’t take them, my son takes a multivitamin, plus extra C when traveling. I retired as a hospital based RN in April 2022 & my husband ran a food production plant, so we never got to work from home. We took the vitamins daily until my husband retired at the end of April. We cut back to only a multivitamin daily. We took them while we were in Disney in July but stopped after we recovered from Covid. We restarted a few weeks before we went to Disney early this month & plan to continue them for the foreseeable future. I really don’t want Covid again.

 

[greeneyedchick]

Sadly not everyone just recovers from COVID. Long COVID is a real thing but hopefully some new treatments will help out. I don't personally know anyone who had a severe case of it, but there is someone I follow on social media/youtube, called "The Physics Girl" and she's been basically completely bed-ridden for several months with almost no ability to move or get around on her own


FWIW I always get the latest vaccine and have only had COVID once in August of 2022 and I was only sick for about 2 days with it. Somehow, despite being overweight and not the healthiest eater, etc. I am very rarely hit by major illnesses. I only had the flu once in 2019 and that was also something I got over in 2 days (and I had never had a flu shot before then). Super lucky somehow.

That's a shame to hear about the Physics Girl. My son and I watch her for homeschooling. I was wondering what happened to her.

 

[focusondisney]

Wow. I'm amazed someone got it 4x, you'd think they are over it at some point, & crazy you never got it from him any of those times...

My brother has had it 4 times also. He’s an optician in a big box store’s optical department. He first had it in mid December 2020, just before vaccines were available. He had the initial vaccine series but not all the boosters. He wore a mask at work longer than any of his coworkers, some of whom come to work sick. As an optician, he’s really up close & personal, inches away from his customers faces. He isn’t wearing a mask regularly anymore. I don’t know if he’s ever had his blood typed either. The first Covid episode he was very sick, temp over 102 for 8 days, with some being 103+ . He was sick for over 2 weeks, but thankfully never had breathing issues. The other times it was definitely not as bad, but still much more than a cold…fevers 100-101, bad sinus drainage, exhaustion & coughing. He did not get treatment meds but recovered after about 3 - 4 days each time.

 

[dvcgirl67]

Christine and everyone else affected by this....so sorry to hear it! It's never fun to have holiday plans upended by illness. Hang tough everyone!

 

[ChrisFL]

That's a shame to hear about the Physics Girl. My son and I watch her for homeschooling. I was wondering what happened to her.

Here's an update that was posted just today

 

[Travel60]

I've started masking in crowds again...just ordered additional N95s. We will be seeing kids and grandkids over Christmas (and grandkids' school has a few cases). We have a 19 day international trip beginning January 6 and don't want to get sick. Haven't had it yet but vaxed to the max for Covid, RSV, flu.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I personally won’t take Paxlovid again, as, in 2022, with my first time getting Covid, I got a rebound case that was way worse than the first episode. I forget the percentage, but chances are low for that to happen, so most will probably fine if they take it. I took Zicam at the outset this time. It may have helped a little.

 

[luvthatduke]

I'm praying for all of you & your families that are sick.

I also want to say to everyone who tested,
and also to everyone who is isolating.
We have friends who refuse to test (political)
and we just do not understand it.

Just an FYI regarding the "5 day" rule.
It is only if you are SYMPTOM FREE that it applies.
If you're still having symptoms you should continue
to isolate until the worst of them are gone.

 

[disneychrista]

Just an FYI regarding the "5 day" rule.
It is only if you are SYMPTOM FREE that it applies.
If you're still having symptoms you should continue
to isolate until the worst of them are gone.

And mask day 6-10. Or at least that is what the doctor said to do.

 

[Christine]

My daughter had a rough night yesterday. One thing she wasn't doing was taking enough ibuprofen. She's having those issues, fairly common with COVID, where she was up and around and her heart rate was high. This also happens with a fever. I'm pretty sure she's got a fever going on but she has no thermometer. I don't think it's high based on her symptoms--probably around 100. She felt lightheaded last night. I could tell she was just in a panic. I told her to take FOUR ibuprofen and take a small dose of some Xanax she had. Two hours later I called and she was a different person, thank goodness--I almost thought we were going to have to drive up to the city and get her and go to the ER but ultimately it was panic on top of just being sick.

She thinks this time it's worse than her last time, but I reminded her she was sick for 2 weeks last time but she was living with roommates at the time and I think they all took care of each other. I guess it's much harder when you're alone.

I just want us to be one of those folks that gets the sniffles. Is it bad to say "I'm jealous" lol. None of us have any other issues, not overweight, generally healthy and I feel like it's not great for us. I personally know people that seem like they're on death's door get it and it's so mild.

I think I've been fooling myself that if I get it again, it won't be as bad but I think I'm back into reality that this probably won't be the case.