Am I going to be alright? (Covid)

[MarkCastle89]

Hello, and thanks for taking the time to read this thread. So earlier today I took one of those take home tests and it came back positive that I have Covid. Before that however I had gone to one of those drive thru test areas but they said it would take up to 16 hours to get the results back, so I ended up going and buying one. Probably should have done that to begin with.

I had a small headache and some sinus issues,along with a sore throat. In all honesty I thought it had been my IBS flaring up. This has happened before; acid reflux, burning in throat, inside of ear getting itchy due to irritation...so yes I assumed it was all that all over again. Guess I was wrong.

First thing I did was have my wife take a test too. It came back negative which was a HUGE relief for me. I'm keeping my distance for now, and waiting on the results from the PCR test. I'm assuming they'll come back positive too.

Anyways yeah...I am a anxious wreck right now. I keep assuming the worst will come to pass. I don't even have a fever, and the sore throat is more just bothersome than painful, but I keep thinking of the worst possible scenario. I got 2 jabs, but never did get around to the booster. Am I overworrying here?

[Catkins]

Yes you're overworrying. I've had Covid twice now, and both times I felt a bit rough but not too bad. The current strains are much milder than previously. Drink plenty of fluids, take paracetamol and get plenty of rest.

[MarkCastle89]

Thank you for taking the time to reply! Sometimes just hearing from someone else confirming that you are thinking too hard on something is very helpful! I had a aunt pass away from covid due to complications with other health issues, so I guess my mind just focused on that. Thank you again for your reply .

[MarkCastle89]

I decided I am going to use my thread as a personal journal when it comes to my days with Covid. I've never done this before, but I have heard that writing things down helps empty the mind a bit and helps you relax. That sounds great to me!

[MarkCastle89]

Day 1 After Testing Positive

Last night went better than I expected to be honest. I was scared would wake up not being able to breathe and having to rush to the toilet with the sudden urge to vomit, but that didn't happen. If anything I actually slept a bit better than the night before that. When I woke up this morning, I didn't feel any better but I also didn't feel worse. I prefer to see the glass as half full in that situation haha.

I got up from my sleeping bag in the living room and checked my temperature. No fever once again so that was reassuring to me. I have these dark chocolate mint pretzels at hand. I have this weird habit of sucking off the chocolate before eating the pretzel...so I did that with a few of them and had a huge gulp of water. That's when I noticed something. For the last few days I hadn't been eating much, and even drinking water made me feel full and icky. Not this time though...so again I saw that as a good sign.

The rest of the day I did spend mostly laying down. I do feel exhausted, but not like out of breathe just ran 20 miles exhausted. More a feeling of just being sleepy. While it can have to do with the fact that I am sick, I also contribute it to a anxiety medication that my GP prescribed me for times when I can't sleep. That and anxiety has a way of sapping your energy.

For dinner I had some beef and broccoli with white rice and 100 percent apple juice I get from a local orchard. It was the first time I ate that much in a while,so it felt kind of nice to down a bit of food. My stomach had been bothering me a few days before my positive test, so now that I can hear it rumbling, I feel a bit more at ease. My wife made it in a way that it wouldn't be too heavy for my gut. She truly is a blessing.

Now that I lay here at 10:00 P.M, my anxiety has spiked a bit. My nose got stuffy, couldn't breathe and suddenly my mind jumped to the whole not breathing well symptom. However I reminded myself that this has happened before with things like a cold or flu and I was fine. Had to tell myself I was overthinking it and it helped a bit.

I guess you just have to hold on to those little wins over anxiety and remind yourself it is not a invincible monster, that it can be defeated. Does this mean I got rid of it completely? Nah..heck I am still anxious I'll get worse tomorrow even though that is highly unlikely because I am feeling better. I can't lay here thinking about it though. If I do that,I won't sleep and then I'll feel worse tomorrow. Self fulfilling prophecy. Funny how that works haha.

[MarkCastle89]

Day 2 After Testing Positive

I had meant to post yesterday as well, but things got a bit hectic and I was somewhat busy. I didn't wake up in a panic that Friday morning unable to breathe, or puking my lungs out like I was afraid I would. No instead I woke up to my poor wife showing me her positive result on a test she had just taken. She told me she felt like death and her throat was killing her.

I swear I forgot I had covid for like 5 minutes haha. I was up in the medicine cabinet looking for anything to help soothe her symptoms. Finally settled on some Dayquil and cough drops, things she has been using since then. Unlike me, her symptoms seem a bit more prominent. She says she has had colds this bad, so it isn't too alarming for her. That does not mean she is a fan though.

Looking back now,it is interesting how quickly I forgot about my personal woes when I saw her test results. Did my anxiety completely go away? No it was still there, it just wasn't the primary concern. That is probably something I can remember for the future to be honest. To learn how to focus my concern on something else when I am anxious. Focus my anxiety on something a less bit...oh I don't know. Something less likely to send me into a spiral thinking I am going to die? Listen to me coming up with ways to deal with my anxiety in the future..as if I am going to have one past this month hahaha. My humor is odd.

As the day went on, things seemed to look up a bit more. She slept most of the day, but when she got up later in the afternoon, she was no longer feeling too bad and seemed a bit more cheery. Seeing her happy made me feel a little better too actually.

My symptoms that day weren't too bad. I had the congestion and stuffy head feeling along with the fatigue and the sore throat. No nausea or anything of the sort. We were actually able to eat a somewhat normal dinner of pad thai, and crispy garlic chicken which was actually a bit light on the crispy and garlic. I didn't complain though, it was probably for the better.

At the end of the day my wife commented that I seemed more like my usual self and that it made her happy to see that. I felt very good actually, but I just didn't want to get too optimistic since it was still pretty early on since testing positive. Yes most of the brain fog was gone, and even my sore throat had almost completely vanished..but you just never know with this virus.

[MarkCastle89]

Day 3 After Testing Positive (Part 1)

Well day 3 certainly has not been my favorite day. That really isn't saying much however since it has only two other contenders though. I woke up with a sore throat once again and the usual nasal congestion. Ears felt stuffy, but once I popped in another cough drop into my mouth, those things seemed to calm down a bit.

My wife and I had a appt scheduled with a telehealth doctor, (I think that is what it is called) at 9:40 am this morning. She got up and showered, making herself look like she was ready to go to the ball. I sat up from the ground like a zombie and threw on a baseball cap to hide my bed hair and called it good.

After waiting on the call for 20 minutes or so, she got a separate call on her phone from the person that scheduled our appt. They asked her some questions and then concluded she didn't need to be at the appt, however I did. Anxiety kicked in and my mind began racing. 'Oh no..something is wrong with me.', the voice said in my head. After that there proceeded to be a epic battle of wits within my mind that lasted probably under 12 seconds, but felt like hours haha. Lemme share how it played out.

Anxiety made me think they wanted to see me because they must know something is horribly wrong. Perhaps they found something really bad. That is when logic and clear thinking (Proof that my brain fog was lifting a bit more) decided to step in. Maybe the real reason they were still willing to see me and not my wife isn't because I had some super rare mutation of covid...but because my appt was scheduled for 9:40 was while her appt was scheduled for around 10:30. They were willing to see me cause they saw I was already in the video call waiting.

So no, I wasn't Patient 0 of the new deadliest strain of covid in the universe. I was just the patient they didn't wanna cancel with since I was already there for my appt. Funny how anxiety makes a mountain out of a mole hill. I've seen some gnarly looking moles by the way. Both on skin and in dirt.

[Scass]

It definitely sounds like you’re going to be ok.
Quite enjoying your diary, even though you have covid & you’re feeling a bit rough…
Wishing you both a speedy recovery.

[MarkCastle89]

Day 3 After Testing Positive (Part 2)


At my appt, the provider decided to prescribe me Lagevrio. I guess it the 2nd antiviral they go with. The reason they did it is because they didn't have access to my blood work from like 200 years ago and didn't wanna prescribe me with something (Paxlovid) that would cause damage to my kidney incase I had some underlying condition. Plus this one wouldn't interfere with any of my otc stuff I am taking.

I guess I qualified due to my weight. I am just there at being within the overweight threshold I guess. It's not like I am a eater of worlds and swallow forty chicken nuggets in one breath every day, I had just let myself go this year. It had been a hard year (Lost aunt to covid, and a uncle to cancer), so I just went bleh. That will change after I recover from this though.

I had someone leave my medication outside my home at the bottom of the stairs. I had read that some people struggle to go up and down a flight of stairs when they had/have covid, and I wanted to test myself to see if I'd be out of breath. Worst case if I couldn't make it all the way down, I'd just roll the rest of the way. Coming up would be a issue.

I went down and up no problem to my surprise. I didn't feel any different than I usually do so that was reassuring to me. It is the little wins like those that always kind of get my mood up and make me realize than again, anxiety is not a invincible monster.

Anxiety did hit me with a counter though as soon as I got in and took out the medication. 'Is it really safe to take this? It is not FDA approved and some people say it could have long term effects years in the future.' I won't lie and say I was able to brush off the anxiety quick and easy. Urges to search the internet and testimonials did rise, but I managed to ward them off. Maybe I will get superpowers.

In the end what made me decide to just take the dang things was the fact that the doc would not have prescribed them to me if they had a chance of really doing me harm. If in the end I had side effects, that would mean I just stop taking them. I ended up not having any side effects though, so all that worrying was for nothing.

Now I am laying here, getting ready to do some reading before sleeping. The symptoms are all super mild right now. No sore throat or pain. A bit congested and a raspy sound sometimes when I take a deep breathe...but that's just the stuff on the inside being loosened from the otc stuff.

I feel pretty good if I am being honest. When my brother got it, he had a fever of 102, vomiting, couldn't keep food down, no liquids, and even trouble breathing. He recovered just fine after 5-6 days. Will I recover that fast? I am not sure but..compared to how he was doing at this phase, I'd say I am pretty alright.


My wife is asleep, the puppy is as well, and a book is calling my name. I probably won't be cured tomorrow, but I'll be one day closer to being done with this!

[MarkCastle89]

It definitely sounds like you’re going to be ok.
Quite enjoying your diary, even though you have covid & you’re feeling a bit rough…
Wishing you both a speedy recovery.

Thank you so much! Every day that passes reassures measwell.