10 days ago when i went off quarantine or should i say isolation for what i am sure was a covid 19 infection i didnt feel too bad
it hasnt been a steady improvement of symptoms at all like i was expecting
you know you get an upper respiratory infection that makes you sick then each day you gradually get better
this covid 19 at least for me isnt doing that
it waxes and wanes
i read about several people who describe this as a real slow burn
i have had two bad days since my post quarantine time
one was yesterday and the other was last week
last week i figured out finally that with being sick and losing weight and the inactivity my blood pressure meds were dropping my blood pressure too low
plus
my aricept (donepezil) which i had restarted was really bothering my stomach and appetite a lot
so
i stopped the blood pressure meds last week and my blood pressure is now better than it was before when i was taking it granted ive lost weight and am less active and drinking less coffee and no wine
i stopped my aricept for a few days rest which seemed to make things better
i restarted it a few days ago and now its bothering me again
i remembered when i first started it 10 years ago it did the same thing to me but i persevered through as i knew i needed to be on it
i think it may be one of the reasons why i am better 10 years later
it delays symptoms longer the earlier you start it
i am afraid not to take it since i might start to regress some
so
i plan to gradually introduce it to my system
this morning i do feel like i feel better
i plan to not take any meds for a few days then will start my aricept every other day for a while and maybe take it at night knowing it might interfere with my sleep like it did 10 years ago and worsen my dreams
i remember my two brothers and mother took it at night and seemed to tolerate it ok
i can walk if i do it slowly and not really get short of breath
but
if i exert myself like working in the garden or lifting or vacuuming or cleaning i get short of breath
it easily goes away if i rest
its not gotten worse in the last week but it really hasnt improved
i have fatigue that i feel after eg when i worked in my garden for an hour really not doing much just simply pulling weeds and planting a couple of tomatoes and some harvesting of onions sweet peas salad greens
after that trip i was wore out
reading stories of folks who have gotten this they have similar stories
i have a burning sometimes in my chest when i am active like i just inhaled some gasoline
its not severe like with pleurisy just a burning like you can tell where your trachea and bronchi are like they are slightly inflamed
i remember having that in years past with acute bronchitis from all that coughing
so reviewing of symptoms as they developed in me
hopefully this will help some of you who may develop symptoms
remember you are probably contagious a few days before your symptoms start
that is why the cloth mask is important so you are less likely to spew virus on others
remember this is a highly contagious virus
i had a runny nose that i have when i garden or get out in cold weather and have had for weeks
i had a dry cough but i have had a chronic cough for months
i couldnt really tell if this was really different
i developed a headache i attributed it to my recurrent iritis
i had fatigue and remember mentioning that to my wife she i felt tired more than usual
i had a decreased appetite
i really didnt feel sleepy when i laid down for a nap or when i went to bed
i felt like i had drank extra coffee
the day my symptoms took off
while working in the garden i felt dizzy a common symptom i may add
as i was walking up my garden incline about a 100 ft i felt short of breath
i felt like i was coming down with something like the flu
i went home and walked from our garage to our condo about a 40 yard walk then as i walked up our stairs to our condo i got short of breath
i went inside took a shower ate a small lunch even though i wasnt hungry
i laid down for a mid day nap
then
i woke up with marked nausea like i was going to vomit and abdominal cramps and diarrhea
i took an antinausea pill that helped some
then the fever and chills with rigors started
i was cold even though i had on pjs and was under the covers
initially i didnt take any acetaminophen since i wanted to know if i had fever
as the day progressed i felt worse and worse
the fever and chills would come in waves
some of it was associated with waves of shortness of breath
i knew from reading that when it presents suddenly with gi symptoms like i have then rapidly moves to the lungs that the infection could overwhelm the bodys defenses fairly rapidly
folks who have this presentation progress rapidly and dont fare as well
only 30%+ ever leave the hospital
so
i went to the emergency room where they kept me for 3 hours
my blood pressure was elevated as was my heart rate i usually run in the 50s mine was in the low 100s
i had a low temp of 96 and when i left it was at 100
my oxygen level was ok at 98
my chest xray was normal
my blood tests which measured if i was getting septic were normal
my sodium and potassium was low probably from the diarrhea
my kidney and liver tests were ok
my complete blood count was ok
luckily i had just had annual labs two weeks ago that they could compare these too
they did a nasal swab for viral infections and the covid 19
all were negative
it took 5 days to get the covid 19 back
i feel like i had a false negative test which happens about 30% of the time thats when you really have the infection but it reads negative
thats a problem with some of these early tests and why medical folks sometimes get 2-3 tests done before they return back to work after a covid 19 infection
the worse i felt was the next day and the next
thats when i thought i was going to die and starting in my times when i felt better to prep my wife she on all or financial and will items.
as i improved that week she and i finished all our final will and trust paperwork we had started just before i got sick
it should all be finalized soon
i was afraid it was going to be needed though during those early first days
i felt nauseated and had no appetite
i made myself drink soup and eat crackers and drink gatorade and non caffeinated sodas to get some sugar and sodium and potassium into my system
i slept in 2-3 hours naps for over a week
i felt completely washed out
i was on regular dosing of acetaminophen but continued to have fever and chills and rigors even though i was maxed out on the recommended doses
i think this was the first time i have ever thought i was going to die
after 10 days my fevers finally subsided so i went off my acetaminophen and had only 1 episode of fever when i did that which was 14 days ago
right before i was going off quarantine i felt good
i must say those first few days i was off quarantine i felt much better than i do now
i feel like my meds that i am suppose to take has also made me feel worse
time will tell
i underestimated how much this virus probably got into my lungs
those symptoms really didnt show up until i became more active here in the condo
so
today
i have a mild runny nose
a mild cough that burns some when i cough
i have no headache but still have a scratchy throat
if i talk too much or if i am too active i get hoarse
i was able to eat a piece of toast and an egg and a half a cup of coffee
i will stay off meds for now
i hope to try to be outside more today but not overdo it hoping to increase it slowly each day
my appetite is not good
i dont feel overly tired but i usually get that way after i am more active
i have seen interviews with young healthy folks who have gotten this and they have residual symptoms much like this that last for days afterwards
i really think that if i was 10 years older i would have died
if i was obese i would have died
if i had heart disease i would have died
if i had diabetes i would have died
if i had asthma or emphysema my lung issues would have worsened
i might have died
if i was immunosuppressed i would have died
i have a high respect for how contagious this virus is
i would have worn a mask from the beginning and would have isolated myself better
i would not have gone to the grocery store or the pharmacy
i dont care what the politicians tell me and those of you who are at high risk or around those who are high risk shouldnt care what they tell you if they tell you to go out into the world unprotected
dont
listen
to
them
just look at washington and california and look at those curves then look at your states curves
remember many of you are a couple of weeks behind these two states
some of your numbers will be a lot worse than ours
i am sure i will recover but now i realize that it will take me a lot longer than i realized
now even though i probably am immune to the covid 19
and my wife she whose symptoms were much milder is probably immune to covid 10
we
plan
to
follow the rules
i cant be sure im not shedding virus still
stay inside as much as possible
wear a mask every time mainly to protect ourselves and others
if you dont im sorry you you should think about your elderly relatives your family and friends with high risk issues
keep no not 6 feet but maybe 10-20 feet from folks
remember that video i posted last week
when someone walks past you or ahead of you that stuff is still there
a cloth mask will prevent a percentage of the virus from being inhaled into your lungs
it mainly keeps you from spewing it all over the place
remember you will be asymptomatic for 2-3 days before you have symptoms
wash your hands
when you leave the house and when you first come home
dont touch your face
you can catch this
by breathing in the germ someone spews out into the air
by getting it on your hands and touching your face
you will give it to someone else
by breathing it out into the world thats why a mask is important
by getting it on your hands and spreading it to others
be safe
follow the rules
the organicgreen doctor
No comments:
Post a Comment