Now that I've gotten it....

[CalicoKitty, BSN, MSN, RN]

So, last month, I was exposed to COVID. (Found out about exposure a few days later). Became symptomatic and shared the love with my husband.  Thankfully the two of us had very mild cases. Mild headache. Mild nasal congestion. No fever. No cough. LOTS of lethargy. And I lost my sense of smell....

I know it's weird, but I feel relieved. I mean, stressing over this illness - being nurses we see some of the most horrible cases... It's been like "am I going to bring it home today"... for 8 months..... That is a lot of stress.  And now I almost have a 'survivor's guilt'. 

So, the vaccine will be available shortly. But, I believe the recommendations are to wait 3 months after infection... But I love vaccines. I want to get them all! More immunity!  Sorry.. Just feeling silly.. But, really, my work approach is different. I now see the PPE more to protect my other patients rather than protect me. And some part of me is like "why am I wearing a mask, now"... 

I don't want to be dismissive of people that have gotten sick. We've all seen those bad cases, and maybe have personal experience with some of the really bad symptoms. I watched one of mine rolled out when I was walking into a unit... But, anyone else feel some sort of relief now that it's "over" for yourself personally?

[Emergent, RN]

I am currently on a 14-day quarantine after a known exposure at work. I'm only on day 3 now.

I'm not worried about myself at all, I've known many people who have gotten it and haven't had a problem. No symptoms at this time.

 

[TheMoonisMyLantern, ADN, LPN, RN]

I know what you mean, I had it back in October and while I got sick and my asthma flared I didn't require medical attention. I was lucky, but I do have a sense of survivor's guilt. Sure, I'm young, but I also have several chronic illnesses which are known risk factors for death or severe illness with COVID, yet my case was nothing compared to what others experience. Why have others my age that were healthy die and yet I lived? The patients I've seen die at my facility, some were debilitated others weren't. Makes you think. I'm glad you had a mild case and back at work, I too have a sense of relief.

[CalicoKitty, BSN, MSN, RN]

One of my coworkers earlier on was infected. She was in her 30s I think. She got pretty sick and even went to the emergency room because she felt she couldn't breathe. Was not admitted. But she was pretty sick for about a week with significant cough and cold-like symptoms.

My husband has sleep apnea. So he's gotten a few cpaps over the years. Early on, I ordered a mask for myself just in case I got sick and had some respiratory symptoms I would borrow one of his old ones. (Really didn't want to go into a hospital since cpaps would not be used, it was high-flow nasal canula or the tube).

[Daisy4RN]

@CalicoKitty glad you and hubby are both doing well! I am retired so don't feel the kind of stress you do so I can only imagine that added level of stress to the job. But, please do not even consider feeling survivors guilt; I believe things happen for a reason, and you survived for a reason! Wishing you both wellness going forward, I am glad you survived, and I would venture to guess your family and friends are glad too.

[Daisy4RN]

@Emergent

18 hours ago, Emergent said:

am currently on a 14-day quarantine after a known exposure at work. I'm only on day 3 now.

Thinking about you, stay well!

[Kitiger, RN]

I have some family members who got COVID 6 months ago. It was a mild sickness like the colds that get passed around. It ripped through the whole family.

Last month, one of them - in her 50s - had increasing dyspnea and was admitted to the hospital. 

Heart failure/cardiomyopathy. 

With treatment, she is doing better, but this came out of the blue.

[Emergent, RN]

9 hours ago, Daisy4RN said:

@Emergent

Thinking about you, stay well!

Thanks. Feeling fine today. 

[RainMom]

On 12/16/2020 at 7:13 PM, Kitiger said:

I have some family members who got COVID 6 months ago. It was a mild sickness like the colds that get passed around. It ripped through the whole family.

Last month, one of them - in her 50s - had increasing dyspnea and was admitted to the hospital. 

Heart failure/cardiomyopathy. 

With treatment, she is doing better, but this came out of the blue.

This is one of the big reasons I pulled thr trigger & took the vaccine.  I'm reading more & more studies about long term effects from mild & asymptomatic cases.  4 different studies show that 50% or more of asymptomatic cases have some degree of lung damage though they can't tell yet whether it will resolve or be permanent.  I think it was around 15-20% show elevated cardiac markers; one study stated that the highest levels were in an asymptomatic pt, rather than a critical one.  

[Marc Goodman, BSN]

I had a moderate case back in April here in NYC.  I was very relieved during the 3 month window where we usually see circulating antibodies.  That was also a time where numbers were way down in my region.  Then, while I wasn't concerned about getting seriously ill (B-cells, T- Cell immunity, etc) I did become concerned about picking up a milder or asymptomatic case that I could pass to others.  Now that I'm in the middle of the vaccination process I'm thinking I can start to increase some activity a week after the second dose (visit to museum with a cloth mask, flight somewhere warm wearing a n95,  and dining outdoors there).  I probably won't feel comfortable being around vulnerable people maskless until they're also vaccinated.   But yes, its a relief that I likely won't get seriously ill.  

[Maq5765]

I was so worried about getting covid , and when I did it was a bad case . Pneumonia and now have adult onset asthma. Had CT scans of ny heart and lungs , echo of heart and heart monitor for 7 days.  I am still SOB and my heart rate races when I do too much .  I was 90 days out on Dec 6th . I received the shot today . I am very thankful ? 

[barcode120x, RN, NP]

I too didn't really think I'd get COVID. Or rather, I never really thought about it. I ended up being symptomatic this past Tuesday (I more than likely got it at work the previous Friday as I never really go out). I had really bad bodyaches, a lingering headache, and a cough, and fatigue. That night was the worst. Immediately got tested the next morning, was taken off work, then I broke out into a low grade fever and chills. The last few days I've been recovering well. No more headache or cough, but have mild bodyaches (usually pretty achy in the morning but tylenol fixes it) and a lot of fatigue/lethargy. Things were starting to look up until earlier and I woke up with a fever of around 101. I hope this is just a small bump in the road.

The fatigue and lethargy really gets to me though. When I wake up in the morning I don't feel well-rested and weak and I've been napping 2-3 hours every day. Same thing happens when I wake up from the nap, just feel drowsy and tired. Fortunately no shortness of breath.

Another odd "issue" I'm having is that I have a hard time "warming" up when I get into bed. No fever, but it's cold right now in SoCal and the last few nights including my naps, I spend about an hour trying to warm up in bed. I shiver here and there (no fever), but I just cant get warm even with a ton of blankets. Luckily I have a portable heater, but then I'll wake up later in the night or in the morning burning hot where I can't tell if it's cuz I'm just hot or if I actually have a fever. This literally just happened again today.