Unless you or someone you know has been infected with the coronavirus, it may be hard to imagine what it’s like to have COVID-19—and recover from it.
Does it feel like the flu? Is it intense, to the point where you feel like you are fighting for your life? Or is the more common experience one where you have few or no symptoms at all?
The truth is COVID-19 can be some or all of the above. But the majority of cases—an estimated 80%—are mild.
“I would say the number of mild cases may be even higher than 80%, as most states are not screening the general population,” says Andre Sofair, MD, MHS, a Yale Medicine internal medicine physician who has been taking care of patients with mild to moderate COVID-19 at Yale New Haven Hospital. “The average length of stay, based on my experience, is five or six days for patients in the hospital who are not in the ICU. There are some who recover very quickly and get out sooner, and others who end up in the hospital for two weeks-plus.”
Of course, the article was about normally healthy patients, not those like us, with co-morbitities, so maybe not 100% applicable to us, but can give us an idea. It is, of course, still best to avoid it altogether.
Thanks again. I read that although people recover, lung scarring can occur which we know affects lung function. People can take months to recover and for those with already scarred lungs it may be a very difficult process.
Any scarring and potentially permanent damage is now my biggest concern, it is now 5 weeks since developing the symptoms and still virtually a cripple. I can now climb the stairs in one go, but that I believe is just down to acclimatisation and stubbornness, get to the bathroom and my sats are still at 84, it takes a few minutes to return to 91/92 again before I can make the journey back down the stairs. Before this damned virus I was able to work for 8 hours on my feet all day. Suddenly, I find myself almost helpless, it's extremely frustrating and hard to take.
There have been many avoidable events that have led to all of this. I know just how this has happened and who is squarely to blame for it.
I received no advice other than from the GP that I should go to hospital, which I declined as I was confident in my own management and not overboard with the idea of increasing my viral load. My Oncologist, in a telephone appointment is certain that I did have it. He also confirmed that the steps that I took in handling it were exactly what he would have done to treat me had I gone in.
The whole appointment was taken up discussing Covid rather than my lung cancer, other than to say he would be setting an appointment for a CT Scan in August Without any up to date imaging there was nothing to really to discuss regarding cancer. So I remain in the dark to what is going on inside my lungs, although I did not detect any urgency in what he had to say and happy with that. I have been under his care for two years now with regular appointments and confident he knows what he is doing, I wouldn't be here now if he didn't.
You've done everything possible by the sound of it, but it is no doubt a worry for you about your lungs and August seems a long time to wait for a CT scan. Can you speak to him again specifically about your lungs to put your mind at rest?
There is nothing more to say without a Scan unfortunately, as you can imagine they are very busy and having to play catch up. You can also well imagine that CT Scans are going to take a lot longer to perform, with the cleaning required between each patient. I am not really fretting or panicking about it, and have complete faith in the Oncologist. It would be nice to know though. So far, so good. I am now at 2 years post Radiotherapy.
In another 3 years, the hope is to be declared cancer free, which will be a very good result, Radiotherapy is considered as palliative care. There is also a good incentive for the clinic to make sure there is a success to record in their statistics. From what I have seen with research, Radiotherapy may equal or even exceed the survival rates from surgery. The technology with Radiotherapy is advancing all the time. My treatment was conducted using brand new hi-tech SABR equipment. I could not have asked for better.
Hello 2greys. Hope your keeping as well as we can. Always enjoy reading your posts. If not always commenting on them . There was a 2 part Special on covid wards last week on bbc2. They were more severe. But they was having to learn to walk again it left them so weak. And the death total is shocking. I find it a disgrace the way in the daily briefings. They mention the death toll. Then say our main aim is to keep it down Just Staggered at that Comment. Hope you have a good day and catch u again soon Brian
Thanks 2 greys for this info. we only see the extremes including the doctor i saw on tv last night who had changed so much and unfortunately has had to return to hospital .
How are you doing now? I hope it is 2 or 3 steps forward after your last step back. Did you say you had a rowing machine and exercise bike. Can you manage to use those at all yet or is it too soon..?
Age doesn't help either we lose muscle strength naturally as we age
Sharon was tested again yesterday, as a precaution, asked for by GP, back off work for a week with what I would say is an exacerbation of her COPD. It is possible she could get a false positive, as we are 99% sure that she has already had it. Antibody test will be released for use next week, although no doubt be a wait for that.
As for me, I have managed to regain 2 kilos of lost weight. Not exercising again yet, but a small victory, I can do the stairs in one go again, even if it makes me out of breath. I reduced the steroids to 5 mgs today and same again tomorrow, then hopefully off them at the weekend, so far, so good. Still having an hour's nap in the afternoon though.
Keep going, 2greys, at least all change is forward however slow, your determination is serving you well, but don’t overdo it. Sleep is an important part of your recovery, so might need more than the extra hour each day.
Take great care. Very well done on getting as far as you have so far, and thanks for keeping us in the loop.
You are doing well but then i would expect it from you you are determineď and you pay attention to all details. Nothing wrong with having a nap if you need it. 2 kilos is a lot . Well done. Sorry to hear sharon is not so good though. More time needed.
am trying to do sleep station program though and they say you should not nap , . But their program li is geared up to normal times and they dont ask for medical record so not easy to answer their tickbox questions . EG if you wake during night how long before you go to sleep again .How do i know or guess?
My brother had a "mild" episode! He is fifty and a paramedic. He described his breathing difficulty as follows. Put six house bricks on your chest. Then sandpaper the muscles around your lungs so that every breath is an effort and painful. Throw in a cough just to add to the pain and remove all energy from your body. He is still off worksix weeks later.
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