I may have Covid, I’ll know tomorrow when I do another lateral flow test. As it’s the weekend it has been very difficult to get info from 111 and 119. A doctor called me back and said I have to call the surgery or 111 tomorrow if I’m positive and they contact the hospital and the hospital send the antiviral. But he also said I have to have an NHS PCR. I’m not sure how to get one. I got a private one yesterday and the result will come tonight, but it’s not NHS compatible for inputting into the NHS system.
Have any of you had Covid these last two months since they changed things? What is the process? Who do I call and who organises what?
Thanks from London from a fellow Lupus patient!
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Hi, I had covid at Christmas. I contacted the covid helpline for my hospital and spoke to the duty Dr. He arranged for antivirals to be picked up from another hospital later that day. I was informed to call 119 to arrange for 2 PCR tests to be couriered to me.......one to be taken straight away and one 5 days later.
carol, did the antiviral work well for you? And if so has it changed your behaviour as in do you go out more, see more people, go to more restaurants, theatre etc. Has it made you feel more confident? I’ve been a hermit since 2020.
It worked very well, I had them twice last year. First time I had only been out to get my 5th vaccine when I contracted it, second time my husband infected me. I honestly don't go out that much, afraid I got used to shielding and it's hard to normalise daily living again. I probably go out once a week now
sorry to hear that you’ve got used to the shielding lifestyle like so many of us. Maybe slowly over the years we might catch up with the world again and Covid will become less threatening.
I`ve had the antiviral infusion quite a while ago now! I go out fairly well, last weekend i went to the Cirque du Soleil The Royal Albert hall, This weekend i`m going to Whitby with friends. I live in Norfolk so quite a trek! I go to the pub have had 5 jabs only caught covid once. Take a lot of meds and quite immunesuppressed. xx
thanks for letting me know. It’s good to see people living their immunosuppressed lives with confidence. I’m beginning to imbibe this positivity from all of you. I appreciate all the replies which are helping me on my mental journey.
I spent most of last year on the sofa with my leg up as i badly broke my ankle. I decided then i had to get on with doing things this year! It`s improved my mental health. Good luck to you. xx
I did have NHS tests already at home, ordered through Gov.UK website, and logged my positive result, then was contacted by medical staff and son in law picked up my antiviral medication from the hospital pharmacy. System worked well and antivirals definitely worked. Hope it’s not Covid and you’re well again soon x
I have Lateral Flow test boxes at home, but not the PCR ones. It sounds like you logged a Lateral Flow test? It’s good if they gave you the medication after just one test, I was under the impression that they make you do a PCR too. Im so glad to hear the anti-viral worked well for you! I was wondering if it has changed your behaviour since, do you go out and about more, do you do things differently? I’m basically a hermit now and don’t see many people and have stopped going to college and the theatre.
It’s certainly taken some of the worry away as I have slight lung damage and am immuno compromised of course so I felt nervous about getting Covid. Also I live on my own. But after the first day, which was my 70th bday (!), when I felt really ill but had a negative result, it was like a cough and cold. Positive result was a couple of days later. I’m worried about crowded places still but otherwise okay. Still wearing masks occasionally but not all the time now. So yes, I’m less concerned now.
that’s so great to hear. I’ve been in mental worry for 3 years now and it really has changed me for the worst, so I’m really glad to hear about your positive outcome all round. I’ve needed to know this for a long time. I’m in exactly the same position as you, I live on my ow, am immunosuppressed and have bit of lung damage and breathing problems from a pulmonary embolism. I’m 54. Thanks so much for letting me know.
I’ve looked at my test kits and they’re called Rapid Antigen Tests on the box, all supplied by NHS through internet, and you have to swab throat then nose. If you’re in a vulnerable Group then you can get them sent to you at no cost. They’re called Rapid lateral flow tests on the website.
oh yes, I’ve just noticed they’re called antigen tests on the box. How interesting that they’re called one thing on the site an other on the box. Thanks for letting me know.
Hi I have had covid again in the last 2 wks and had antivirals again. What you do now is just report your positive lateral flow test on the government website (just search how to report lateral flow test) and once you report your test if u are on the register to need antivirals a covid clinician will contact you, they should discuss with u if u actually want the treatment or not they did with me.The dr called me went thru everything etc
Then the hospital pharmacist called me went thru it all and then a taxi dropped the drugs off at my front door - job done!
If you order some lateral flow tests from the gov website they usually come really quickly mine have been delivered the next day!
Both times its worked very well. I was very pleasantly surprised
I reported my test on a sunday and they still contacted me that day from the covid centre and the dr.
Ps the gp surgery will have nothing to do with it so I don't know why they are telling you that!
thanks so much for letting me know about your experience. It certainly sounds really good. What you have told me, and others who’ve replied to my post, is comforting. I found speaking to 111 was really useless. I called them saying I’m vulnerable, immunosurpressed, live on my own, not feeling well and spent a couple of hours with my niece who was coughing and sneezing and is now Covid positive, what is the process for getting an antiviral if I become positive? They just wouldn’t tell me the process you’ve described! And that caused me so much stress all weekend. Thank you so much for filling me in.
Yes if you report your positive test result and you are eligible you will automatically be contacted and offered antivirals. Were u on the gov shielding list etc and the covid vaccination list etc for immunocompromised?
Well you should be contacted then once you report a positive lateral flow test on the gov website. It's a really good, easy service now whereas when I had covid last March I had to do the pcr test that I'd got at home in the purple envelope or whatever it was and posted it and then had to wait for the result then they contacted me and it takes so much longer I think I was about day 4 by the time I got treatment then.
fingers crossed that from now on it’s as easy as it was for you second time round. Actually fingers crossed that I haven’t got Covid! Thanks for all your help Sara!
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